FASHION students at University of Wales College, Newport (UWCN) covered themselves in glory at the NEC's Clothes Show Live.

They showed their designs to an audience of over 170,000 people, including a number of industry experts and top pop stars such as Darius, Blue and Atomic Kitten.

UWCN was the only Welsh college out of 20 invited to exhibit at the world's largest fashion and beauty event.

"We felt we were flying the flag for Wales," said Sharon Rees, senior fashion lecturer at the college's art media and design school.

"The event gave our students the chance to have their work seen by some of the fashion media's top commentators.

"It's a fantastic way to promote new talent."

The UWCN stand featured a range of garments and designs from students on each year of the three-year BA degree course.

It was an external examiner impressed by the standard of work he found at Newport who recommended that the college apply to appear at Clothes Show Live.

One of Newport's young stars shined particularly brightly at the show.

Luna Amani Downing graduated last year with a first-class honours degree and is currently studying for an MA.

She was thrilled to see four of her outfits shown off on one of the event's three cat- walks by stunning professional models.

The outfits were also described on the PA commentary system by a top fashion compere. The popularity of her designs led to a number of offers of work for when she completes her studies.

"The response to the students' work and the stand was terrific," said Ms Reece.

"Many commented that they thought our stand was the best because it was the most contemporary.

"We showed a number of garments comprised of rather unusual and innovative fabrics.

"We also featured multi-media showreels featuring animation, graphics and fine art, which added an extra dimension to the stand."

The fashion degree programme at UWCN has come a long way in a short time - it was only started in 1998.

Many of its graduates have gone on to become buyers and designers for high street retailers.

The philosophy, according to Ms Reece, is to "encourage students to think beyond the normal boundaries of fashion and to explore the potential of different media and fabrics".

PICTURE: Luna Downing makes sure everything is just right before sending one of her models out on the catwalk