Leading fashion industry training grant provider, CAPITB Trust were proud supports of the Golden Shears Award for the third consecutive year as Joe Holsgrove was crowned the 2015 winner. Other supporters included, Chivas Deluxe Blended Scotch Whisky and Savile Row Bespoke Association, the gala evening supported by the Master Merchant Taylor, this prestigious event didn’t fail to exceed expectations as the “Oscars of the Tailor World”.

Joe Holsgrove, 20, an apprentice at Denman & Goddard was announced the winner of The Golden Shears Award. His half shooting jacket and trousers were selected by a panel of guest judges, including supermodel Jodie Kidd, Dragon’s Den entrepreneur Piers Linney, actress Jennifer Saunders, fashion designer Betty Jackson and Lord Grade of Yarmouth, former Chairman of the BBC.

Joe was presented with the Golden Shears Award, which has also been known as ‘The Oscars of the Tailoring World’. He gushed, ‘I am speechless; all the hard work has paid off.’

The runner-up, Dionne Reeves, 29, apprentice at H. Huntsman & Sons, was presented with the Silver Shears Award for her military-inspired frock coat and overalls. The Rising Star Award was presented to Nuriya Kabirova, 22, from the University of the Creative Arts, Rochester for her Double Layered Coat and Trousers.

‘It was the hardest thing to judge, the standard was just so high.’ – Jennifer Saunders
‘I was blown away by the quality; there were many pieces I would buy.’ – Piers Linney
‘I was thoroughly impressed, women were really nailing menswear.’ – Jodie Kidd

Merchant Taylors’ Hall provided a perfect, picturesque setting for the Golden Shears Award as the livery company was founded in the 14th Century to protect the interest of tailors. The cloister was decorated with a beautiful custom-made fitting of dried flowers suspended in yarn. Installed by Rebecca Louise Law, it was made in conjunction with Dormeuil, the supplier of luxury cloth.

CAPITB Trust is very proud to have supported this event and we would like to congratulate all the winners and attendees of this years Golden Shears Awards

Leading fashion industry training provider, CapitB Trust, played the proud supporter of the Golden Shears Awards 2017, for the fourth year. This year’s awards saw Riki Brockmann of Gieves & Hawkes crowned the winner of the coveted first prize.

Held by the Merchant Taylor’s Company, the Golden Shears Awards, often referred to as ‘The Oscars of the Tailoring World’, are designed to highlight young apprentices within the British tailoring industry. Each entrant has worked tirelessly for a period of 12 months within an apprentice role, and are able to showcase, through the awards, pieces they have designed and developed from start to finish.

Each entrant is firstly judged by a technical panel which includes some key personnel from the British tailoring industry, before going in front of a panel of guest judges including David Gandy, Jodie Kidd, film director Joe Wright, fashion designer Oliver Spencer and British GQ deputy editor Bill Prince.

Three awards were presented on the evening, the first of which is the Rising Star Award, which was presented to Matthew Erik-Beale from the University of Creative Arts, Rochester. Matthew’s piece included a sweeping black women’s belted overcoat and flowing trousers. The second prize of the evening, The Silver Shears, went to Jordan Barrett, an apprentice coat maker from Couch & Hoskings, who made an embroidered evening tailcoat and white tie combination.

Winner of The Golden Shears, Riki, designed a thought-provoking ensemble of a brown sports coat with a sporty edge, zip-through waistcoat and tailored jumpsuit with dungaree. His mix of Savile Row and heritage workwear made an impression on the judging panel, resulting in his win. Commenting on his win, Riki said: “It feels incredible to bring the shears home to Gieves & Hawkes. We have such an established ready-to-wear presence now globally; I think it’s important for people to remember that we also have a thriving, innovative bespoke department. I’m very lucky to learn under Davide Taub, who is regarded as one of the very best cutters in the trade. As well as the technical elements of tailoring, he’s taught me the importance of functionality and subtle detailing within design.”

CapitB Trust is very proud to have supported this event and we would like to congratulate all the winners and attendees of this years’ Golden Shears Awards.

In April 2017 we saw the Textiles Growth Program/ Alliance Project sadly come to an end.  During this time the project worked with thousands of textiles manufacturers and via the Regional Growth Fund invested £27million, creating one of the most successful investment programs for a specific industry ever.  The team are still striving to ensure further support for the sector and continuously lobbying to government on behalf of our industry.

Their work with regard to skills is ongoing, as we all know this is one of the biggest issues to tackle, which here at CapitB we are very passionate about.  We would like to share with you the news that The Alliance Project are working with a committed group of employers to create new apprenticeships for the industry. This process is long and laborious, but will ensure we get funded apprentices that meet our industries skills needs. The employer group needs to make sure the key skills needs identified are right.  Please find a survey which we would like to share with you and appreciate your response to. This survey summaries the proposed content.

The survey will take approximately 20 minutes and is open for two weeks. Your feedback is crucial at this stage – we need to show government that the industry is alive and kicking – without your input and backing they will assume we do not want or need funded apprenticeships or skills support and will not invest further towards skills in the sector.   Follow the link below to complete and submit the survey –

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/sewingindustry

We appreciate your support and behalf of both CapitB and The Alliance Project we would like to thank you.

In light of the current Coronavirus situation, we are working a little differently to keep everyone safe and well. This means that it may take a little longer than normal for us to provide what you need.

Please continue to send applications and enquiries to ‘enquiries@capitbgrants.com‘ and be patient during this time. We are doing everything we can to be there and to support you and will continue to do so as soon as reasonably possible. 

A huge thank you for your patience and understanding during these highly unusual circumstances.

In the meantime, please stay safe!