Birmingham born fashion designer Alexandria Chantiluke was raised in a proud British-Caribbean home and spent much of her childhood exploring the creative arts. In 2015, she was selected as a finalist in the Savile Row Training Academy: National Design and Tailoring Awards. Last year she won the annual Hawes and Curtis shirt design competition and her design will be part of the new autumn/winter 2017 collection. She graduated in July 2016 with a BA Honours in Fashion Design from Nottingham Trent University. Alongside this, Alexandria has spent a year working in the fashion industry with bespoke tailors Timothy Everest and Richard James on Savile Row in London. She speaks of this time as ‘an amazing experience and one of my greatest achievements to date.’ The motivation for her work often stems from themes of black culture as she enjoys studying: black British history, the art of tailoring, black masculinity, poetry, postmodernism and hip hop culture. She often uses her designs to celebrate the beauty that is found in black culture both past and present. Her final graduate collection ‘Swamp 81’ highlighted the war that black-British people are still fighting regarding rights to equal treatment. Alexandria is now building her own brand and collaborating with local Birmingham artists on a number of events and exhibitions. ​