It’s Officially Grad Season…

At the end of Central Saint Martin’s BA show there was a poignant reference to the recent loss of their renowned MA professor Louise Wilson. Former St Martin’s BA & MA student Matthew Harding, one half of the Palmer//Harding label dedicated the show to her. While Master of Ceremony Jeremy Till announced: “The loss has hit us incredibly hard and we thank the industry for all of its support.”

40 students presented their collections before the L’Oreal Professionel award winners were announced. Gracie Wales-Bonne (design pictured right) bagged the top prize for her take on high-waisted dark denim, glossy leather mac’s, pastel boucle suits and blinging jewellery worn by a cast of male models. Womenswear designers Asai Andrew Ta and Fiona O’Neill were named as first runner-up and second runner-up respectively.

 

Meanwhile over at the Royal College of Art emerging trends ranged from oversized boxy jackets to graffiti prints, origami folds and block colour.

 

This show also marked an end of an era for the renowned MA course as it would be the last for Professor Wendy Dagworthy OBE, after 16 years at the helm. 

 

30 students presented a show full to the brim of inspiration and unique details. In particular we noted Caitlin Charles-Jones for her luxed-up floral take on practical sportswear and Wonjee Chung (design pictured left) for a monochrome collection full of surface texture and transparent sexiness.

 

Graduate Fashion Week this year will be showcasing the work from over 40 UK colleges and Universities. Founded in 1991 by Jeff Banks CBE, Vanessa Denza MBE and John Walford to unify both UK and international universities Graduate Fashion Week is title sponsored by George at Asda, for the third year running.

 

Fiona Lambert, Brand Director at George commented:

“We are delighted to be involved in Graduate Fashion Week, it provides a fantastic showcase for the next generation of British creative talent. We have discovered some really exciting graduates, whom have come to work alongside George’s team of in-house designers and buyers. There is an the incredibly diverse array of career opportunities that exist in this fantastic industry.”

Check back regularly on FashionCapital for all the latest GFW reports.

 

Christopher Demirjian from Nottingham Trent Uni – Photo by Andy Espin