Maria Sharapova and Sony Ericsson partnership serves a style ace at
Liberty
2009-06-17 23:04:03 -
London, June , 17, 2009
Maria Sharapova today unveils cutting edge student works as part of
Sony Ericsson's latest design and style initiative, with London
College of Fashion, which explores the link between technology and
style trends.
London, UK - June 17, 2009 - Tennis superstar, fashion icon and Sony
Ericsson global brand ambassador Maria Sharapova today unveiled
exclusive London College of Fashion (LCF) student designs in the
window of internationally renowned design store Liberty.
Over a term-long project, Sony Ericsson worked with the School of
Fashion Design and Technology at London College of Fashion to explore
the relationship between technology and fashion. Students were
briefed by the Sony Ericsson design team and Maria, who sent a
personal message of support to the students, to help inspire future
designs and ideas.
Sony Ericsson and LCF
The Sony Ericsson LCF collaboration has involved more than 80
students from four degree courses, three year groups and countries
across the world - all competing for a chance for their designs to be
displayed in the window of Liberty, the opportunity to meet Maria and
receive a prize from Sony Ericsson.
The winner was picked from a shortlist of 25 entries by a panel of
judges including Maria, Sony Ericsson designer Tina Lekeberg, London
College of Fashion Designers in Residence Boudicca and senior
academics from the School of Fashion Design and Technology. The
winner and two runners-up were revealed by Maria to international
media today.
Known for her style on and off the court, fashion is one of Maria's
passions, and she played an integral part in the development of the
course module and the student design judging panel.
LCF Winning Design
The winning design came from British student Georgie Davies, 20, a
second year student studying for a BA in Fashion Design and
Development.
Georgie wanted to find a way to alert a person when their mobile
phone rings in a noisy bar, club or venue. She created a cocktail
dress made up of interactive scales, inspired by butterfly wings.
When the phone rings, the dress subtly lights up, alerting you to the
call.
"I'm thrilled to be involved in such an innovative project that
encourages creativity and pushes the boundaries of fashion," said
Maria Sharapova. "Georgie's winning design presented a completely
different look at how fashion interacts with technology. Everyone has
shown such creative flair and I am really impressed with all the
designs. My partnership with Sony Ericsson has given me the
opportunity to be involved in so many fantastic projects and has
enabled me to explore one of my passions - style."
Sony Ericsson and Design
Over the past year Sony Ericsson has worked closely with Maria on
various projects. The successful Maria Sharapova Design Collection
was launched in 2008 - a range of mobile phone accessories, to
compliment any woman's outfit. The Sony Ericsson and London College
of Fashion collaboration was created to encourage students to look
in-depth at how technology and fashion can compliment and influence
each other to create on-trend and forward-thinking designs.
"We have a fantastic international design team at Sony Ericsson who
develop cutting edge technology designs by keeping ahead of style
trends and working closely with leading institutions like the London
College of Fashion," said Aldo Liguori, Corporate VP and head of
global communications and PR from Sony Ericsson. "By investing in
fashion, it enables us to gain insight from future fashion stars as
well as providing the students with a chance to get noticed on the
world stage with our global brand ambassador Maria Sharapova, whose
fashion knowledge has been integral to this project."
London College of Fashion
Colin Renfrew, Dean of the School of Fashion Design and Technology,
said: "The Sony Ericsson collaboration is a fantastic example of how
London College of Fashion strives to form meaningful and innovative
industry partnerships. The open and creative brief allowed our
students free reign to develop design ideas that are forward
thinking.
Having Maria involved in this project has really helped the students
identify with Sony Ericsson and has enabled the winning design to be
showcased worldwide - really highlighting the breadth of talent at
London College of Fashion."
Winner, Georgie said: "Winning the Sony Ericsson competition has been
wonderful; it's given me real confidence in my work. It was
fascinating to work conceptuality with the idea of technology and how
to incorporate it into fashion."
