A fashion student from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) whose work is inspired by her taxi driver father has claimed bronze in the prestigious Best of Graduate Fashion Week award for 2026.
Fashion Design BA(Hons) graduate Nawal Ali, whose menswear collection also won her the Talent of Tomorrow campaign photoshoot as well as the DMU Catwalk Award at Graduate Fashion Week (GFW), explained how her designs explore themes of work, identity, racism, family and masculinity and is a personal tribute, not only to her father, but also to the lives of immigrant taxi drivers.
DMU student Nawal Ali at GFW with models wearing clothes from her winning menswear collection.
Nawal said: “My collection was based on my father. He’s a taxi driver and it’s basically an ode, a love letter, to all the immigrant taxi drivers.
“It aims to take you through their lives, because often you get into a cab and you don’t really stop to speak to the driver. It explores their experiences before coming to the UK, how they’ve coped with the transition, and the hardships and racism they often face, with it being such an open, front-facing job.
“My dad found this, especially after 9/11, when the racism got really bad.”
Nawal said cab driving gave her father a sense of independence after coming to the UK.
She said: “When we came to the UK we had this idea of autonomy, doing things yourself. Cab driving fitted that. You have your own hours and you’re your own boss, and my dad enjoyed that.
“He learnt most of his English in the cab, talking to his passengers, and he wrote this collection of notes of what he’d learnt from them.”
Those notes became part of the creative foundation for Nawal's collection, alongside her own illustrations of flowers.
She said: “My Father is also a really gentle and delicate man. He loves flowers. So I took all these notes of his, and the florals I illustrated myself, and started to sketch this idea of gentle masculinity.”
Nawal’s bronze award was part of a strong showing for DMU fashion students at GFW26 in London last week, with students from Fashion Design BA (Hons) and Fashion Communication and Styling BA (Hons) recognised across catwalk, styling, publication, marketing and showcase categories.
Fashion Communication and Styling BA (Hons) student Jessica McDonnell was recognised in GFW’s Talent of Tomorrow campaign, winning for photoshoot styling and creative direction.
Fellow Fashion Communication and Styling BA (Hons) student Reyah Shaikh won the Culture and Heritage Award in a non-design category and was also recognised in the Terry Mansfield Fashion Publication Award and the GFW26 Project Pitch Fashion Marketing Award.
In Fashion Design BA (Hons) student Sudipthi Saravanan was runner-up in the DMU Catwalk Award, while Alexandra Easton took second place in the F&F Design Competition. As part of her achievement, Alexandra will receive an industry introduction to a menswear supplier and a four-week placement with F&F, Tesco’s fashion brand.
Image by Sudipthi Saravanan
DMU students were also selected for major Graduate Fashion Week showcases. Amber Haynes, Alexandra Easton and Taelor-Mae McNally, all Fashion Design BA (Hons), were chosen for the GFW Menswear Catwalk Showcase, which featured just 20 students from universities across the country.
Fourteen Fashion Communication and Styling BA (Hons) students had their work selected for the Magazine and Publication Showcase print display. Those recognised: Anna Chi, Christine Song, Elise Chaplin, Emily Whitaker, Hannah Galang, Jessica McDonnell, Keisha Simons, Leya Richmond, Libby Matthews, Millie Jane Brown, Reyah Shaikh, Rhiannan Langton, Soriyah Gregory and Alyssa Turner.
Della Swain, an Associate Professor in DMU’s school of Fashion and Textiles, said: from DMU’s globally recognised School of Fashion and Textiles, said: “As ever, our strong showing at GFW reveals the strength and depth of talent among the students and the staff here at DMU. But the individual stories behind the work also show how our students are impressively thoughtful and engaged in the modern world.”
Posted on Monday 29 June 2026