1. 1
FASHION SHOW
12th
March 2015
Cutting Edge Fashion
TRADITION & STYLE
AUTHENTIC
RBS £1000 1st prize. “RBS is proud to
be associated with the Greyfriars Tartan
Design Competition...”
Sponsor
Grassmarket Community Project, a new
architectural award winning events venue
in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town
Hosted By
Natalie Kerr,• RBS
Colin Gilchrist,• Fashion Blogger
Mal Burkinshaw,• ECA Fashion Editor
Judges
David
McLellan

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The Story - Designed in 2011 by a member of Grassmarket
Community Project, this enterprise was the result of a life
transformed and a remarkable event
The Fabric – A story of transformation depicted in a colourful,
unique and engaging way
Design Competition - All you need to know
The Designers - Meet the talent behind tonight’s event
Diana Conac, Romania - Glamorous Tartan
Emiah Elliott, Wales - Steel Blossoms
Fiona Muirhead-Kerr, Scotland - Military Style 1&2, Flower of Greyfriar
Hanin Nabilla Nurrahmani, Indonesia - Through Time
Jessica-Jane Wearing, Scotland - Patron Tartan
Kerri Plumtree, England - Lifting the Veil
Kimberly Irvine, Scotland - Tartan Army
Lauren Wakelam, England - Structured Heritage
Lorraine Tranter, England - Wedding dresses for those on a budget
Senial Jaishani, England - Scottish Androgyny
Shruti Grover, India - Inno-Tartan-Vative
Siobhan Mackenzie, Scotland - Greyfriars Romance
Zoe MacQueen, Scotland
The Judges - The decision makers
Natalie Kerr - RBS Head of Business Banking Marketing
Colin Gilchrist - Fashion designer, blogger and creative marketing
director
Mal Burkinshaw - Fashion Programme Director at the University of
Edinburgh’s School of Design
Acknowledgements – Who made this happen
Programme

4. The story
Grassmarket Community Project is a social enterprise born from a century old
partnershipbetweenGreyfriarsKirkandtheGrassmarketMissioninEdinburgh.
It was formed as a stand-alone charity in 2010 by the two partners, to take
forwardtheworktheyhadestablished.Transformedfromahumblesoupkitchen
into a vibrant and inclusive community hub we reach out to disadvantaged and
vulnerable people by providing a nurturing, safe place where they can attend
workshops, meet others and build up their skills and confidence. Grassmarket
Community Project provides shelter and structure for those who need it. It is a
sanctuary, with many regular members telling us that it “feels like home”. The
innovative approach taken to creating a community and providing support to
members, many of whom are amongst the most vulnerable in Edinburgh, is
evidenced through the mentoring, social enterprise, training and educational
opportunities provided within this nurturing environment. The project develops
skills which enable participants to transition and reach their full potential, often
moving away from cycles of failure.
In 2011 a talented member of our weaving group took inspiration from the
famous local story of Greyfriars Bobby and designed Greyfriars Tartan. In
2014 Grassmarket Community Project started a tartan textiles group where
an in-house tailor equips members with the skills required to create a range
of beautiful handmade products. While making the products, members are
undergoing a comprehensive textiles training programme and working towards
becoming more employable, as well as gaining valuable life skills such as
improved communication and team work.
For Grassmarket Community Project, social enterprise is core to our
sustainability as an organisation. Although our roots are in working with
people who were traditionally homeless, we have realised that community has
a wider definition and increasingly work with people who experience mental
or physical health issues, or anyone who faces vulnerability and transition,
whatever that may look like.

5. 5
Our Fabric
The tartan colours represent:
Blue:• Scotland’s Saltire flag
Green:• Greyfriars monks’ herb
gardens – resurrected by the
Grassmarket Community Project
10 years ago
Brown:• Greyfriars monks’ tunics
Purple• : Ecclesiastical celebrations
and royal connections
Terracotta:• Lady Yester was
connected to Greyfriars Kirk
and her birth village of Yester in
East Lothian is celebrated for its
terracotta roofs, which are rare in
the UK
Gold:• Inspired by the William
Blake poem ‘Jerusalem’: “I give
you the end of a golden string;
Only wind it into a ball, It will lead
you in at Heaven’s gate, Built in
Jerusalem’s wall…”

6. The competition
The Greyfriars Fashion and Design Competition opened for entrants in
November 2014. It was billed as a freestyle design competition open to
professional and young fashion designers, tailors and stylists, fashion
design companies and other businesses in relevant industries worldwide.
