Fashion Rocks contract gives Lucy her big break

ROTHERHAM designer Lucy Bennett has won the chance to see her Roc and Doll designs stocked alongside the likes of McCartney and McQueen in contemporary designer store Fashion Rocks.

The opportunity of a lifetime comes after Lucy’s success in Meadowhall Shopping Centre’s In New Designer’s We Trust event, where four up-and-coming Yorkshire designers were given the opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in the industry and sell their collections in the shopping centre.

After pipping her competitors, Kelly-Ann Garforth (Klue by Kelly-Ann), Keeley Hardy (Harpers Womenswear) and Maria Franco (Maria Franco), to the post for the contract, Lucy will be working with Fashion Rocks to launch a spring/summer 2012 collection from her label Roc and Doll as a concession in the Meadowhall branch of the Fashion Rocks store early next year.

Lucy said: “I am so thrilled to have been chosen as the winner—If you had have told me earlier this year that my spring/summer 2012 collection would be selling alongside Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen, I wouldn’t have believed you.

“I launched my label Roc and Doll almost seven years go now and have had great success with it, but to be given a big break like this is priceless.”

Fashion Rocks buying director, Martin Lacey, who judged the competition said: “I have been impressed by the high calibre of talent and creativity shown by each of the designers in this competition.

“We are proud to be supporting talented new designers in Yorkshire, particularly as Meadowhall Shopping Centre is where we opened the nation's first Fashion Rocks store and we’re really looking forward to working with Lucy.”

As part of the initiative the designers were given exclusive access to an experienced panel of mentors to guide them through the competition. These included successful Yorkshire designer James Steward, ex-Apprentice star and entrepreneur Claire Young, Meadowhall’s Fashion and Beauty expert and best-selling author Bethanie Lunn.

Bethanie Lunn said: “I’d like to congratulate all four designers for producing great quality garments with superb insight.

“Meadowhall has provided a superb platform for emerging designers in the region, giving them access to customers and the opportunity to launch their brand on another level—I’ll be watching all four with great interest over the next few years.”