Eighteen-year-old Samera Abid of Stechford’s prize-winning design was chosen from nearly 200 ideas created by students at South Birmingham College.

The competition, in conjunction with Harvey Nichols, Bull Ring Markets and the Birmingham Mail, set the pupils the task of designing an outfit using only £40 with all materials sourced from the markets.

With an eye to student budgets, the creation was to be part of an imaginary designer diffusion range called Rags to Riches at Birmingham’s Harvey Nichols store.

Sixty students on the college’s BTEC fashion and clothing course entered the competition by drawing images of their ideas and a judging panel chose ten designs to be created for the fashion show.

At the catwalk parade at the college this week the judging panel of Harvey Nichols personal shopping manager Dawn Williamson, Lily & Ginger fashion trader Kenneth Grey, college marketing manager Dawn Cockcroft and Birmingham Mail women’s editor Diane Parkes chose the winners. Samera, who came first with her short nautically inspired blue dress, said: “I wanted to take something masculine such as sailor or nautical and make it feminine.”

And she paid credit to her fellow competitors adding: “I was really surprised that I won when I saw the amount of technique that had gone into some of the other designs.”

Samera received £160-worth of shopping vouchers while second prize winner Harjit Kaur received vouchers worth £95 and third prize of £55 went to Leanne Taylor-Richards.