Mal Burkinshaw

Mal is an alumni of Edinburgh College of Art and The Royal College of Art, in London, where he won the BT Award for Outstanding Studies. After graduation, Mal worked in Italy as a designer for United Colours of Benetton, and then as a freelance designer. Returning to Edinburgh, he established the design label, MalandLeigh, a partnership specialising in fashion and interiors.

In addition to his role as Programme Director for Fashion at Edinburgh College of Art, Mal is a committee member for the British Fashion Council Colleges Council, and from 2014-2019, he was a Trustee of Graduate Fashion Week.

Mal also serves as an external examiner for a number of UK courses, and has worked for a number of institutions includige NCAD Dublin, The London College of Fashion, Arts University Bournemouth, UCA Epsom and Kingtson University.

Mal continues to be an active designer, believing that this is important to his teaching methods on the programme, and his work has been exhibited at significant international venues including; the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (Edinburgh), The International Centre for Lace and Fashion (Calais, France), The Bonnington Gallery (Nottingham), The Shanghai Museum of Textiles and Costume and Venice Design 2019.

He also directed The Edinburgh College of Art Diversity Network, uniting experts from academia, industry and charity sectors to discuss and improve fashion design through collaboration and public engagement.