THREE Teesside fashion students were invited to present their collections at an inaugural North-East-wide fashion event recently.

The students at Cleveland College of Art and Design in Hartlepool scored a big hit at the first ever NE1 Fashion Futures event at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead as part of Newcastle Fashion Week.

It was the first time Stephanie Baxter, 20, Jennifer Hickman, 20 and 21 year-old Hannah Barry had displayed their clothing designs.

Ms Baxter, from Ormesby in Middlesbrough, showed two outfits comprising shirts, shorts, trousers and a jacket.

Her initial inspiration came from the 70th anniversary of the atrocities that happened in Auschwitz, from the feeling of being trapped behind bars, feeling enclosed and scared, is illustrated in the design through the use of stripes.

She said: “I was quite shocked when I heard that I had been invited to the show and to have my designs modelled on a professional catwalk. I felt the pressure, as we were working on the designs right up until the show, but it was very exciting."

The students started designing the collections in January but only started working up the producing the garments in the past few weeks, so it was a hectic time to bring the collections together for the show.

Fellow student Ms Hickman, from Guisborough, also felt the strains of a real designer and worked hard to ensure her two pieces – a jacket and a jumpsuit – were perfect for the show.