Second year Royal College of Art student Lucy Rainbow has won the RCA Robin and Lucienne Day Prize for Ethical and Sustainable Design for her collection of NHS workwear made from hemp.
The garments, based on NHS ‘scrubs’ worn by many hospital workers feature geometric patterns described by Lucy as “androgynous” and “joyful” in bold colours and are made using hemp, a sustainable fabric made from fibres within the stem of the cannabis plant, and “wilfully impractical” silk.
“The collection was designed with the intention of bringing nature into a medical environment,” said Lucy. “Research indicates that nature can have a restorative effect on a patient, by reducing their recovery time and reducing the amount of pain relief required. The intention [of the collection] is to get the questions out there – could nature be used more in a medical environment to enhance patient and staff wellbeing?”
The new designer received a £2,000 prize from the Foundation, after being judged by RCA Rector Paul Thompson and Foundation Chair Paula Day as having “realised the design which best embodied Robin and Lucienne’s lifelong commitment to ethical and sustainable design.”
“We were impressed by the freshness and beauty of Lucy’s work and the thoughtful research and integrity of the purpose behind it,” said Day. “Lucy’s vision of bringing a high aesthetic quality to ordinary environments so as to enhance peoples’ lives – in this case, hospital care for the terminally ill – is absolutely in the spirit of my parents, Robin and Lucienne Day.”
Robin Day studied at the RCA and is perhaps best known for his ground-breaking 1963 Polypropylene chair for Hille, which has sold in tens of millions worldwide and fills classrooms up and down the country to this day – he also designed all the seating for London’s Royal Festival Hall, which opened at the Festival of Britain in 1951. Lucienne Day, best known for her textiles, also made her career breakthrough at The Festival of Britain, when she launched the Calyx textile. Robin and Lucienne Day were both awarded the OBE and were the first married couple both to be appointed Royal Designer for Industry. The Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation was set up in February 2012 by their daughter Paula Day to promote her parents’ legacy to further education in design.
Lucy described winning the award as “the most incredible honour” and said it had strengthened her resolve to continue developing the project. “I am beyond grateful to the Robin and Lucienne Day Foundation.” She said. “I will endeavour to make them proud!”
Alongside the Robin and Lucienne Day Prize for Ethical and Sustainable Design, the foundation also awarded the Robin Day Furniture Design Award to pupils at 100 state schools. In collaboration with The Furniture Makers’ Company, the furnishing industry charity, 100 copies of the book Modern British Furniture: Design since 1945 by Lesley Jackson, were awarded to pupils nominated by their teachers, to celebrate Robin Day’s centenary this year.
“These prizes reward hard work, ingenuity and talent and we hope that they will inspire a new generation of talent to enter our industry and, like Robin, make a positive impact on the products and furnishings that surround us in our homes, schools, public spaces and places of work,” said Jonny Westbrooke, Chief Executive and Clerk, The Furniture Makers’ Company.
Further reading for the especially geeky:
- interview :: made by michael
- interview :: nordvink
- interview :: james molkenthin
- interview :: juliette bigley
