Antalis’ sponsorship of British Display Society’s student competition helps bring design concepts to life. Students from five colleges accredited as Centres of Excellence by the British Display Society (BDS) have taken part in a competition to design a sustainable window concept for a new Autumn/Winter collection for one of the top high street stores: Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason or Liberty.
Antalis’ sponsorship of British Display Society’s student competition helps bring design concepts to life. Students from five colleges accredited as Centres of Excellence by the British Display Society (BDS) have taken part in a competition to design a sustainable window concept for a new Autumn/Winter collection for one of the top high street stores: Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason or Liberty.
For the final stage of the competition, the colleges were each allocated a ‘window’ at 2023’s VM & Display Show, where students created three-dimensional displays in two days ahead of the show’s opening on 18th April.
Antalis supplied each college with sustainable materials Xanita Print and Dispa board, from their large format portfolio. Converted to manageable A0 sized sheets, 6mm Xanita Print and 3.8mm Dispa boards were provided for the students to cut down to their required shapes by hand, on site.


The displays, created by Windsor Forest College; Hertford Regional College – Ware Campus; London College of Fashion; Hugh Baird College, Liverpool; and TU Dublin, were judged by Design and Visual Merchandising Consultant, Sarah Southgate, and Head of Retail Creative at Yarnton Home & Garden, Celia Leeson-Cox. The winning college was TU Dublin with their display “As Good as New”.
Seeing the students bring their concepts to life was extraordinary! Their approach to sustainability and creative design is really inspiring and indicates that the future of the visual merchandising and display sector is in good hands. We are continually working with our suppliers to source sustainable products, such as Xanita and Dispa, which will enable designers of the future to continue to produce visionary work with minimal environmental impact.
Claire White, Specification Consultant at Antalis