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UAL Future Fashion Film
Festival 2025

Students running in an open field wearing big dresses.
Students running in an open field wearing big dresses.
Woman and TV Is | 2024 | Nicole jin, Becky Mu, Wasabi | London College of Fashion

Launching 3 - 5 June 2025 at London College of Fashion, the UAL Future Fashion Film Festival 2025 is a cinematic celebration of fashion through the lens of film. Featuring industry judges, special guests, and a showcase of innovative fashion films at East Bank, the UK’s newest cultural quarter at the heart of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The festival will explore the creative impact of fashion on culture and society with UAL’s social purposes at its core. The call for submissions has now closed and the shortlisted films will premiere from 3-5 June 2025. Free entry.

Film Festival Programme 2025, 3 - 5 June 2025

Three days of screenings, workshops, meet ups and networking opportunities, exhibitions, performances, talks, podcast recordings, director interviews with an awards ceremony and prize giving at London College of Fashion, 105 Carpenters Road, London E20 2AR.

Free to attend, book now

3 June 2025, 12-8pm | New Fashion Worlds

The UAL Future Fashion Film Festival 2025 opens with a day of shortlist screenings, parties, film exhibitions, conversations, and networking opportunities that highlight the creative possibilities of the future of fashion film.

Book now

4 June 2025, 12-8pm | Activating Your Future

Day 2 of the UAL Future Fashion Film Festival 2025 explores how fashion film can shape the future; creatively, socially, and politically. Experience shortlist screenings, podcast recordings, workshops, archive tours, director Q&A’s and more.

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5 June 2025, 6-9pm | LCF After Dark: UAL Fashion Film Festival

Screening the of the winners of each category, followed by a drink's reception, prize giving, workshops, exhibitions and entertainment.

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a figure suspended with chains between two walls
Credit: 'Soft Like Steel' 2024, Dir. Shiyi Huang

What is Fashion Film?

Fashion Film is more than just aesthetics. From the cinematic promotion of a designer’s collection, to telling stylish stories; the brief is open. Fashion film can be a direct reflection of contemporary culture, it can mediate complex issues in society and innovate on the front line of technology for moving image. However, most importantly at UAL, we aim to empower creative voices by showing how fashion can affect change; whether it’s exploring environmental sustainability, celebrating diversity, or bringing joy and meaning to people’s lives.
This fashion film festival seeks to showcase works that exemplify UAL’s social purposes which are:

Power cultural experiences.  
Celebrate differences of all kinds.
Regenerate our environment.  
Build more equitable prosperity.

Examples of recent fashion films by alumni of MA Fashion, Film and Digital Production at London College of Fashion, UAL:

'The Enigma' (2024) Dir. Yeva Wu

'Futuri Aprili' (2023) Dir. Enrico Bellenghi

'It All Begins With Hair' (2023) Dir. Haowei Li & Ximan Tan

'The Ultimate Samsara' (2022) Dir. Chenshuo Xu

'Khomanta' (2021) Dir. Fiorella Pomarino Dextre

woman kneeling on the floor with a camera pointing at her
Time.zip (2024), Nicole Jin, Becky Mu, Wasabi

Judges and Awards

Our esteemed panel of judges will select films that embody creativity, innovation, and purpose. Judges include:

Best Fashion Film

Rhea Thierstein
Creative Director and Artist. rheathierstein.com

Katie Metcalfe
Commissioning Director at NOWNESS. nowness.com

Liam Gleeson
Founder and Creative Director at Hidden Agency. hidden-agency.com

Diana Olifirova
Cinematographer and member of illuminatrix. dianaolifirova.com illuminatrixdops.com

Best Fashion Animation

Tom CJ Brown
Artist and Filmmaker. tomcjbrown.com

Jamie Dodds
Digital Commissioner, Entertainment at BBC. bbc.co.uk

Frederik Heyman
Artist. frederikheyman.com

FX GOBY
Director. fxgoby.com

Fiorella Pomarino
Visual Artist, Production Designer. fiorellapomarino.com

Joy Shin
Art Director, burberry.com

Best Fashion Documentary

D.Wiafe
Artist, Educator and Course Leader of BA (Hons) Photography & Creative Industries at The London College of Communication, UAL. arts.ac.uk

