Project Spotlight: TEDi London Bespoke Graduation Wear

At Churchill Gowns we have worked with a range of universities, colleges and other institutions to design and manufacture bespoke academic dress.

We were approached by TEDi London (The Engineering and Design Institute London, now part of Arizona State University) to help them design and make a new scheme academic dress for their first graduation ceremonies. 

The Design Process

Whilst students were to wear a traditional black gown and mortarboard, TEDi wanted something truly unique to replace the traditional academic hood. Fortunately their being a design institute meant they had a pool of design talent ready and willing to leave their mark on the Institute and students were challenged to come up with a design for a new ‘vestment’. The competition was run by fashion designer Val Horridge, who drew on her experience designing academic dress for a University in Australia and was guided by us in the principles of academic dress design for UK graduation ceremonies.

The winning entry by Jane Cameron was based on the intricate design of a dragonfly’s wing - a remarkable example of engineering in the natural world. The shape of the vestment was truly original featuring a folded hood shape at the back and two flat panels attached at the front on either side which hang down over the gown like a stole.

The fabric was also a custom design, featuring the TEDi brand colours of black and yellow with a printed pattern reminiscent of the dragonfly wing that inspired Jane’s work.

Bringing the Design to Life

Once the design was settled, we worked with a number of partners to bring Jane’s vision to life and prepare for the vestments’ first outing at the TEDi graduation ceremony. The fabric was custom printed by Brighton-based Hatley Print, who specialise in bespoke textile printing. Once the fabric had been produced it was sent to bespoke academic dress maker Jayne Ball, of Jayne Ball Designs, to turn into the vestments using Jane Cameron’s pattern. 

The final result was a truly striking and unique piece but that nods to traditional academic dress design and pays homage to the engineering and design focus of the Institution. For the graduation event itself the vestments were paired with traditional black bachelors gowns and caps, provided by Churchill Gowns, and the moment was captured by our photography partners at Perfocal.

Thank you to our partners Jane Cameron, Val Horridge, Jayne Ball and Hatley Print for bringing this project to fruition and also to the client, TEDi London, for their vision!

If you are a college, university or other educational institution and are looking for an academic dress partner to bring your ideas for graduation to life, please do get in touch. At Churchill Gowns we have extensive experience with all aspects of academic dress design and manufacture and would love to work with you.