IT’S far too early to talk about Christmas but two students are already feeling festive after having their knitwear designs picked by John Lewis

The University Of Brighton students got into the seasonal spirit early by designing festive jerseys for the Kin by John Lewis clothing range.

The work of Fabienne Thomas and Victoria Langfield was selected for inclusion in the retailer’s new line after graphic design students were invited to submit their ideas to a John Lewis panel.

Fabienne’s long-sleeve sweatshirt, which has a print of snow-capped mountains in front of a full moon, will be in shops from the end of August.

Victoria’s T-shirts, featuring distinctive images of a Christmas tree and bauble, will be available at the end of September.

Fabienne said she was proud that her design had been chosen for the range.

She said: “It is a privilege to be given the opportunity to work with an institution like John Lewis.

“I feel very proud that I have created something which the Kin design team feel would fit in well within their own collection and that the general public will choose to wear in winter.”

She said her creation came from her own cherished Christmas memories.

She said: “Before returning to England to study, I spent my winters living and working in the French Alps.

“The inspiration for my design came from the environment I found myself in over the Christmas period – surrounded by beautiful snowy mountains that feel like home to me.”

Victoria said: “It’s such an exciting opportunity.

“I think it will be really surreal to see my work in such a big, high end store.

“I wanted to keep the Christmas theme subtle, so I reduced traditional Christmas symbols into simple shapes and then created the design compiling these shapes.

“I wanted to create something more stylish and sophisticated than the usual, over-the-top look Christmas T-shirts often have.”

Jodie Campbell, assistant buyer at John Lewis, said Victoria and Fabienne’s work stood out among submissions that were of a “high standard”.

She said: “Both students’ designs incorporated the spirit of Christmas while staying true to the Kin brand.

“We loved how Fabienne brought her photographs of the beautiful snowy mountains to life through graphic design and we loved how Victoria took traditional Christmas symbols and gave them a modern twist.”