A Coleg Morgannwg / Caerphilly student beat off thousands of hopefuls from across the UK to win a national hairdressing competition to style models at the London Collections Men fashion show.
Jorden Bowen, 20, from Caerphilly, a level 2 hairdressing student at Coleg Morgannwg entered a competition for the chance to assist top name hairdressers at the prestigious fashion event.
The three-day event, which is presented by the British Fashion Council, saw Jorden and the two other competition winners work with renowned hairdressers John Vial and Dale Ted Watkins to prepare the models for the runway.
Jorden said: “I have benefited amazingly from this experience and have started to build relationships with new people all over the country in order to broaden my work. I have also made some new excellent friends who shared the experience with me and hopefully we can start budding new creative ideas together.
“I have always wanted a career in the creative industries and really hope to become a session stylist when I leave college. Being at the event in London really opened my eyes to how different it is to working in a salon but it also gave me the chance to put the skills I’ve learnt in my training into practice.”
To enter the competition Jorden submitted examples of her best work to Fudge, the salon-brand of hair products, and official styling partner to the event. Designers at London Collection Men included household names Alexander McQueen, Tom Ford and James Long.
Hairdressing tutor at Coleg Morgannwg, Julie Pugh-Jones, said: “We are extremely proud of Jorden for being successful against students from across to the UK and to be one of only three selected is real testament to her skill.
“Jorden can now share her experiences with her classmates and offer real insight into work as a session stylist. The practical experience and quality teaching and creative insight offered by Coleg Morgannwg’s hairdressing department is clear to see when our students compete on a UK level like this.”
Coleg Morgannwg’s Nantgarw Campus represents the biggest single investment in Welsh further education to date having received £27.8m funding from Welsh Government and £6.7m funding from European Regional Development Funds. Coleg Morgannwg is now the largest provider of AS learning in RCT with a comprehensive Advanced Level Programme that offers 24 AS subjects as well as the Welsh Baccalaureate qualification (WBQ) providing students with wider options and the possibility of creating their own tailored programme of study.
