The 21-year-old's woollen creation scooped a top prize in an annual contest run by The Campaign for Wool – and she wore her winning design at Clarence House where she was introduced to Prince Charles, patron of the campaign.
Emma, studying BA(Hons) Textiles Design for Fashion with Business Studies, said: "The Prince of Wales chatted about the competition and the wool industry – he was very knowledgeable on the subject."
The Campaign for Wool was launched in 2010 to educate consumers about wool products and to support the industry. Run by a coalition of industry groups convened by the Prince of Wales, the campaign runs the Wool Week competition for young designers each year.
Emma's prize was having her design produced with guidance of British clothes designer Margaret Howell, and seeing her jumper hand-knitted in Scotland. A limited edition of 25 was made.
Emma said:
"My inspiration came from traditional fisherman ganseys (Guernseys). Fishermen's wives in each fishing town would have unique patterns so their husbands could be identified at sea.
"The ethos of the piece was very important to me and I am pleased the lambswool is spun in Yorkshire and the jumpers are hand knitted in Scotland, to create a very British knit.
"Seeing my idea go from the pages of a sketchbook to a jumper in the shops has given me a real buzz for knitwear design. The opportunity to collaborate with a respected designer and meet experts in knitwear has been inspirational."
Emma, interning this year with designers John Rocha in Dublin and Donna Karan in New York before returning to the university for her final year, said: "My experience of textiles design at Brighton and the support of brilliant tutors and opportunities such as the Wool School competition have been highly valuable – and I recently was awarded a merit scholarship from the Ογ½ΆΦ±²₯ which is really exciting."
Model wearing woollen jumper designed by Emma Brooks