UEL kicks off this year’s Graduate Fashion Week in style

Described by excited bloggers and tweeters throughout the show, as ‘showing serious technique’ and for ‘possessing pure talent’, all 17 collections demonstrated why UEL has built an enviable reputation for cutting-edge fashion design.

 

Particular highlights included a men’s collection by Charles Chambers inspired by the fixed-gear cycling community and featuring performance fabrics combined with classic British tailoring: an attention-grabbing juxtaposition of understated tweed jackets and performance sportswear. The use of bicycles during Charles’ catwalk show proved a highlight moment for waiting photographers.

 

Francesca Holgado’s collection was met with nods of approval and a flutter of Smartphone cameras from the hundreds of onlookers: silk, wool and leather having been aged through painstaking print and surface processes to create jaw-dropping designs inspired by the shadows and lines traced by the trees of an ancient forest.

 

Ayumi Morita’s collection was born out of her experiences of having to ‘work like a robot in Japan before moving to the UK’ and the transformation of robot to human: solid black wool and crisp tailored lines were corrupted with embroidered zeros and ones in a playful reference to the digital age.

 

Industry VIPs and fashionistas expressed their excitement around the collections and for the new talent emerging from UEL.

 

Nikki Newport of Marks & Spencer, said: “I thought the UEL show was brilliant, it was lovely to see such a mix of tailoring.”

 

Hatti Owen, of fashion brand, Diesel, said: “I thought the UEL show was really inspiring and proved a really good showcase for all the students’ hard work.”

Dorota Watson, Head of Fashion at UEL, said: “The show went really well. Everyone worked really hard together and we’ve already had a lot of industry interest, it’s all been a really positive experience for everyone involved.”