BBC One’s Great British Sewing Bee judge Patrick Grant lends a hand at the University of Central Lancashire

Patrick Grant, a UCLan Honorary Fellow, has been working with final year Fashion Promotion and Marketing students, lending his British fashion industry expertise to help shape their latest project.

Students have been working on a brief entitled Community Connect, in collaboration with Patrick’s brand, Community Clothing, based in Blackburn.

Founded in 2016, Community Clothing aims to produce high quality everyday clothes in British factories, rebuilding economic prosperity and pride in local textile-making communities, with many of its UK partner factories located in the North West.

Inspired by British clothing production, the students have been asked to develop an editorial campaign that tells a story about a community within a community. They have looked at a range of different groups, including staff at Lancashire mills, and then produced a suite of images and video to give their chosen group a strong fashion identity.

At the start of the month, Patrick visited UCLan’s campus, spending time looking over the students’ campaigns, and offering his feedback.

Patrick said: “Lancashire has historically been at the heart of the British textile industry, and it’s a real privilege to now be investing in the revival of that industry in the county – there’s so much local talent and pride to harness here. I’m really pleased to be sharing my knowledge and experience with the students at UCLan, who I am sure will go on to be part of the bright future of fashion and textiles in the north west.”