Graduate Fashion Week June 2010 – Manchester Metropolitan University

Manchester Metropolitan University

Having seen a few shows at Graduate Fashion Week, I was feeling slightly jaded by the time I viewed Manchester Metropolitan’s BA collections. At an event like GFW, it was to be expected that different takes on similar styles, themes and colour palettes ran throughout the shows. Manchester’s take on these certainly shone and as always there were certain in collections that shone brighter than others.

The opening collection, and in fact the opening piece, was one of the brighter stars. Rebecca Thompson opened with a maxi-shirt dress with exaggerated collar and scarf tied in a giant bow. Followed by lovely garments in a neutral palette (a favourite at GFW), designs moved from the more wearable to avante garde .

There was a laid-back, floaty vibe running through many of the collections with soft music to match. At one point I found myself jotting down ‘easy like Sunday morning’ on my notepad as that is the feeling that was conjured in me. Notable collections included Susy Brown, Sophie Blenner Hassett, Emma Murphy and Laura Thomas, but the one coming out on top was that by Chloe Lennox. In neutral tones and ice cream colours, her first outfit consisting of a yummy green skirt, sherbert pink top and pale blue jacket had me salivating at the lips.

Well crafted denim was produced by Rose Whittaker who combined jeans, skirts and jackets with a clever use of printed jersey creating illusions of complete denim outfits. I one outfit, a pair of jeans was teamed with a white t-shirt with an image of the top half of dungarees on it. When tucked in, this completed the dungaree – a vast improvement on the standard version.

When it comes to menswear, I often find myself looking at the male models’ rather than the clothes they’re wearing. But Penelope Armstrong’s collection featuring bold Aztec graphic prints had me averting my gaze to the complete looks and silhouettes produced. Very nice indeed.

The more outrageous collections came in the form of Michael Boulton-Heaton, Poppy Warwicker-Le Breton and Jessica Nicol, all of which had big skirts and a lot of volume. Poppy Warwicker-Le Breton grabbed my attention with her use of plaited wool to create giant bulb shaped skirts.

Jessica Nicol closed the show to eerie music with her range of dresses and shirts featuring gloves, hands and piles of extra sleeves. The final piece was a black dress made voluminous by cascades of extra sleeves, prompting the fashion writer next to me to comment ‘I thought (the sleeves) were coming to get me!’

Tessa Ettinger