The York Hall, an Old Boxing venue in Bethnall Green, East London, was packed full to its historic rafters with Celebrities and Press for this year’s highly anticipated Central St Martins BA Fashion Show on Tuesday 2nd June 2009.
The Central St Martin’s BA Fashion Show is an eagerly awaited event, by Press and talent spotters alike, and was where John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney showed their first collections.
Daphne Guinness and Gareth Pugh were in attendance, and Caryn Franklin, Mark Fast, and Peter Jensen were all presenting awards to the winners of a forty strong showcase of highly talented designers. Marie Hill, who came first, showed a colourful collection of fluorescent “candy coloured, industrial” cocktail dresses, made with lycra power prints, and reflective fabrics, tightly fitting to create a sexy silhouette. Many pieces were cut into precise panels revealing just the right amount of flesh. Elsewhere, spiders webs had been sewn into the back. Marie said she took great inspiration from Helmut Newton and the Power Women of the 80’s and their strive for physical perfection. She describes her designs as “luxuriously self-indulgent”.
Luke Brooks, who was first runner-up, showed an intriguing collection of sculpted knitwear accessorised with wellies. Garments were woven like baskets enabling them to look almost suspended around the body. (Handy for the more robust). One dress resembled a string vest, juxtaposed with a skirt of basket-weave.
Dean Quinn’s ‘Bladerunner’ inspired collection, (second runner-up), comprised of sharply tailored bodycon trousers and short skirts, and shirts with sculpted shoulders. He embellished many of the pieces with thousands of glass bugle beads, to create a spiky, outlandish effect. He said it took him 90 hours to bead one pair of trousers, and over 140 hours to sew the beads onto the shirts, and that his collection had been designed for women of all ages. The fabrics used were venetian wool, and sand washed silk crepe, which worked beautifully together. Dean is leaving for New York at the end of July where he hopes to work for one of the big fashion houses.
Overall, the collections ranged from rustic to futuristic. Some designer’s seemingly focusing their collections on ‘going back to nature’, perhaps reflecting the mood of the current climate, and others ‘threw caution to the wind’, designing elaborate garments with sequins and ruffles, or outfits so bold and colourful that one could not possibly feel depressed. The show was very exciting as the collections were all completely different, but created with the utmost skill and attention to detail.
Caroline Jarvis’s collection of loose, comfortable looking knits, with oversized soft looking jerseys and cosy, knitted socks and velvet pantaloons seemed to reflect the former. Many of the outfits were accessorised with bird boxes creating a refreshing, simplistic quality.
Phoebe English, showed a feminine collection of fitted knitwear pieces in a gentle palette with fleshy overtones. Some garments were adorned with twigs, and there were some very tall headpieces with leaves at the end of long ‘branches’.
Tamaki Fujiye’s brightly coloured prints, with floral garlands around the neck and feet, seemed to continue the pastoral theme, whilst Ryan Strong’s floaty kaftan dresses were elegant and airy. Designed with a variety of ‘undergarments’ from dresses, to long boots and tight trousers, and with a long, billowing train, one would certainly make a statement walking into a room in any one of these pieces.
On the other end of the spectrum came Holly Fox-Lee with her collection of neon-padded Parka’s, and brightly coloured street wear, Levi Palmer’s menswear collection which included a wide selection of cowboy hats, and Peter Bailey, whose ‘resort inspired’ collection included lilac fringed shorts for men, with clashing shirts and jackets of polka dots, checks and stripes, in jaw-droppingly bright colours.
One collection which actually drew gasps from the audience, was that of Philip Preiswerk. The models towered on 6” heels, to accentuate the shape of the neon-coloured crinolyn gowns. Some with trains so long that they expanded half of the runway. His white three tier dress defied belief in its construction. He said his inspiration behind his collection was the film ‘Kill Bill’, and that he wanted to exaggerate objects and costumes from the movie in a “Ziegfeld-esque way”. He said that he had been especially inspired by working at the Atelier of Oscar de la Renta, and whilst there, gained a great insight into how they work and treat their fabrics. For this collection, he explained that he used silks for the digital printing and Italian coated fabrics and nylons to create a futuristic effect. He describes his designs as “weird, graphic and feminine”.
When I asked him where he sees himself in 5 years time, he said “I don’t know, I would actually like to have a collection at London Fashion Week right now”.
If ever one wondered what effect the current climate seems to have had on the morale of these talented young designers, the answer would have to be that it simply appears to have made them all the more determined to succeed. Confidence is certainly not a problem around here…!
Written by Amanda Waters
Photographs – Courtesy of Central Saint Martins
(As Published in Aspect County Magazine).
www.aspect-county.co.uk
