It took me a while to digest all the information I gathered during London's Graduate Fashion Week. I didn’t know what to expect, but some of the outfits, accessories and products I saw were rather good and I had the chance to speak to a few graduates who I hope will one day manage to make a career in the fashion industry.
The first stand I visited last Wednesday morning was Northumbria University’s Fashion Marketing. I had actually met by chance some of the course students the previous evening and they all sounded overenthusiastic about their university. I thought their impression was biased, but I was pleasantly surprised by their work.
I mainly went to London to take part in a mind-numbing spirit-crushing sportswear event and I swore to myself I would have never touched another item of sportswear for many months to come. But Caroline Barron’s eighteen:hands high performance wear made me break my promise. I found the all-white sport suits rather minimalist and stylish, crossovers between fencing and space suits.
Emily Bell developed the Squawk brand, a series of products with bold colours and exciting prints that evoke seaside holidays in Britain. The collection won her the Creative Marketing Award.
Triangles were the inspiration behind Natalie Bradburn’s conceptual menswear collection. All her items were based on experimental pattern cutting and triangles. Cubic silhouettes inspired instead Harley Burr's Kubus line characterised by an emphasis on shoulders and hips.
Emily Carter Gibson went for a softer approach with the “hangover coat”, an oversized hooded jacket ideal to hide yourself in and forget about the rest of the world. A similar idea, but this time with a sort of architectural edge, was behind Jenny Fraser’s Cocoon coats. Inspired by hermit crab sea shells, Fraser’s creations seemed light enough to ensure mobility, but also ample enough to withdraw into.
There was a country feel behind Noelle Cowden’s Rosy Leigh label, with coats in classic wool fabrics, but with an interesting cut. Lingerie wasn’t missing thanks to Sarah Stonehouse’s brand Rock-a-Burly and her burlesque inspired “Sin City” collection.
I must say that some of the stands looked a bit like there was a jumble sale going on, with too many different items exhibited together, the result being an undistinguished clash of colours and styles. Fortunately, this wasn’t the case with Bath Spa University: to avoid disrupting their exhibition in Bath and be able at the same time to show their work in a coherent and cohesive environment, the students recreated in black some of their trademark designs.
The selection of black dresses was rather intriguing as the models went from evening dresses to more casual ones and the inspiration behind each creation was very different. Karoline Aye mixed different elements from ‘50s Dior style to royal dress and dandy’s styles.
Jo Barnfield instead merged sharp and draped geometries with the body conscious ethic and turned her 70-year-old alternative fashion model into her own very stylish muse. Five students from Bath Spa University had interviews with Mulberry the next day and I genuinely hope they went well.
Black was also the colour of choice for Angéla Gbemisola's collection. A graduate from the University of Salford, Gbemisola - who was shortlisted for the Gold Award - based her collection on the concept of Dark Matter, and created voluminous draped pieces with a casual but stylish edge.
Chic was the keyword in Manchester School of Art’s Nabil El Nayal's work, a collection with pleats and ruffles inspired by the Elizabethan era that won him the Womenswear Award.
The University College for the Creative Arts at Epsom presented interesting ideas in menswear, with Stephanie Freude going for a collection in neutral colours completed by interesting armour-like leather pieces.
Nottingham Trent University’s Leona Gardner-Chan’s knitwear based on the beauty of mathematical rules struck me as kaleidoscopically inspiring.
A final mention goes to the Institut Française de la Mode for bringing a lot of glamour to the exhibition. The Institut offers a new one year accessory design postgraduate program that connects the students with 40 companies based mainly in France, but also in Italy and Japan. The companies actively participate in the creation of prototypes, from shoes to gloves and bags.
Among
the companies that have taken part in the master program there are Salvatore Ferragamo, Mandarina Duck, Chanel and Celine. Some of the most innovative shoe, bag and glove prototypes at the Institut’s stand, designed by João Pedro Filipe, Tobias Konrath and Liv Mathilde Méchin, had actually been made by Louis Vuitton, Agnelle and Hermès. There were just a few prototypes - mainly stilettos, boots and gauntlets/gloves - but the designs were wonderful and the materials extremely luxurious.
If you are an accessory designer and you're looking for a course where you could hone your skills and enrich your career, maybe you shouldn't look further.
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