A FASHION student proved she has bags of talent after winning a top prize in a bag design competition as part of Graduate Fashion Week.

Students were asked to design for River Island carrier bags.

Louisa Balls, 21, of High Road, Rayleigh, is a second year fashion promotion student at the University of Central Lancashire. She will have her bag design manufactured and given out to every customer leaving a River Island store in the lead up to Graduate Fashion Week and at the week itself. She also won £500 worth of River Island vouchers.

She said: "I wanted to create a design that captured the whole idea of Graduate Fashion Week and the main event, which is the university fashions shows. So my design is an illustration of a typically stylish front row watching a fashion show.

"I'm really excited that my design is actually going to be manufactured into a real bag. I didn't expect to win at all, it was such a surprise for me and it's an excellent achievement to add to my CV."