Graduate fashion week.

Sorry this hasn't been posted sooner, last week I went to Graduate fashion week up in London.
I have visited the show previously and found that this year seemed to be a little smaller than last year-I didn't know if this was because the novelty has worn off of visiting the fashion show or with the credit crunch things now need to be justified before spending.
I walked up and down the aisles, trying to pay attention to what other colleges and universities were showcasing. I was however, very impressed with the Colchester Institutes stand, positioned right in the middle of the floor and with a big bright sign visible for eveybody to see showcasing this years graduates. I thought the stall was really good and displayed all the collections well on the rail and I thought the video continuously playing in the middle of the stand was a great idea for buyers and potential clients to visualize their work moving on models.

Colchester Institute Stand at Graduate Fashion Week.

Walking around the stalls; there were things that caught my eye but in general I was a little disappointed as my expectation was very high and I only saw a handfull of things that inspired me.


One garment that did catch my eye, was a garment made form what appeared to be cut pieces of hard plastic cut into size proportion beaded together to create a structural form which I found really interesting. It is made by a designer named Jousianne Propp who was not there at the stand when I had seen the garment, but I found it so different to anything I had seen at the show which I really liked. I may use this as inspiration towards my final year as I find it so amazing.

Jousianne Propp's design in Graduate Fashion Week.

Another stand that caught my eye was Northumbria University-there was three mannequins situated on the end with the most amazingly constructed garments. They were reminiscent of Japanese origami and Shingo Sato design; with very intricate folds and pleats. I also loved the black and white-which I feel added to the structure of the garment.

The designer of these garments is a Simone Wilkinson, who states in the universities brochure "it is an edgy but exquisitely feminine collection for a power dressing woman". I think it certainly did that and I thought the collection was amazing

Simone Wilkinson's designs for Northumbria University.

Also during the day, I was lucky enough to squeeze into one of the cat walk fashion shows which were fun. I enjoyed it but yet again I didn’t find anything that I felt I really connected with. The first collection I saw was by Jenny Plaster which consisted of a collection which had a metallic gold square structure introduced into various garment which formed unusual shapes. I also liked the sheer fabrics which were quite alluring but intriguing at the same time. The accessories were very original as well, they appeared to be laser cut metallic back shapes which finished off the overall look.

Jenny Plaster’s catwalk collection.

The other designer that stood out was Jade Clark who created an amazing menswear collection. It consisted of what seemed to be metallic fabrics, plastic and tul style fabrics in candy pop colours and was all topped off with the models wearing what seemed to be a “gimp” masks!

I found it really shocking-but I liked it, she stood out of the crowd with her collection which  I think it’s a good attribute to have and it is what I’ll be aiming for next year.

Jade Clark’s collection on the catwalk.