Aleeza Abbas, Alexander Adams and Sergiu-Marian Bechian have been announced as finalists in the Young Designer category, Arlena Paraschivescu is a finalist in the Accessory of the Year category, Chetna Ladwa and Nimra Waseem are finalists in the Make-up he Artist of the Year category and Sara Vakil Allibhai and Melissa Hurlbutt are confirmed as finalists in the Rising Star Award Make-Up Artist category.

Each of the finalists are through to the live Midlands Fashion Awards 2019 which takes place on Friday 11th October.
The Midlands Fashion Awards, is now in its twelfth year and provides the opportunity for independent, emerging and creative talent from across the whole of the Midlands region, including Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and West Midlands to showcase their designs

The event on Friday 11th October will be hosted at the CSBO Centre, and 42 finalists in total are through to the event, which includes fashion and accessory designers, and make-up artists. There is also a fashion photography category which has been extended and will close on Saturday 31st August at midnight.

Aleeza commented: “I am really excited to be a finalist in the Midlands Fashion Awards. I am always looking at ways to elevate my business and showcasing my designs, so to be recognised in this way is incredible.”

Melissa added: “I can’t wait until October as I love being a make-up artist and fingers crossed I win the category.”

The judges to secure the finalists were Jas Kaur, director of post graduate studies in Fashion & Textiles at BCU, Angela Armstrong, course director and senior lecturer in Fashion at Coventry University, Diana Stoencheva, director at the Central School of Make-up and Michelle Beddall, lecturer at the University College Birmingham.

Jenny Eason, the founder and director of the Midlands Fashion Awards said: “We have been championing creative fashion talent from across the region for well over a decade.

“Each year the awards have grown, and this year we had some amazing and creative talent enter the awards and it was a really hard judging process as the standard was so high. I want to wish all our finalists congratulations and also the very best of luck in October.”

In 2019, there will be one winner and runner-up in each category and as well as a trophy and certificate, prizes include expert mentoring from industry professionals, editorial photoshoots and PR and social media promotion. Past winners have also gained work placements and gone on to showcase their designs across the world.

The event in October will include catwalk shows, networking opportunities and exhibitions from the accessory designers and will culminate in the awards ceremony. There are some high-profile fashion judges joining Jenny in 2019, including Lisa Shepherd, multiple award winner in the hairdressing industry, Carry Somers, founder and global operations director at Fashion Revolution and Frances Baron, designer at FG4 London by George Davies.

For the make-up artist category, there is Diana Stoencheva, director at the Central School of Make-up, Rebecca Francis, a professional makeup artist and Michelle Beddall, lecturer at the University College of Birmingham. Matt Wilson, a fashion photographer will also be judging the Fashion photography category.