Georgie received two tickets to London Fashion Week, two tickets to
the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club and entry to the
Sony Ericsson WTA Pre-Wimbledon Party, in association with Ralph
Lauren. The two runners-up, Lova Moller from Sweden and Cecilia Ku
from Hong Kong, also had their designs showcased with Maria and
received a Sony Ericsson T707 mobile phone, two tickets to London
Fashion Weekend and Liberty of London accessories.
Lova's design took the concept of online 'status' updates and took it
one step further by concealing cameras in a garment that continuously
record the wearer's surroundings and wirelessly transmit video
updates to the mobile phone, which can be uploaded from a handset to
the internet. Cecilia designed a metal bag that is a power source to
charge items, such as a mobile phone, when on the move. Sony Ericsson
phone designs and Cecilia's love of clean lines interact well to
create a stylish accessory.
Liberty
Liberty, situated on world-renowned Carnaby Street and in the heart
of shopping paradise Oxford Circus, has always been synonymous with
distinctive chic and eclectic but cool style statements - a perfect
venue for Maria Sharapova and Sony Ericsson.
"We were delighted to host Maria and the London College of Fashion
designers," said Maxine Groucutt, Head of Visual Identity at Liberty.
"Sony Ericsson approached us with a concept that supports the
burgeoning British fashion industry - we were very excited to be
involved!"
Note to Editors:
About Maria Sharapova and Sony Ericsson
Maria Sharapova has been Sony Ericsson's Global Brand Ambassador
since October 2007. As a leading personality not just on the tennis
court, but also in the world of style and fashion, Maria Sharapova
brings a wealth of fashion knowledge and glamour, by working closely
with Sony Ericsson to create and work on exciting and aspirational
fashion projects.
Sony Ericsson is a top, global industry player with sales of around
97 million phones in 2008. Diversity is one of the core strengths of
the company, with operations in over 80 countries including
manufacturing in China and R&D sites in China, Europe, India, Japan
and North America. Sony Ericsson was established as a 50:50 joint
venture by Sony and Ericsson in October 2001, with global corporate
functions located in London. For more information about Sony
Ericsson please visit www.sonyericsson.com.
© Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, 2009.
About London College of Fashion
London College of Fashion has an international reputation as a
leading provider of fashion education research and consultancy. The
unique portfolio of specialist courses range in level from Foundation
to Postgraduate. The subject range corresponds to the process of the
creation, production and promotion of fashion and the management and
marketing of those activities. Many of the College's courses are
unique to the UK and offer students an experience unmatched by even a
handful of specialist colleges worldwide.
Alumni include Jimmy Choo (shoe designer), Harold Tillman (Chairman
of British Fashion Council), Joseph Azagury (shoe designer), Jacques
Azagury (fashion designer), Linda Bennett (LK Bennett), Angela
Buttolph (journalist and TV presenter), Linda Cierach (fashion
designer), Patrick Cox (shoe designer), Sarah Harris (journalist),
Emma Hope (shoe designer), Ashley Isham (fashion designer) and Andrew
Ramroop (tailor).
London College of Fashion was established in 1906 and currently has
more than 4,000 students, one third of whom come from overseas.
About Liberty
Liberty, one of London's best loved and completely unique retail
emporiums, embarked on a dramatic 'Retail Renaissance' with a sharp
new look and a global initiative debuting in spring 2009. The
original luxury concept store had its own fashion makeover with a
dynamic, more expansive offering along with an innovative and curated
new layout at the centre of the store's transformation. From February
2009, Liberty staked its claim as the preferred destination for avant
garde fashion and design in London.
At the heart of these transformations are the best designer products
in the world, brought together within the new space to create an
irresistible retail destination. Nowhere else in the world is such a
sharply edited range of designer pieces on offer.
FOR MEDIA INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Sony Ericsson Global Communications & PR
Lisa Canning: +44 208 762 6064
General Press: +44 208 762 5858
E-mail: press.global@SonyEricsson.com
Product images: www.sonyericsson.com/press
The full press release can be downloaded from the following link:
hugin.info/133603/R/1323522/310564.pdf
This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is
solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