Natalie Christian
Senior Editorial Policy Adviser at BBC. bbc.co.uk

Vanessa Whyte  
Cinematographer and Co-Founder of illuminatrix. vanessawhyte.com illuminatrixdops.com

Cal Turner
Commissioning Editor, Sewing Bee at BBC. bbc.co.uk

Best Fashion Performance

Niquelle La Touche
Artist-Educator, Head of Academy Breakin’ Convention at Sadler’s Wells East. academybreakinconvention.com sadlerswells.com

Gavin Humphries
Managing Director at NOWNESS. nowness.com

Ruby Kuraishe
BBC Commissioner, Drag Race at BBC. bbc.co.uk

Rob Jones
Artistic Director at Sadler’s Wells. sadlerswells.com

Liv Lockwood
Choreographer, Director and Movement Director. livlockwood.com

Best Fashion and Digital Innovation

Kerry Murphy
Co-founder, CEO at The Fabricant. thefabricant.com

Matthew Drinkwater
Head of Fashion Innovation Agency at London College of Fashion. fialondon.com

Omar Karim
AI Creative Director, Film Director, Image Maker. omarkarim.party

Sophie Bernard
Art Director at Hidden Agency. hidden-agency.com 

Best Activism in a Fashion Context

Brendan Cormier
Chief Curator at V&A East. vam.ac.uk

Sam Wilkinson
Head of Public Art at UCL East. ucl.ac.uk/ucl-east

Sara Arnold
Founder of Fashion Act Now. fashionactnow.org

Laura Aguilera
Cinematographer. lauraguilera.com

Daisy Leigh-Phippard
Education & Training Officer, BAFTA albert. wearealbert.org

Overall Winner

Professor Andrew Teverson, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Head of London College of Fashion, and Professor of Cultural History and Critical Thinking. arts.ac.uk/london-college-of-fashion

Awards and Prizes

  • Screening of all shortlisted works at London College of Fashion, UAL in our state of the art lecture theatre at East Bank, London’s new cultural quarter.
  • NOWNESS Picks: a curated selection of shortlisted works will be screened on global video channel NOWNESS.
  • Special events and mixers for shortlisted filmmakers.
  • Park Village Studios
  • The opportunity to pitch for producing a film in collaboration with an emerging designer, with creative direction from Hidden Agency’s Hi-Fi and a studio, lighting, and camera package worth £20,000, generously provided by Panavision at Island Studios.
  • Nightly award ceremonies for each shortlist screening.
  • Awards for each category including production and equipment.
  • Film and cinema memberships.
  • Award for best fashion film across all categories.
Female model with baby pink hair in turquoise with matching colour background.
Student work by Anne Harmeston. © University of Arts London

About

The UAL Future Fashion Film Festival is launching at East Bank, the UK’s newest cultural quarter at the heart of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. East Bank is a unique collaboration between cultural institutions, world leading universities and the people of the Olympic boroughs.

Comprising of BBC Music Studios; London College of Fashion, UAL; Sadler’s Wells East; UCL (University College London) and V&A East, East Bank is the place where everything happens – entertainment, inspiration and discovery – and is open to everyone who visits, lives and works in east London.

London College of Fashion, UAL and UCL are already open for students and events with Sadler's Wells East and V&A East expected in 2025 and BBC Music Studios opening in 2026. Visit East Bank.

The UAL Future Fashion Film Festival is proudly funded by University of the Arts London and co-directed by:

Vicky Mather: Senior Lecturer and Course Leader, MA Fashion, Film, and Digital Production

Lindsay Pentelow: Head of Cultural Programmes, London College of Fashion

Mirren Kessling: Cultural Producer, London College of Fashion

camera lens showing a woman draped in flowers lying down in a garden
Liting Du and Jingyi Bai, BTS, 2024

Key Dates

Call for Entries: 15 October 2024 - 24 February 2025  
Shortlist Announced: April 2025  
Awards and Festival: 3 - 5 June 2025  
Winners Announces: 5 June 2025