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Tailor chalks up invitation to Victoria & Albert Museum


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Talented tailor Andrea Nixon is a cut above the rest. A unique hand-made jacket which helped win her the ‘Rising Star’ prize at the Golden Shears Awards, the Oscars of tailoring, was later displayed at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition.


The 23-year-old graduate of the University of Cumbria, now an apprentice at Steeds Bespoke Tailors in Carlisle, explained:


The invitation to display my work came out of the blue but a host of celebrities, press and the general public attended the event at the V & A in November which was a fantastic opportunity for me.”


She earned a first-class honours degree in contemporary applied arts in November 2008.


Andrea described how the jacket came to life. “I began by hand dyeing yarns, which I then wove into cloth using a hand weaving loom. The cloth design was based on natural patterns such as animal prints and rippling sand textures and the colours derived from peacock feathers.”


Andrea then hand dyed the silk, which she used for the lining of the jacket, and then hand embellished it with beadweaving and crystals.


To complement the outfit Andrea made a belt to accentuate the waistline, along with matching handbags.


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