GFW18 Day 2

08-12-2023

From disco divas to shotgun weddings, political statements to environmental issues there’s ideas aplenty at GFW18 day 2…

Jack Capstick kicked off the Bath Spa Uni show with his unique blend of kinky kitsch menswear. Think flock wallpaper print and traditional tailored shapes meets latex and chiffon doused in eye-popping shades of pink. Certainly not for the shy and inspired the infamous 1970s brothel ran by Cynthia Payne. Connor McCann offered up a more demure aesthetic with his fluid A-line dresses in muted tones – the backdrop for his beautiful hand-drawn illustrative prints. The clean lines ensured the black and white print did all the talking and that it did, simple, stunning and laden with hidden meanings. From fluid and feminine to hardwearing and tough, Alice Honeychurch takes denim and sportswear on a reconstructed architectural trip adding in studs and oversized eyelets for good measure. Boiler suits and pleated sections are thrown in to the mix while Alice’s core message of sustainability is printed for all to see ‘our planet is next’. Elsewhere Rachel Comrie combined East and West with her fine embroidery combined with linear pleats and stripes and George Clarke combined dark denim featuring curved hems with expressive, bold graphics as created by his own young son.

Jack Capstick

Connor McCann

Alice Honeychurch

Rachel Comrie

George Clarke

Bath Spa Finale

Birmingham City University was up next with 19 graduates to showcase and the overall mood was one of vibrant colour and infectious optimism. If embellishment is your thing then Ekaterina Webb’s collection runs riot with garments featuring cut-away sections laden in pearls. This is carried through to the accompanying headwear that would no doubt attract the attention of iconic dresser and artist Daniel Lismore. More embellishment was on show via Toni Rowels but not as you know it – as Toni decorates high shine men’s suits with hand-embellished bugle beads to form blood red splatters. Talk about a shotgun wedding – complete with head veils and painted blood stained shoes. Chris Genner meanwhile turned his attention to the environment with his wearable menswear designs that united a mix of textures and prints from fine pleats to tweed with flower and bee motifs, all topped off with beekeeper hats. Creating a wave of ‘aww’s’ from the audience Hanah Victoria sent out her troupe of child models wearing her range of vintage feel knits and fine check meets hand-illustrated separates. Finally Iola Downing displayed a head-to-toe range of loop-knits in bold, contrasting shades, bulky, tactile and lots of fun, this is loop knit on a mammoth scale.

Swiftly following on Nottingham Trent University has been long established for its expertise in fashion, textiles and knitwear, the latter of which was prevalent on the 2018 catwalk. From heavy cable to subtle fine knits, the medium was sculpted, padded and stretched in new and exciting ways. Extraordinarily long sleeves appeared on several occasions while Molly Dilks fashioned extra sleeves to knot across the body with her Eastern inspired collection. Jacaranda Brain created a showstopper moment with her fitted sculptural knits that look like organisms you find in the depths of the ocean. Meanwhile Kirstie Johnston mixed up her tartans to create multi-frilled and layered designs and Rebecca Lennox super-sized her lantern sleeves and combined them with retro prints in maxi lengths. As the graduates clearly demonstrated texture, print and shape can be combined in an endless amount of ways – it’s making it all work that’s the hard part!