With a fashion packed week of scouting new fresh talent at Graduate Fashion Week coming to an end, we thought it best to share our impressions with you all. So let’s get to it – the main exhibition space, at the trusted London land mark that is Earl’s court, took centre stage. Our schedule with up to four shows a day, (the bulk of them held at the main venue but others were dotted around various East London location like the Truman Brewery and Candid Arts gallery) meant for a busy but exciting week for us.
The first student that stood out was Hannah Harrison from Northumbria School of Design. Her graphic and colourful printastic collection sent our thoughts back to an optimistic time of a bygone era. Her 60′s holiday throwback did by no means feel ‘retro’ but instead managed to inspire a sense of fun and excitement that felt relevant and up-to-date. We especially fell in love with the range of accessories from the circular wide brimmed shades, the printed platforms to the brilliant bags. It was whimsical and clashing- with pom poms on top! We say, what’s not to like.
Also from Northumbria was Amelia Smith who took us on a different kind of trip altogether – destination Russia. Under the title ‘Heavenly Kingdom’ – her collection was inspired by the architecture of Red Square in Moscow. The colour palette of gold, white and black, the shapes was a kind of Russian doll dress with exaggerated feminine and curved silhouette, that brought thoughts to a certain Mary K. To sum it up it was geometric monochrome patterns themed with gold collars, capes and shoulder pads.
A little glimpse of the static exhibition at Northumbria School of Design…
University of Salford gave us Charlotte Jones, whose collection was a celebration of abstraction and art influences. Her aesthetics of oversized silhouettes, treated us to looks with loose fitted slouchy knits and blazers with bleeding prints accompanied stunning pleated skirts. The colours were eye-popping but cute cropped knits and tasteful layering gave the collection a wearable element.
The atmosphere couldn’t have been more different with Chloe Jones’ monastic collection, entitled ‘Our Father Who Art in Heaven’. It was a dark both in colourway and mood, with mixed stone-grey chiffon and crystal-embossed sweat-shirting. The student at Bath Spa University, won both the coveted Gold Award, worth a whopping £20,000 (for the best student collection of 2012) as well as taking the Best Womenswear title. The award was judged and presented by the fashion editor extraordinaire Suzy Menkes and style icon Daphne Guinness, to name a few. Congratulations and we will be looking forward to seeing more from this young talent in the future.
From the University of East London we have Felippe Johann whose collection takes inspiration from nature in an unexpected way. In figure hugging shapes his collections and prints focuses on beetles, insects and wasps references and gives a playful twist on floral digital prints.
Another student that caught our attention was the work from Ruth Gunika Ossai, a stylist and photographer based in London. Her polaroid covered installation wall was kitsch and lo-fi at its best. Her photography depicting a scene of young effortlessly hip and cool girls and guys, packed with fresh sense of style- mixing a hint of irony and a no frills DIY approach. Garnished with a sprinkle of kitsch and hello Kitty of course. Last but not least we also have our favourite selection of business cards that we gathered over the week. Especially heart the fabulous ‘eye-conic’ print by Joanna Pybus – so cool! That is it for now. We have had a ball – hope you have enjoyed this too! Till next time….
