A BORDERS student has scooped a Blogger of the year award.

Ruth MacGilp, a first year Fashion Communications student at Heriot-Watt School of Textiles and Design in Galashiels, has won the award for Blogger of the year at the Herald Fashion Awards 2016.

Her Urbanity blog covers ethical fashion, cruelty-free beauty and sustainable businesses, while supporting Scottish artists and designers.

The award celebrates engagement with followers, being the first with the latest trends and styles, and keeping a finger on the pulse with the ones to watch.

Fashion Communication is an area which has grown within Fashion Education, fuelled by of the importance of Digital Media and the developing online presence of fashion brands and practitioners.

As both have grown, Fashion Design and Fashion Communication have became increasingly linked.

In the past, some internships at the School of Textiles and Design have included students working in assistant roles in areas such as PR, photography, styling and creative direction for many different brands.

The brands includes the likes of; Philip Tracey, Sophie Hulme, Nicole Fahri, French Connection, Hope Street Magazine, Superior Model Management, Prada, Isolated Heroes, SYNMagazine, The Herald ITN and Graduate Fashion Week, to name a few.

Theresa Coburn, Director of Studies Fashion Communication at Heriot-Watt University told the Border Telegraph: “Winning this award is a fantastic achievement for Ruth. Blogging is one of the key areas in contemporary fashion communication.

“The Fashion Communication Programme at Heriot Watt University is very exciting. It is the first named degree of its type in Scotland. It covers a very broad range of subjects which includes fashion photography and styling, fashion writing, film making and the production of fashion magazines and publications.

“Fashion communication is changing the way in which we think about fashion presentation and promotion.”