It was promoted over a range of online platforms targeting these specific
audiences.
The idea behind the competition was to encourage designers from all over
the world to re-discover, re-imagine and re-connect with tartan. It provides
a fusion of contemporary and traditional ‘Scottish-ness’ within the fashion
context.
The competition and fashion show has been made possible as a result of
funding received from the Enterprise Ready Fund (Scottish Government) to launch
the Scottish manufacturing industry and social enterprise products onto an
international sales platform. This fashion show is our first major step towards
working with fashion designers from all over the world; expanding Scottish
social enterprise into global export markets.

7. 7
Designers
Piece Title: Glamorous Tartan
@DeanaIvanoiu
Diana describes herself as being addicted to
fashion and all its creations. She fell in love with
fashion in high school, even though she believes
that the fashion industry in Romania is not as
developed as it could be. She achieved her
Master’s degree in Fashion Design from The West
University of Timisoara. Her greatest achievement
since then is the special award she received in
Japan for a fashion project competition, which
was awarded by the French designer Pierre
Cardin and Japanese designer Hanae Mori. She
has also participated in various fashion events in
Romania such as Bucharest Fashion Week, Iasi
Fashion Week and Timisoara Fashion week where
she launched her fashion collections.
Diana was inspired by the quality and positive
colours of tartan print as well as current fashion
trends. She entered this competition as she lives
and expresses herself through fashion every day
and believes that she has the inspiration and
energy to bring out the best in herself and create
an original fashion concept.
Diana’s collection includes two silk fluid dresses.
She has used silk with the tartan in order to
create a contrast of texture; thus becoming two
creations which are designed for a woman with
strong personality and style who wants to reinvent
herself. Both silk and tartan are two fine, quality
fabrics and are natural, precious materials.
Together, Diana claims they create an artistic,
sensual and feminine composition. The silk is
rendered in warm pastel tones that let the tartan
express and dominate the fashion composition.
The tartan top of the dress is designed in classical
modulated lines with a retro touch.
Piece Title: Steel Blossoms
@EmiahElliott
Emiah is in her second year studying Fashion
Apparel Design and Construction at the University
of Wales, Trinity Saint David. Emiah describes
herself as a creative person after studying art,
graphic design and textiles in school, and she
would like to work in a challenging and creative
environment where she can use her artistic skills.
She loves fashion design as it provides her with
an opportunity to transform the human form into a
work of art.
She decided to enter the Greyfriars Tartan Design
Competition due to the brief, which she found
to be extremely interesting. The free-style brief
enabled her to fully develop her ideas and allow
the creative process to run. This was her first
opportunity to create a garment using only tartan
and she was interested to see how she could
challenge herself using a limited amount of one
material while still creating an interesting garment.
She also saw it as a good opportunity to step
on the ladder of her fashion career. Alexander
McQueen is one of her favourite designers,
and he used a considerable amount of tartan
in his designs, so she believes this was a good
opportunity to see what designs she could create
herself. She sees this as a chance to raise her
profile and for her work to be showcased on an
international level. The inspiration for her design
came from roses and thorns. She takes her
inspiration from the environment, with its details,
patterns and colour palettes. The natural world is
the main source of inspiration in her work.
Emiah’s design is a floor length gown. She has
tried to create a modern, fresh look to the garment
while using a traditional fabric. The shape of
the garment hugs the body and flares out at the
bottom, displaying the colours and pattern of
the Greyfriars Tartan. The roses on the garment
are made from the Greyfriars Tartan, and the
thorns are represented by metal studs. She
wanted to show a contrast between the romantic
side and the more sinister, edgy side in her
design, reflecting the delicate rose and the more
dangerous thorn.
