Megan Syme pitched her incredible work to famous designer Henry Holland at Fashion Enter, London, last week.
The former Dumfries High School student has had a fascination with clothing and fashion from a young age. Megan moved on to study fashion at Heriot Watt University where she finished her degree during the coronavirus pandemic.
The creative 23-year-old said: “Although it was challenging, it did allow me to really work on my craft without any distractions. I feel my drawings skills have improved massively and my digital portfolio is far stronger than it would have been.
“I have just been drawing away on my iPad day in day out, although Covid-19 has meant my graduate collection had to take a pause in production.”
Megan entered a competition with Graduate Fashion Foundation on social media platform Tiktok to design European merchandise to create something unique and fun.
When she got the call to say her design was selected, Megan admits she was ‘beyond excited’. She then travelled to London to showcase her vibrant and fun design.
“Henry was invited to be a guest judge on the panel, to decide what designs would be manufactured into the official TikTok merchandise, along with the team from Zandra Rhodes. It was so surreal to know that such incredible designers have viewed and appreciated my work.
“It was the most incredible experience, to get up and pitch my designs to Henry, it was a bit of a pinch me moment. Henry is someone I’ve looked up to ever since watching him on the TV show ‘Styled To Rock’ back in 2012 with Rihanna. The show played a huge role in inspiring me to become a designer myself.”
She added: “To go from being a school girl watching the show, dreaming of getting into university to study fashion, to eight years later having graduated with a fashion degree and discussing my designs with Henry himself, really was a full circle moment. Henry said he loved my designs, and thought it was perfect for the TikTok theme.”
Megan’s design was inspired by the TikTok viral song ‘In The House Bored’ and was a tribute to Covid-19, as ‘that’s exactly what we have all been feeling!’
She added: “One of my hoodies has been personally shipped to America, to the ‘In The House Bored’ song creator Curtis Roach. I can’t wait to see him wearing it.”
Megan plans to move down to London to gain experience within the fashion industry and work her way up at a sustainable brand.
But her long term goal is to start her own fashion brand one day. She said: “That has always been a dream of mine. Though no matter where my career path takes me, I do truly hope to make a positive impact and help ensure that the fashion industry is made far more ethical and sustainable.”
