Graduate Fashion Week 2010 – By Amanda Waters
Graduate Fashion Week is held every year at the beginning of June to showcase the designs from students graduating from Universities and Colleges across the Country to the worlds press and fashion gliterrati in the hope of discovering the next big thing in the fashion world.
Standards are always exceptionally high, and this year was certainly no exception. The attention to detail was so exemplary, in fact, that one could be forgiven for thinking that they were actually at London Fashion Week. What struck me was that many collections were not only very wearable, but more importantly – desirable!
I would have given my right arm for one of Sarah Wadsworth’s (Central Lancashire University) chiffon floaty one shouldered tunic dresses faintly imprinted with Big Ben, or one of Alex Newton’s (University of Northampton) shimmering silk crinoline skirts, or for that matter, a piece from Helen Carney’s (Middx University) collection of nude coloured pieces, which were layered gently over each other creating a floaty, fluid silhouette. (Her ruched tops resembling flower heads must have taken many hours to create and looked magnificent and entirely feminine).
Shinsuke Mitsuokas’s pieces (Nottingham Trent ) were quite literally breath-taking. Many of his pieces were slashed with haphazardly applied zips or chains to create an almost bondage type feel, and I watched as the audience gasped in admiration, whilst one shiny, lacerated piece after another glistened or whipped it’s way down the runway.
One collection followed another, each as excellent as the last, and I found myself wondering how on earth the judges would be able to choose their winners. (Judges that is, including the designer Alberta Ferretti, Mark Eley of Eley Kishimoto, Lorraine Candy of Elle Magazine, Dylan Jones, and Zandra Rhodes who presented her own award.) Many other celebrities also turned up on the night of the Gala Shows including Nicola Roberts, (looking stunning in a Vivienne Westwood dress), Diversity (who opened The Gala Show), Rachel Stevens, Erin O’Connor, and Amelle from the Sugababes.
But celebrities aside, this was all about the fashion. There were so many stylish and flawless creations presented by these students, which were shown seemingly in the blink of an eye, that there is still a lot of undiscovered talent to emerge which has not been featured in the press as yet. (Log onto www.fashionshowimages.com, shortly, where we will be presenting more collections and information on Graduate Fashion Week).
The winners of the Awards on the night were Thomas Crisp of Ravensbourne College for his wearable range of immaculately tailored separates, Rhea Fields of Northbrook College who won best womenswear award, Anna Lee of De Montfort University who won the Zandra Rhodes Catwalk Textiles Award for her brightly coloured blue and orange satin dresses with Chinese Dragon necklaces, Ledina Zhang, who won the BHM Visionary Knitwear Award, Roya Hesam from The Amsterdam Fashion Institute who won the International Award for her elegant tailoring, and finally, the most sought after award of the night, the River Island Gold Award.
The River Island Gold Award was won by Rebecca Thompson from Manchester Metropolitan University for her wearable collection of “androgynous tailoring made with feminine fabrics”. I could quite literally see every piece sliding off the models backs and onto hangars at River Island Stores across the Country. Her collection was simple, comfortable looking and chic.
Surprisingly, I can’t see many of Thomasin Gautier-Ollerenshaw’s cartoonish, but very entertaining collection, some of which consisted of furry trousers and balaclava hats shaped like bombs, ending up in anyone’s shop window just yet. So perhaps we should be feeling happily that we will not be losing our title as the World’s most Creative, Quirky and Innovative Fashion Capital just yet. (Just toned it down a tad, perhaps?) If creativity cannot be stifled even when presented with the opportunity of winning a £20,000 prize from River Island (who are nothing if not commercial), then I don’t think we have too much to worry about.
Whatever the case, they were all winners in my book…!
Photography & Words by Amanda Waters & Fashion Show Images.
(As Published in Aspect County Magazine).
www.aspect-county.co.uk