Piece Title: Military Style 1 & 2, Flower of Greyfriar
@f_muirhead
Fiona graduated from Gray’s School of Art with a
first class honours degree in Fine Art (Printmaking)
in 2002. Then, in 2009, she completed a PGCE in
Art and Design. She currently works part-time as
an art teacher at Aboyne Academy and has also
recently set up her own business “Ms Muirhead
Millinery”. She specialises in vintage inspired
fascinators and headpieces and has a love and
passion for creativity and self-expression through
millinery. She was a finalist in Scotland’s first
wearable art competition in Dundee (October
2014).
Fiona’s inspiration comes from Scottish military
millinery. Her design aim was to celebrate tartan
in a contemporary and elegant way with a theme
of historical millinery and Scottish culture. Fiona
entered this competition to have the opportunity to
be part of an exciting project, promote new talent,
create something original and exciting, and be a
part of a new community of creative talent.
Her first piece, Military Style 1, has an elegant,
elongated and slightly pointed oval-shaped base
to sit proudly on the head. The base is made from
wired buckram which is covered with Greyfriars
Tartan. The headpiece is adorned with folds
of Greyfriars Tartan which is frayed to create
dramatic height and texture. Black folded velvet
has also been included to add contrast and depth
to highlight the Greyfriars Tartan.
Fiona’s second piece, Flower of Greyfriar, is a
large oversized corsage using Greyfriars Tartan
to create the folded petals which are frayed at the
edges to create a feathered texture. The oversized
corsage is mounted on a wired buckram angular
base which is covered in black velvet to highlight
the tartan.
Fiona’s third design, Military Style 2, is an elegant,
oval shaped base made from a wired buckram
and covered in Greyfriars Tartan. It is embellished
with ostrich feather and a complimentary brooch.
Diana Conac
Romania
Emiah Elliott
Wales
Fiona Muirhead-Kerr
SCOTLAND

8. Piece Title: Through Time
@haninnabillan
Hanin, aged just 15, is from Yogyakarta, in
Indonesia, and is a pupil at Senior High School.
Her hobbies are playing piano, drawing, reading,
photography, listening to music and watching
movies. Hanin has never studied fashion design
but taught herself from reading books and
searching the internet. The Greyfriars Design
Competition is her second fashion design
competition after previously entering the St.
Andrew’s Young Designer Awards.
Hanin decided to call her design “Through Time”
as, unlike other traditional patterns and fabrics,
tartan has survived through the Clans Period until
modern times. Previously, tartan fabric was only
used by Scots but now it is used by everyone
all over the world. Hanin entered the Greyfriars
Tartan competition in order to challenge herself
with the tartan theme and she believed it would
be an excellent experience as it is a worldwide
competition.
Hanin’s first design, Countess Black, is about the
toughness of women. It is based on Black Agnes’
story where she refused to leave the castle, even
though the army was surrounding it. The tulle on
the head is also a flower crown and is likened to
Black Agnes’ in one of her pictures. The jacket is
white, with two black openings that can be used
as pockets. The Greyfriars Tartan is included on
both wrists, on the collar and the skirt. The skirt
is asymmetrical with flowing ends and the inside
is black. Her second design, Grey Biby, is based
on Greyfriars Bobby. At the shoulder is white fur.
From the fur hangs the tartan which is tied at the
waistline using a white band. The front side of
the body is covered by a u-lined neck dark grey
tank top. The skirt is also Greyfriars Tartan. Above
the half thigh, the tartan is puffed and below that
it is loose, touching the ground. The designs
represents the idea that tartan can be worn by
everyone, not just Scots.
Piece Title: Patron Tartan
@J-JDesigns
Jessica-Jane is currently studying fashion at
Heriot-Watt University. At 18 years old, she
describes herself as young and innovative and as
someone who tries to look at everything with an
open mind. Jessica-Jane grew up and became
determined and self-disciplined which led to her
knowing what she wanted to do from a young age.
Jessica-Jane always uses organic fashion in some
form within her work. Whether it is in the form
of shapes, prints, moods, colours or a starting/
finishing point, organic fashion will be linked in,
even though sometimes it is not obvious to the
eye.
