A Rio inspired T-shirt designed by a group of pupils from four secondary schools and two other organisations across London is now being sold in Marks & Spencer stores and online.
The students won a special competition earlier this year organised by M&S and Mosaic, HRH The Prince of Wales’ mentoring charity, which is part of The Prince’s Trust, to win the chance to design and market a T-shirt aimed at 5-16 year olds.
Part of M&S ‘Spark Something Good’ initiative, the event saw pupils from King Solomon Academy, Pimlico Academy, Vulnerable Children Bracknell Forest Council Education Centre, Renaissance Foundation, Westminster Academy, and City of Westminster College mixed into teams.
Each team followed the design process used by M&S, from initial concept, market research and commercial planning, as well as outlining social media and digital marketing plans.
The event also featured a motivational speech by entrepreneur and current star of BBC’s Dragons’ Den, Touker Suleyman, and ended with each team presenting their design and marketing strategy to a senior panel of judges that included Chairman of Judges’ Touker Suleyman; Mike Barry, M&S Plan A Director; and Maz Majid, M&S Clothing & Home Supply Chain Director.
Adam Elman, Head of Global Delivery for Plan A at M&S said: “At M&S we’re committed to working with the local communities we serve and it was great to welcome the pupils into our London office. We were hugely impressed by both the quality of the ideas and the work ethic shown by all of the students. They had a tough brief with a very short deadline and all of the teams delivered a fantastic product idea and pitch.”
Jonathan Freeman, Managing Director of Mosaic, added: “This was an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic group of young people and, as ever with young people, they proved themselves to be talented, organised and determined. The winning t-shirt design is superb but all those taking part acquitted themselves with style. Thanks to M&S for their energy and support in making this project a reality.”
