Genuinely innovating designs is no mean feat. Trying to achieve innovation by integrating details borrowed from history or theatre into specific pieces can be even more tricky, as the garments may turn into costumes rather than wearable clothes.
Yet students from Edinburgh College of Art’s departments of Fashion, Textiles and Performance Costume showcasing at London's Graduate Fashion Week (GFW; until tomorrow) seemed to have embraced the historical and theatrical innovation challenge pretty well.
The choice was wide when it came to inspirations, materials and silhouettes, with some rather visually striking results in a few cases.
Melissa Villevieille’s “Fauve Toi!!” collection was definitely among the main highlights: her striped heavy fabrics gave a sense of theatricality to voluminously awe-inspiring capes and dresses with sculpted skirts.
There was a sculptural quality also in Fernanda Goodship’s tailored designs, inspired by flamenco dancers and matadors but developed in an intense shade of electric blue rather than in the more predictable red. The collection also included a bolero-like top decorated with appliqued roses that featured layered ruffled sleeves that vaguely reminded of Givenchy's "Bettina" blouse.
Nina Cutler combined instead the story of the “Forty Elephants” an all female criminal gang who terrorised the streets of London in the 19th century, with elements borrowed from Elizabethan costume. The result was a tale of fragile aggressiveness in which girl gangs clad in gold garments move in a dystopian future.
Kiki McKenzie found her inspiration in the '80s/'90s Nike advertising campaigns “Mother” and “You Were Born a Daughter” that she remixed in her “You Do Not Have to Be Your Mother” collection, a combination of faux fur, lace and sequinned fabrics.
Rebecca Bowman’s “Long Live the Explorer” white and pale blue womenswear designs were offset by neon climbing ropes, while Kate Cockburn kept her menswear designs playful, with pieces inspired by a sort of urban astronaut decorated with fun prints.
Eleanor Paulin’s bold hand motifs and graphic filigree-like tapestries in orange, turquoise and pink for her “Genetic Metamorphosis” collection represented a call to the fashion industry for more diversity in ethnicity, age, shape and size.
Last but not least, Andrew Dhesi's “Lost Boy” collection revolved around the theme of belonging and included quite a few laser cut designs. Faces appeared on trellis-like structures and the garments were matched with visors and head pieces in clear plastic that resembled ice.
Though graduate collections may not always be completely coherent, you feel that the students' boldness and will for experimenting and the mix of ideas and inspirations through which they build their identity as designers is definitely refreshing and invigorating.
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