Jessica-Jane is a country girl at heart, and
this is where she gets her inspiration from. Her
designs for this competition were influenced by
combining classic tailoring with high fashion from
spring/summer 2015. Entering this competition
has allowed her the ability to discover her own
creative capabilities while still understanding the
commercial aspect of the design process and the
use of a tartan.
Her collection involves cropped and layered
panels of tartan and cotton fabrics. The high
waists and swathes of fabrics pieces together in
an almost patchwork fashion to create a twist on
a traditional style, and classic collars and cuffs
are combined with a modern body. Abstracted
and curiously cut hemlines are finished off
with topstitching in a contrasting colour, with a
colour palette extracted from the tartan to pull
the collection together. The collection features
bold cuts and cropped lengths, creating a new
fitted silhouette. This was created through dart
manipulation and featuring panels and shapes
in different directions to create the same fitted
silhouette. The attachments within the designs are
kept to the original theme of classic, similar to the
inspiration of colours from the tartan. Jessica-Jane
chose to use the tartan in an angled way as it
followed suit with the angular shapes used within
the collection, and was originally inspired by a
more graphic and modern take on the leaves,
developed from the green within the tartan. The
theme within the collection was classic originality
with a modern twist, giving designs that were
inspired by the past a present outlook within a
high fashion couture collection.
Piece Title: Lifting the Veil
@Billiemunk13
Kerri is a part time undergraduate studying
fashion at the University of Lincoln. She currently
spends her time volunteering on university open
days, meeting and greeting prospective students
and telling them all about the fashion course. She
is also a regular contributor to MyStudentStyle.
com, writing weekly articles.
Kerri’s two favourite designers, Vivienne
Westwood and Alexander McQueen have both
worked with tartan in fun and exciting ways and
she wanted to set herself a challenge to create
something as beautiful as their work. Showing
her work in a public arena and gaining publicity
and recognition also made her excited about the
competition.
Kerri’s design has been adapted for the Greyfriars
Tartan competition from a collection she designed
which was inspired by metaphysics and noetic
science. The collection was an examination of
consciousness and collective intelligence. She
chose to adapt this collection for the tartan project
due to the heritage and tradition of tartan which
ties into the whole concept of unity, identity and
belonging.
Kerri’s design is a sleeveless dress with a high
structured collar that runs over the shoulder and
down the back. The dress has a panelled front
and fullness added into the skirt, with godets
giving a luxurious drape and plenty of movement,
and is longer at the back than at the front. The
dress is fully lined with an exposed zip at the back
and is accessorised with a tartan flat cap, also
lined and hand finished. The contrasting colours
in this design pick up the accent colours within
the Greyfriars Tartan. Kerri has tried to create a
design for country folk and city dwellers alike. A
dress that can be rocked with a killer pair of heels
or wellies!
Hanin Nabilla Nurrahmani
Indonesia
Jessica-Jane Wearing
SCOTLAND
Kerri Plumtree
engLAND
Designers

9. 9
Piece Title: Tartan Army
@kim_irvine
Kimberly is in her final year studying fashion
technology at Cardonald College in Glasgow.
After she completes her studies her dream is to
attend Heriot-Watt University’s fashion campus.
She spends most of her spare time making
garments for herself, friends and family, which has
also gained her other customers and resulted in
people becoming familiar with her work. Kimberly
is willing to do whatever it takes to make it in the
fashion industry as it has been a dream of hers
since a young age.
Kimberly’s designs were inspired by Alexander
McQueen, as she believes he made tartan look
edgy, taking it far from anything it would have
been traditionally used for. One piece that also
inspired one of her designs is a puffball dress
that she saw on various celebrities, but that
was worn in different ways. Kimberley entered
this competition as she was drawn to the name
‘Greyfriars’; as a child, Greyfriars Bobby was one
of her favourite stories. She was also excited that
the designs would be involving tartan as it is one
of her favourite fabrics. Kimberley enjoys using
tartan to create innovative and ‘out of the box’
designs, instead of using it for more traditional
garments.
