Hampshire silk weaver wins Fashion Textile Maker of the Year Award 2024
29th November 2024 | ANNOUNCEMENTS | OUR STORIES
Hampshire silk weaver Shannon Bye has won the inaugural Fashion Textile Maker of the Year Award, supported by the Costume Society, including a £2,000 prize and trophy awarded at a special presentation at Eltham Palace on Tuesday 26 November 2024.
The award, supported by the Costume Society, celebrates a heritage craftsperson who has made an outstanding contribution to fashion textiles over the past year. It recognises a contribution that is far beyond the ordinary, based on a proven dedication to a particular fashion textiles skill.
Shannon Bye is Heritage Weaving Manager at Whitchurch Silk Mill. Her progression as a silk weaver at the Mill reflects her dedication and passion for her craft. During the last year, as well as making excellent progress in her own silk weaving practice, she has developed her capacity to lead a growing team of weaver tacklers.
The Fashion Textiles Maker of the Year trophy was made by milliner Vivienne Lake, and uses a number of techniques including pleating and embroidery. The judging panel for the award included Costume Society Vice Chair Professor Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas and fashion entrepreneur, designer, curator, and educator Monique Lee Hylands-White.
The two other finalists for the award were Clare Campbell, whose work is represented in the prestigious permanent collections of the National Museum of Scotland, highlighting her commitment to excellence and innovation in the textile industry, and Rachel Frost, a self-taught, multidisciplinary artist and historian who creates both historical and contemporary headwear and bags using a wide range of techniques.
The Costume Society is a UK membership organisation formed in 1964 to promote the study and preservation of historic and contemporary dress. Its new partnership with Heritage Crafts has also seen three new training bursaries awarded earlier this year to early-career practitioners in millinery and historical costume design.
Photo: Shannon Bye, winner of the 2024 Fashion Textile Maker of the Year Award, and Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas, Vice Chair of the Costume Society. Photo by Robert Wade.