Creative Skillset, the industry skills body for the creative industries,
has announced that it has set up the Anne Tyrrell Student Design Award, in
memory of the fashion and interior designer to support students in the
second year of their Creative Skillset ticked fashion courses.
Her career spanned more than fifty years in fashion and design, starting
off by studying Art and Design at the Norwich School of Art, then fashion
at the Royal College of Art, before beginning work as a pattern cutter,
ultimately becoming director of design at clothing supplier John Marks
where she worked between 1963 and 1984 and where she first developed her
own collection.
Tyrrell was also co-chair of Creative Skillet’s fashion industry panel
and the driver behind expanding the long established Creative Skillset Tick
into fashion. The Tick is a mark of quality awarded by industry
professionals to those courses that provide the best preparation for a
career in the creative industries.
Commenting on the award, fashion designer Betty Jackson who is a member
of the Creative Skillset Board and was also a close friend of Tyrrell said:
“Anne’s passion for industry-led education in fashion and sheer zest to
make things happen are embodied in this award in her memory.
“More than anyone else, Anne drove the Creative Skillset Tick into the
fashion sector, taking the industry and education world with her. It’s
fitting that these awards will support the next generation entrants into
this world of fashion.”
The Creative Skillset tick was awarded to a small selection of fashion
courses in 2014, including the BA (Hons) Fashion Design courses at
Birmingham City University, Kingston University, Manchester School of Art,
University of Huddersfield, University of Westminster, and Nottingham Trent
University’s BA (Hons) Fashion Knitwear Design and Knitted Textiles course.
Four more BA (Hons) fashion courses have been accredited with the
Creative Skillset tick this month, the Arts University of Bournemouth,
University of the West of England, University of Salford and Norwich
University of the Arts.