Kimberly’s first dress encompasses a puffball
style skirt with two plunging necklines, cup top
halves that continue over the back and attach at
the waist. The top has a black tulle overlay over
the tartan. Under the skirt are layers of black tulle
which hang slightly longer than the tartan so they
can be seen.
The second dress has the same top half as the
first, but the fitted, panelled skirt has an empire
line with two front splits.
Piece Title: Structured Heritage
Lauren is an undergraduate student in the final
year of her Honours degree in fashion studies at
the University of Derby. While at university, she
has gained many skills including pattern cutting,
manufacturing, CAD design, illustration and print.
She has recently worked two internships with
George at ASDA and New Look. Whilst working
for these companies she gained various skills as
well as having the opportunity of working within
the fashion industry and exploring how both
companies work. Fashion is her main interest
as she feels that it continuously develops and,
for Lauren, it demonstrates the statement of
empowerment that fashion has on the world.
Lauren was inspired by Scottish heritage and
culture. She expanded her research into these
two areas and found great inspiration from the
use of tartan, architectural heritage and transport
from the 20th century. These have influenced
her designs, leading to these elements being
translated into her designs in order to focus upon
attention to detail.
Lauren entered this competition as she enjoys
using new materials and being able to produce
unique, interesting garment designs - with the
Greyfriars Tartan as the main design element - has
become a great interest of hers.
Lauren’s collection consists of four autumn/
winter outfits. Each outfit includes a wide variety
of detail which has been inspired by the Scottish
culture and traditions. The first outfit consists
of a sleeveless top, including panelling and
layering of material, and straight leg trousers with
pocket detail. The second outfit will include a
panelled shirt with a fitted pencil skirt. The third
outfit consists of a sleeveless dress, including
panelling, and the fourth outfit includes an off-
the-shoulder dress with centre panelling plus an
oversized coat which could be worn with either
outfit. Panelling and layering of materials are the
main two elements within this collection, along
with the use of Greyfriars Tartan. The colour
palette is linked with the colours within the tartan
material.
Piece Title: Wedding dresses for those on a budget
After leaving school at 16, Lorraine worked in a
factory producing uniforms for the military. After
returning to education, she achieved her Master’s
Degree in Art and Design. She then set up her
own business, where she carries out restoration
work on military uniforms, clothing dating from the
Victorian period, and modern-day repairs, while
also making wedding dresses. Her mother taught
her how to knit and sew as a child and Lorraine
has been making and designing clothes for
herself ever since.
Lorraine found inspiration for her designs while
watching a programme on Queen Victoria, whose
dresses were often made using tartan. Her
collection is for people who are having to cut back
on costs, but still want something special for their
big day. Lorraine entered this competition as she
has previously used woollen tartan and found it to
be a difficult material to work with. The tartan has
given her inspiration to make complicated designs
that need all of her concentration so that the
pattern matches without wasting material.
Wedding dress 1 has a long, plain white
underdress which is fitted at the waist. The tartan
train is removable and has a large bow and wide
strap over the shoulder that wraps across the
chest and under the arm. The bow is sewn to the
train and fitted in place with press-studs to stop it
sliding out of place.
Wedding dress 2 has a fitted, boned tartan
bodice and a three quarter wide overskirt that
leaves a third of the front open, showing a white,
lightweight underdress. The design has a wide,
tartan shawl which sits just over the shoulder and
is gathered with three pieces of Scottish Heather.
Wedding dress 3 is a simple 1950s style with a
tartan waist coat, trimmings around the sleeves,
and inserts of tartan pleats. A petticoat of net
under the skirt is a matching colour taken from the
Greyfriars Tartan to help the skirt stand out.
Kimberly Irvine
SCOTLAND
Lauren Wakelam
ENGland
Lorraine Tranter
ENGLAnd

10. Piece Title: Scottish Androgyny
@SenialJaisani
Senial is currently studying a Masters in Fashion
Design at the University of Southampton and
enjoys studying art and design. Originally
from India, Senial loves Indian craft and tries
to incorporate her learning from previous
experiences into all of her designs.
After recently moving to the UK, Senial visited
Scotland and researched the tweeds and
tartans found here. Senial’s research project
for the university is also tartan and she plans
on incorporating the Greyfriars Tartan into this
project.
