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The 40th edition of New Designers opened yesterday with its Week One showcase (until 5 July 2025) at London’s Business Design Centre. This annual event celebrates the best emerging talent in the UK, featuring over 2,500 design graduates from more than 100 university courses – get tickets now. Week One focuses on various disciplines, including Fashion and Costume, Contemporary Design Crafts, Textiles, Ceramics, Glass, and Jewellery and Metalwork. The Week One award ceremony, opened by fashion icon DameZandra Rhodes, honoured a group of exciting graduates with 15 accolades supported by international brands and businesses – as part of the show’s ND Awards programme.

Two young craftspeople – both deeply rooted in tradition and materiality – emerged as the night’s biggest winners. The Business Design Centre New Designer of the Year Award went to Cameron Pearson, graduating in BA Artist Blacksmithing from Hereford College of Arts. Pearson captivated judges with his striking geometric sculptures forged from low-carbon mild steel, inspired by Euclidean and Ideal geometry. Transforming planar designs into precise three-dimensional forms, his pieces combine mathematical purity with the raw aesthetic of forged metal, revealing the intrinsic beauty of geometry. Judges said, “Cameron’s forged sculptures are beautiful and elegant. He demonstrates complete mastery of his technique using mathematics and symmetry. Outstanding!” After six years of blacksmithing training, Pearson plans to refine his skills further by embarking on a master’s degree.

The Runner-Up Prize was awarded to Ruby Webster from Manchester School of Art, graduating in BA Textiles in Practice. Judges praised Webster’s dedication to learning fabric making from its very beginnings, developing a profound fascination with the ancient processes of cloth production. Her final project involved hand-spun wool blended with linen silk, naturally dyed with indigo. “We loved Ruby’s vertical integration of the design process from fleece to product. Her low-impact practice is quiet activism focused on keeping the craft alive,” judges said.

The ND Awards celebrate creativity, innovation and design excellence across key contemporary themes including sustainability, wellbeing, identity and inclusion. Read the full list of winners in the ‘Notes to Editors’ section. Sponsors of this year’s Week One awards include (alphabetically): Business Design Centre, Cole & Son, Dinny Hall, Future Icons, Habitat, Hallmark, Hannah Martin, Laura Ashley, PriestmanGoode, Romo, ​ Ruup & Form, Sage Automotive Interiors, Sanderson and The New Craftmaker.

New Designers (newdesigners.com) runs until 5 July for Week One, and from 9 – 12 July for Week Two, at the Business Design Centre, London, N1 0QH. Click here to register for tickets and here for opening times.

For the latest news, follow New Designers on: Instagram @NewDesigners; X @NewDesigners; Facebook @NewDesignersEvent; LinkedIn new-designers