Manchester Met graduate wins Gold for West African market women designs
Manchester Metropolitan University student Sarah Omoyeni Ajayi took the top Gold Award at Graduate Fashion Week 2025 for her collection inspired by the market women of West Africa.
Ajayi said: “For my designs, I took inspiration from the women in West Africa, especially the market women.
“Coming from a family that has a lot of market women, I really wanted to honour them.
“Many people don’t see them as the fashion icons they are."
Ajayi called her collection ‘Queens of the Market.’
She added: “I also wanted to capture the grace with which they balance goods on their heads.
“Just being able to translate that into clothing was an amazing experience. You can see the theme of this in the designs.
“The inspiration for the silhouette was taken from the Bolga basket from Ghana.”
Several other Manchester Fashion Institute graduates also received awards, including Jasmine Kelly, who was recognised for digital designs, and Lucy Harrington-Rutterford, who won the new business award.
Manchester Met graduates picked up awards associated with ASOS and IDA Sports and were shortlisted for 17 awards overall.
She added: “A valuable skill I gained at Manchester Met is technical know-how. It’s not enough to just come up with ideas, you must deeply research and understand how to bring them to life.
“That’s what transforms a concept into something truly spectacular.”
Ajayi, the first in her family to pursue fashion as a career, completed a degree in microbiology before moving into design.
She said she now wants to gain industry experience and start her own brand.
Professor Liz Barnes, head of Manchester Fashion Institute, said: “I am overjoyed that the hard-work and talent of our graduates from the full breadth of fashion courses offered at Manchester Metropolitan University has been rewarded by an incredibly successful event!
“Congratulations to the winners, everyone who was finalised or shortlisted for an award, and for those who had their collections showcased.”