Senial was inspired by the new romanticism
movement that started in the early 1980s. During
this movement, both sexes often dressed in
counter-sexual or androgynous clothing. The
androgynous influence from the movement
is incorporated in Senial’s design, as well as
taking the kilt from the Scottish influence as one
of the inspirations for her design. The pleated
techniques of the kilt create a romanticised feel
and are used to manipulate the different sections
of the colour blocks in the Greyfriars Tartan. She
describes her designs as simple and sleek.
Piece Title: Inno-Tartan-Vative
@GroverShruti
Shruti is an undergraduate in her final year
studying fashion design at the National Institute
of Fashion Technology in India. Shruti loves to
experiment with new fabrics and that is what
her graduation collection is going to be about.
She is extremely passionate about her work and
wants to get into the fashion industry as soon as
possible. She loves experimenting and exploring
with new fabrics and dyeing techniques, surface
developments or treatments on fabrics.
Shruti was inspired by the conventionality of the
fabric, which made her want to design non-
conventional pieces with it. She entered the
competition because of the Greyfriars Tartan
itself as she believes that tartan is a legacy. She
describes it as an intriguing fabric with so much
history attached to it, and she also thought it
would be a fun project to work on. Shruti enjoyed
learning about the fabric and experimenting with
it as she has never had the chance to do that with
tartan before; this is one of the things that excited
her most about the competition. She describes
tartan as an almost alien like concept to an Indian
girl like her, who hardly gets to see it in stores
in India and has never worn it. When she heard
about the Greyfriars Design Competition and
researched more about the tartan, she thought it
would be a great opportunity to experiment and
come up with something new, while working with
an authentic tartan from Scotland.
Shruti has experimented with the tartan by
reflecting it under organza and cut-out leather,
using it with a completely green fashion garment,
and through creating romanticism by placing
hand printed vintage rose prints on the tartan.
In one garment she has tried to put the tartan in
under a ‘shadow’ to create a transparency effect
under organza, in a totally structured jumpsuit. In
another look, she has tried to incorporate softness
and femininity by painting abstract roses on the
tartan. The whole look consists of an LBD with
hand painted roses, paired with a loose jacket
to suggest a romantic peek-a-boo of tartan and
roses. She has tried to be innovative through
combining machine work and hand work to create
something new out of the tartan, which to her is
what the competition was all about.
Piece Title: Greyfriars Romance
@macsiobhan
Siobhan is a First Class BA Honours Fashion
Design and Production graduate. Born and
raised in the Highlands of Scotland, she used
her Highland roots and her clan, Mackenzie,
as the inspiration for her Graduate Collection
where she designed and manufactured five full
dress contemporary kilt outfits and one woman’s
statement tartan gown. This led her to winning the
‘Lectra Kaledo Style’ award. She then undertook
a six month internship at Glenisla Kilts where
she learnt the art of bespoke kilt making. After
graduating, she started her own business in
bespoke and contemporary kilts. Her current
collection has been showcased at The Royal
Highland Show 2014 and will also feature in the
next Dressed to Kilt fashion show in New York.
Siobhan’s design combines the Greyfriars Tartan
with unconventional romantic fabrics such as
lace and velvet. For the ladies’ designs, she
has opted for fitted, feminine and elegant styles
whilst incorporating her trademark tailoring and
contrast kilt elements into the designs. For the
gent’s designs, she has again used her trademark
contrast pleat elements and replicated the
Scottish saltire with tartan on the backs of the kilt
pleats.
Her inspiration began with analysing the Greyfriars
Tartan and researching how she could create a
distinctive collection of designs incorporating
it. She began fabric investigations and was
inspired by the use of combining textures with
the tartan, which led her to incorporate lace and
velvet into the designs. Siobhan is inspired by
pushing the boundaries and using lace within the
male designs which creates an unconventional
approach. As Siobhan’s company specialises
in contemporary kilts, her aim and passion is to
use tartan in non-conventional ways and move
it forward into the 21st century. Entering this
competition meant she would have a platform
to show off her designs and the concept behind
her brand; which is her enthusiasm for keeping
Scottish heritage alive and progressing within the
fashion world.
