Graduate Fashion Week June 2010 – Salford University

A playful and in some cases comical vibe was sent out by the collections displayed by the University of Salford. Inspiration ranged from historical cultures to soap opera characters. Coronation Street provided a wealth of ideas. Salford’s students are clearly proud of where they study – located in Manchester, the home of Corrie, it appears they were trying to make a statement.

Recreating the ‘mordern hysteria’ apparently so effectively portrayed in Coronation Street, Alex Dubell had models sashaying down the runway in contrasting dark textures – shiny, matte, shimmery, rough. Many of the garments featured amazing sculptural pieces around the shoulders or torso which appeared almost insect-like and were even more dramatic than Coronation Street (that’s a lot of drama).

Based on Sarah Louise Platt’s teenage pregnancy on Coronation Street, Danielle Ferguson’s humorous and mischievous collection is one which immediately jumps to mind when I think of the Salford show. Titled ‘My Inner Child’ the more tame pieces featured adorable polka dots, giant bows and frills, and cute school girl dresses. More outrageous pieces included a dress with pig-tail plaits growing out of enormous shoulders and a skirt representing a teddy bears head.

Fiona Oakes’ Corrie inspiration came from the character Ena Sharples, whose personality provoked her to produce strong silhouettes with softer hand knits. This was actually my favourite collection, as it was very wearable, very pretty, and very right now – but with a twist. In a palette of soft pinks and contrasting teal, the collection is very relevant for SS10. The teal skirt with paper bag waist and sheer blouse is particularly high on my wish list.

Another pretty collection in shades of nude (and nothing else) was produced by Jo Whiting. Depicting Leucian Freud’s study of nude subjects, Jo recreated this in real life with near skin coloured garments floating down the catwalk saying ‘come to bed’.

Moving away from Coronation Street, but not from the television, Eimear Bradley had the ghostbuster’s theme tune blearing out of the sound system. Initially, little coherence could be seen between the pieces. Looks started out as slightly preppy with short skirts and jumpers, before moving onto more slinky (grey satin jumpsuit), then structured, and finishing in a fabulous bright orange dress with pieces of fabric positioned in tendril-like pieces. On discovering this was based on the character Dana Barrett (from Ghostbuster’s) who transforms into an evil spirit, the collection came together. Pieces went from simple to exciting – just like Dana!

The finale of the show came in the form of ‘Bioluminescent Abyss’. Designed by Charlotte Lee Taylor this was based on the black icy world in the core of the Earth and electric forms that are not visible to the human eye. Charlotte translated this into black organza ‘cage’ dresses and jumpsuits which in the final minute lit up in stripes and hoops of LED lights, drawing gasps from the audience.

Words: Tessa Ettinger