University News Last updated 12 August 2011
Rebecca Short, a fashion design graduate from Birmingham City University, had the surprise of a lifetime – after one of her experimental designs was hand-picked for fashion icon Lady Gaga and revealed to a worldwide audience.
The exotic singer wowed fans and journalists after wearing the dress at a showcase event in Singapore – only days after one of her stylists spotted Rebecca’s dress at Graduate Fashion Week in London.
Following its global debut, Rebecca is now considering auctioning her distinctive design to a lucky die-hard Gaga fan. “I’m over the moon about it all - I still can’t believe she has worn it,” said the 22-year-old designer who lives near Sheffield.
“Lady Gaga is such a huge fashion icon at the moment. It’s an honour for her to be wearing my dress. “I am a big fan of Lady Gaga, I love her music and quirky style – so I would love her to wear more of my designs in the future, but who knows?”
Rebecca, along with other students studying for a BA in Fashion Design at Birmingham City University, were given the opportunity to have their work shown at the high profile student event in London.
“I loved every minute of Graduate Fashion Week. It offers a great opportunity to show people what you can do and it feels great being able to see all the hard work come together in a professional way.”
Dress spotted by Gaga's stylist
Unknown to Rebecca her futuristic concept was spotted by a Gaga fashion scout at the London showcase.
“I was contacted by Lady Gaga’s stylist via email a week after my show at Graduate Fashion Week. She forwarded a photo of the garment she required, telling me it could potentially be worn for promotional work Gaga was doing.
“A few others at the University had also been contacted so there must have been a lot of choice - I never in a million years thought she’d choose my design.
“Now she has it’s a great boost to my portfolio and has given me confidence to believe in myself more.”
Dress developed from experimental draping
Rebecca believes her avant-garde approach attracted the attention of the futuristic Gaga team. She explained: “The theme for my collection revolved around ‘negative space’.
“Throughout the project I looked at various artists such as Gordon Matta-Clark, Rachel Whiteread and minimalist artist Donald Judd.
“I carried out a lot of experimental work with paper and draping on the stand. The dress Gaga wore was developed from some experimental draping I carried out.”
Rebecca said she was encouraged in her pioneering approach by the University, while also being reminded to keep an eye on the real world of the fashion industry.
“I was attracted to the course at Birmingham City University because of the close links with industry. I found the visiting tutors very inspiring and the course really challenged me. I improved on every project I undertook.
“The tutors and technicians we had were the best. I had such a great time being taught by them. It was enjoyable to come into uni and work with such great people. I already miss them.”
Graduate has a promising future
Since graduating, Rebecca says she has had a dream start in her ambition to become a top fashion designer. She has already landed a job with boutique fashion label Suzannah after working a month’s internship during her summer break.
“Fashion is something I have been interested in for a long time and really became passionate about it during my A-levels.
“My fashion heroes are Calvin Klein, Raff Simons and Jill Sander. I was originally inspired after visiting design museums, watching catwalk shows and looking at fashion publications. hey all gave me the excitement to get involved in the industry.”
Following the international showcase, Lady Gaga will return the dress to Rebecca who is now considering selling it to a die-hard Gaga fan.
Since graduating from Birmingham City University Rebecca, like her fashion hero Lady Gaga, has been travelling the world. Rebecca has visited Central America – including Guatemala and Belize – as well as Mexico and Canada.
Rebecca added: “I am really keen to do some more travelling at some point, so will probably look into combining this with fashion and look into doing an internship in Australia with a fashion label so I can get to understand how the industry works elsewhere."