Senial Jaishani
england
Shruti Grover
india
Siobhan Mackenzie
scotland
Designers

11. 11
@MacQueenZoe
Zoe is currently studying a six month course in
fashion design and pattern construction at the
Jacqui Burke Fashion School in Dunbar. Her
interest in fashion, design and sewing began
when she studied fabric and fashion at grammar
school. After leaving school she purchased her
own sewing machine and made clothes for herself
and her two children.
Zoe’s inspiration came from Mary Queen of Scots
and the dresses of the time. As Mary Queen of
Scots is one of Scotland’s most famous royals,
and someone who spent a great deal of time
at Edinburgh Castle, Zoe looked at a variety
of gowns from that time period. She wanted to
modernise the style of dress found in Stewart/
Tudor times while keeping elements of the gowns
that inspired her design. She also wanted to
use the tartan in a new and creative way that
enhanced both the dress and the tartan, and
which used the tartan to its full potential. Having
looked into the Greyfriars Tartan and why it was
created, Zoe was excited about being able to use
fashion as a way to help others. She also wanted
to challenge herself to do something new and
creative, while testing her skills and finding out
what other people think of her designs.
Zoe’s design is a dress which comes to just above
the knee. The bottom of the dress is a full circle
skirt with a tulle underskirt. The skirt is primarily
tartan with a godet at the front in blue silk which
matches the blue colour in the tartan. The skirt
has a red lace trim around the bottom, along the
edges of the godet, and along the bottom of the
top half of the dress. The top of the dress is a
fitted corset, made of tartan and boned with a
satin lining. Attached to the corset is a blue silk
piece which fills in from the bust to the shoulders,
with a slight plunge in the neckline to match the
shape of the corset. This is made from the same
material as the godet in the skirt. The back of the
dress is laced together with red and green ribbon
to match the colours of the tartan. The dress has
tartan sleeves with an asymmetric red lace cuff.
Zoe MacQueen
SCOTLAND

12. Royal Bank of Scotland: Judge and 1st Prize sponsor
Natalie Kerr, RBS Head of Business Banking Marketing
Natalie has over 15 years brand and marketing experience ranging
from new product launches and brand strategy to practical channel
management. Since 2007 she has worked within small business marketing
driving the small business and entrepreneurial agenda for Royal Bank of
Scotland and NatWest.
A graduate of Strathclyde University, specialising in Small Business
Marketing and Entrepreneurship, Natalie is an evangelist of the life blood
role small businesses play as the backbone of the UK economy, and the
supporting role that larger organisations and banks must play.
As part of her leadership commitments, Natalie formally mentors small
business owners who are part of the Scottish EDGE Fund, an RBS-
founded and supported initiative, as part of the Scottish Government
#ScotlandCanDo mission statement, which encourages small business
growth. She also works closely with the RBS early stage and growing
venture partner, Entrepreneurial Spark, as well as providing skills-based
volunteering to local small businesses on an adhoc basis.
Natalie says: “I am a big supporter of locally-based community projects
like the Grassmarket Community Project and their Greyfriars Tartan
enterprise that help foster and encourage new skills and confidence. I
firmly believe that new business and ventures that come from grass roots
levels like this have the opportunity to make the biggest difference to
the areas we live and grow up in. It can be contagious and inspire future
entrepreneurs and ideas for generations to come.”
Natalie is looking forward to her tartan design judging role, saying: “I
am interested in the spark that has inspired the designers, what has
motivated them, and what they have drawn on to develop their designs.
Tartan production is a traditional industry steeped in history and I will
be interested in their thought processes to how a new approach can be
taken to this market.”
judges

13. 13
Colin Gilchrist,
Fashion designer, blogger and creative marketing director
A talented fashion designer and blogger, Colin Gilchrist is a well-known name on
the Scottish fashion scene. A former buyer working with Valentino, Paul Smith and
Calvin Klein, Colin started his fashion career selling his own designs on a shared stall
in Camden Market in the 1980s. Later he went on to choose stock for the Scottish
Burberry stores.
