Kirklees College joined the celebrations as former student Christopher Bailey, now chief creative and chief executive officer at Burberry, was awarded a national honour.

Bailey collected a prestigious Association of Colleges (AoC) Gold Award from Lord Willis of Knaresborough at the House of Commons.

And back in Huddersfield, college staff selected future “stars” who could follow in his footsteps.

They picked the Batley sisters who are both studying for a BA (Hons) Fashion Top-Up degree and they were invited to the Westminster award ceremony.

Anisa Soni, 23, hopes to continue her education by progressing to a Master’s degree to further her ambitions to become an independent designer of tailored garments and print design. Her older sister, Hafeezah, 25, also aspires to follow in Bailey’s footsteps by designing and creating garments and accessories that allow the wearer to feel empowered and unique.

Hafeezah said, “To be able to visit the House of Commons and be nominated for an AoC future star award has been an amazing opportunity that would not have been possible without the support and dedication from all the tutors and technicians throughout my learning journey.

“Having been nominated and then being given the honour alongside my sister a fellow nominee to go and collect the gold award from Christopher Bailey, one of my role models has been an incredible opportunity. I would like to thank the The AoC trust as it has given students like myself and also celebrating former successful students the ability to show anything is possible with hard work and support from wherever and whatever your background.”

Bailey was at the college studying for a National Diploma in Fashion between 1987 and 1989.

Christopher Bailey appears on the catwalk during the Burberry Prorsum Autumn/Winter 2014 show
Christopher Bailey appears on the catwalk during the Burberry Prorsum Autumn/Winter 2014 show

He is originally from Halifax, the son of a carpenter and a window dresser for Marks & Spencer. Following his time at the college, he graduated from the Royal College of Art with a Masters degree in 1994 and later received an honorary fellowship from the college in 2004.

He later worked at Donna Karan and at Gucci in Milan before joining Burberry in May 2001 as Design Director. He became Chief Creative Officer in November 2009 and has been credited with transforming the fortunes of the company.

He said: “I feel very fortunate that I was educated here in Britain and if I could offer one piece of advice to the students in the audience today at this very exciting time in their lives, it is to dream big and believe that anything is possible. You all have an incredible future ahead of you.”

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