LCF MA Graduates Present:

 

Last week press and a variety of industry guests were invited to the London College of Fashion MA show at the Royal Academy of Arts. With the college celebrating its Centenary year it was apparent that the LCF would be pulling out the stops.

 

 

 

Eschewing a regular up and down catwalk show MA students revealed their designs on a square platform accompanied by live vocalists. Entitled The Asylum, the show combined art, sound and performance and was slightly reminiscent of Alexander McQueen’s Asylum show, bar the padded cell, a few years back.

 

 

 

 

Damien Hirst would have been pleased as a distressed girl trapped in a glass box greeted guests alongside a range of installations and photography. Models wore blank, white faces contrasted with strong ‘cut-out’ eyebrows, while the hair fell across the face – long and poker straight – it was Nakata Hideo’s cult movie ‘The Ring’ all over again.

 

 

 

 

 

Assisting the eerie ambience and guiding the audience from one collection to the next was a vocal four-piece which included UK Beatbox champion – Beardyman and vocal ensemble – Juice. Composed by Phillip Neil Martin the overall effect was unique, uncanny and occasionally jarring.  

 

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In the asylum ring 16 graduates presented their designs, 2 of which were footwear collections. Personal highlights included jewelled-toned voluminous drama in French silk by Julia Kroener. Sculptural coils of origami by Venice Yu Xiao and romantic Victoriana meets a touch masculinity from Yoni Pai, which incidentally was probably the most commercial collection on display.

 

 

Who says practical can’t be stylish? Sooy Pak cleverly combined clothing and accessories without compromising either. Making use of the colleges’ state of the art digital printing facilities was Georgie Ichikawa; she brought an injection of vibrant pattern where plain, neutral and black prevailed. Last, but by no means least, Chloe Hewett took slashing, draping and tonal combining to the max with her striking womenswear designs.

 

 

 

With thanks to the London College of Fashion www.fashion.arts.ac.uk

 

 

 

By JoJo Iles