'Independent' fashion photography contest is won by a student

Lucy Hamblin, a 22-year-old London student, has been announced the winner of The Independent/ American Express fashion photography competition. Her work was judged best of 300 entries by a panel including the designer Alexander McQueen and the fashion photographer Nick Knight.

Ms Hamblin's prizes include £5,000 in cash, £3,000-worth of camera equipment and £1,000 in reprographic services from Metro Imaging.

The aim of the six-month competition, conceived by The Independent and supported by American Express, was to encourage emergent photographic talent. Entrants were asked for images "capturing the spirit of the age".

Ms Hamblin's winning entry is published today in the Independent Fashion Supplement, spring/ summer 2003, with the work of three runners-up – Ben Kelway, Alice Hawkins and Mauro Cocilio – and a further 11 highly commended photographs.

Ms Hamblin's entry, with shots ranging from a down-at-heel American motel room to a vintage hearse, was inspired, she said, "by the Victorian age, particularly mourning dress and the changing silhouette of the female form ... stories about violent death and disasters which reflect the instability of society at the time".

Her images of young women in undress/disarray are far more light-hearted. She said: "I met a dodgy bloke in a pub who ran a strip night. One of his friends, Shaun, is a barber, and we thought it could be interesting to combine them.

"He brought his tools. I found the girls. He shaved designs into their pubic hair and I took the photos. The girls chose their own designs and it was fun."

Ms Hamblin was also given backstage access at McQueen's autumn/winter 2003 collection in Paris. The results will be printed in The Independent Saturday Magazine next week.