London College of Fashion BA Show

Covent Garden Flower Cellars Market played host to the final 28 BA Graduates, who were competing for the ultimate title of 'Collection of the Year'.

There was surprisingly little menswear in the whittled down selection, making it fairly easy for me to choose my menswear star of the night. This came in the form of a futuristic, rock style collection by Asger Juel Larsen, who played with over sized silhouettes, such as rock style tee's, knee length shirts and wet look skinny trousers. My favourite piece of the collection was a loosely knitted, metallic top, that reminded me of medival armour. 

The womenswear definitely ruled the show, but I easily chose my favourites. Joanne Jones opened the show, with a collection that felt inspired by Native American and tribal styles. There was intricate detailing in weaves and bells that added depth to a collection that also had a stunning array of draped dresses. The colour palette of slightly rustic reds and natural tones was interesting, almost dusty in its appearance. Interestingly the final closing collection also felt along the same lines. This time it was Bahar Alipour who displayed a well styled selection of looks that played with a similar palette and style, implementing a lot of layered tailoring. There was a host of laser cut techniques used this season, which falls in line with catwalk trends as well as the technological developments and equipment now available to the students. However not everyone managed to excited, despite these modern twists.

Katja Guenther showed off a collection that mixed laser, abstract cut outs on chiffon dresses and modern printing techniques that left me smiling. The marble style prints that adorned the plastic macs were simply divine and I would snap one up in an instant.  Hye Young Sung's wool jackets, decorated with punk style stud details, reminded me of iconic Alexander Wang and I'm sure fashionista's everywhere would fight over these divinely draped and sculpted pieces. The zip detailed trousers were pretty fetching too. Wun Ting Cecilia Ku, is evidently a fan of Tom Ford, Gucci and YSL as this collection was full of sleek and slick black pieces. I loved the tuxedo dresses, and the well tailored jackets, dresses and trousers, accented simply with gold plating that was incredibly effective. The hints of velvet are bang on the trend and the whole collection screamed, 'Sexy, Rock Chick'.

The winner of 2009, was ultimately Hoi Lam Wong, who definitely had faced tough competition. Hoi showed a rather kooky and creative collection that mixed bold florals, with sassy sequins and was a real mix of the 'masculine/feminine' look. I must admit at first, the collection confused me, but as the 'in your face' jumpsuit passed (a bold decision), the well tailored pieces and the mixture of the navy, off white and white, sequined fabrics, with the nutty, print, definitely grew on me. A well deserving winner, with an overall strong, graduating year; and as the tutors breathe a sigh of relief, I look forward to the fact that perhaps I have glimpsed the future of fashion.

Words: Rivkie Baum – http://fash-pack.blogspot.com

Photography Chris Moore