Plum of London’s favourite shirtmaker, the British heritage brand Turnbull and Asser, have just launched a challenge for London College of Fashion’s undergraduate menswear and womenswear design students. London College of Fashion marks 2015 as The Year of the Shirt and in celebration of this, the students have been requested to reimagine and reconstruct everything they know about traditional shirting and create their own through their inspiration.

The head of London College of Fashion Professor Frances Corner OBE, commented: ”We are delighted to be working with Turnbull & Asser, who were founded in 1885 and have been a royal warrant shirtmaker since 1980, on a project which takes an item that is almost ubiquitous in everyone’s wardrobe and deconstructs and interrogates it with amazing results.”

Dean Gomilsek-Cole, Head of Design, Turnbull & Asser said of the collaboration:
”With 130 years of experience behind our brand, we wanted to make sure we were firmly focused on the future and being able to engage with young designers is key to that focus. The SHIRT project presents us with a two-way challenge, between history and innovation, the results of which will no doubt inspire.”

Turnbull & Asser will announce the winner of the project later in October at their showroom in Mayfair whilst their prize is already known: their design will then go into production for the proceeds to support them in their final year at UAL.

This is a rather similar enterprise to Plum of London’s own scheme to support the most promising young British knitwear designers and if other British heritage brands followed suit, the incredible creative potential these shores provide will soon be realised.