Final year fashion students...fancy having the opportunity to show off your creativity and fashion design skills to Henry Holland, and at the same time have your designs turned into official TikTok merchandise? Well read on! We've launched a competition with Graduate Fashion Foundation where you can do exactly that!

We are inviting all graduating fashion students from Graduate Fashion Foundation's member universities to design TikTok’s first-ever range of merchandise that is not only fashionable but also ethical. 

For those who don't know, Graduate Fashion Foundation (GFF) is a charitable organisation which helps young people find employment and get the best start possible in the fashion industry. Over the past 29 years, more than 100,000 newly graduated and undergraduate students have been supported and guided by the charity.

COVID-19, as with most industries, has hit the fashion industry hard. Access to studio space has been impacted, as well as cancellations of year-end press shows and closures of graduate showrooms. That is why we want to give you - the fashion designers of tomorrow - the opportunity to showcase your talent. 

How you can get involved? 

All class of 2020 students from 38 GFF member universities in the UK will be eligible to enter their ideas to design and produce TikTok’s first-ever range of merchandise in Europe via GFF.

By the end of June*, two students will be selected from each university to participate in our 5-day creative residency, held within a professional factory environment in London. In total, more than 70 students will have the opportunity to access practical industry experience and learn new skills. 

Competition winners will learn about design for manufacturing, grading and realising designs into commercial patterns, production lines, quality control, and will be mentored by some of today’s leading designers, GFF patrons and TikTok Creators. Accommodation will be provided by TikTok to all participating graduates along with a competition prize of £500 each.

All entries are set to be judged by an expert panel of judges including Graduate Fashion Foundation Ambassador Henry Holland, Director of Fashion Caroline Ash and TikTok’s fashion lead in Europe Cassandra Russell.

Additionally, 20 top Fashion Marketing and Communications students will be able to enter a competition to design the ethical packaging for the student collection. One student will be selected to design printed tissue, boxing and swing tags.

What happens after the residency? 

By the end of the residency, each designer will have produced four garments of their chosen winning design from their collection, which on completion TikTok will gift to their Creator and VIP community. We would love to see graduates document their design process on the platform, with relevant content curated in on the TikTokxGFF hashtag and profile. 

 Ultimately, five of the strongest designs will go into manufacturing for a limited edition collection to be gifted to staff, partners and consumers across Europe. 

TikTok is a platform with creativity at it’s heart and we want to make sure that fashion students can walk away from this residency with an unforgettable experience that will not only be fun, but also give them a valuable head start as they enter the competitive job market.

New to TikTok? Getting involved couldn't be easier, simply download the app for free via the Apple App Store, Google Play or Amazon.

*The residency will run this July and will be in line with government recommendations as pertaining to Covid-19. The submissions for designs and moodboards open from Friday 12 June, with the deadline on Wednesday 24th June. Winners will be announced on Friday 26th June.