Colin then became an expert in digital marketing, specialising in creating brands and
setting up spin-out companies in software and film production. His experience took
him to Las Vegas where he spent time with fashion website Zappos.com, and was
asked to become the face of Spencer Clothing.
In 2009, Colin set up fashion blog Social Tailor which by the following year had
developed into a full-blown marketing agency. In 2013, Colin set up the “Scottish
Fashion Bloggers” community @ScotFashionBlog plus a facebook page and website
to better support the fashion industry and its bloggers in Scotland.
Colin says: “I am delighted to be part of the Greyfriars Tartan Fashion Show; I will forever
support the Scottish fashion industry and those passionate about making Scotland an
inspiring place to live, work and play. The Grassmarket Community Project is a great
example of this ethos.”
Mal Burkinshaw,
Fashion Programme Director at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Design
In addition to his role as Programme Director for Fashion at Edinburgh College of Art,
Mal Burkinshaw is an External Examiner at the London College of Fashion and the
National College of Art and Design in Dublin.
Himself an Edinburgh College of Art graduate (1993-1997), Mal gained a first class
degree in fashion womenswear before studying at MA level at The Royal College of Art.
After graduation, Mal worked in Italy as designer for United Colours of Benetton, and
then as a freelance designer.
Mal is currently exploring and challenging the relationship between fashion design
and body image. Recognising the unhealthy representations of beauty, size and youth
endorsed by the fashion industry, he is developing innovative methods of design and
research celebrating the end context of design as part of the research and design
process.
Mal has also developed collaborations with the Scottish National Galleries and created
the Edinburgh College of Art and All Walks Beyond the Catwalk Diversity Network,
launched in 2011 by fashion expert Caryn Franklin. This project sees Edinburgh College
of Art lead a new wave of thinking about diversity of body and beauty within fashion
education, addressing customer self-esteem and more ‘emotionally considerate’
design methods.

14. Acknowledgements
Greyfriars Tartan would like to thank all those who have
given their time. Without their enthusiasm, support, skills
and knowledge tonight would not have been possible.
Thanks to
The Designers for submitting their designs, many of them travelling from far
and wide to be at the event
Katerina Faulds, Nina Falk and the Grassmarket Community Project staff
Our members in the Greyfriars Tartan textile team: Mikey, Carolanne, Agnes,
Jenny, Caroline, Anne- Marie, Shazia, Evelyn, Billy and Sherin – who this is
ultimately all about
The stunning models, their hard working dressers and make-up artists without
whom the designs would not be shown so perfectly www.emilymillarmakeup.com
Catherine Jones, Steven Lugiai and the hospitality team
Greyfriars Kirk and the GCP Board for their guidance and support throughout
the journey
Local retailers who have freely donated prizes for the Raffle; Out of Hand,
Helios Fountain, Mr Wood’s Fossils, Mammas, The Beehive Inn, Hawico, Graze,
Purple Glamour, Fabhatrix, Scotch Whisky Experience, MYAdventure and Apex
Hotels
Barr and Tunnocks for their kind donation of products towards the
refreshments
The wonderful Fiona, Samantha and Stacey at Nicheworks PR Ltd for all their
hard work and public relations support in promoting this event and marketing
Greyfriars Tartan
Steve Turner from Scottish Development International for his enormous
support, encouragement and advice
Alan Simpson for event photography, alansimpson1@yahoo.co.uk
Hello Jo for the programme design, www.hello-jo.co.uk
Destiny Productions for all lighting and sound
Steven Herd for DJ-ing
Pipe Major Iain Grant
Roslynn Learmont for assisting with the production of canapés
Raffle prizes donated by:
Donation in kind:

15. 15

16. +44 (0)131 225 3626
www.grassmarkettartans.co.uk
Twitter: @GreyfriarTartan
FB: Greyfriars Tartan
katerina@grassmarket.org
nina@grassmarket.org
Grassmarket Community Project
86 Candlemaker Row
Edinburgh EH1 2QA
General AddressSales, Marketing & Licensing
Tailoring & Commissions
Grassmarket Community Project is a registered company in Scotland limited by guarantee – No 368576 Reg Charity No: SC041674