Keep up with the graduate fashion foundation news, including announcements of awards, scholarships, events and many other industry happenings, right here.
Taïma Castor from Northumbria University has been recognised for her innovative contributions in the field of design by being shortlisted for the GFW24 Culture & Heritage Award.
Katarina Chovancova from Northumbria University has received the GFW24 Inclusive Fashion Award, supported by Snag.
Congratulations to Peter Shonoda from SCAD Savannah on winning the gold at the GFW24 International Catwalk!
Aiden Davey from Nottingham Trent University has been recognised for outstanding work by winning the GFW24 Zandra Rhodes Fashion Textiles Award, highlighting Aiden's talent and creativity in the field of fashion textiles.
Congratulations, Nicole Singleton! Your outstanding achievement in winning the GFW24 Next Trend Forecasting Award is a testament to your hard work and creativity at Arts University Bournemouth.
Congratulations to Gussie O'Connor from Kingston University for your remarkable achievement in winning the GFW24 Culture & Heritage Award Design!
Congratulations to Brandon Bolland from Arts University Bournemouth for winning the GFW24 Fashion Styling & Creative Direction Award!
Issie Wild's achievement in winning the GFW24 Considered Fashion Award Supported by Snag highlights her exceptional talent and commitment to innovative fashion design.
Kacie Bardwell's victory in the GFW24 University of Central Lancashire catwalk show highlights her exceptional talent and creativity in the fashion industry.
Jasmin Honeyball's success in winning the GFW24 Childrenswear Award showcases her talent and dedication in the field of fashion design.
Thea Hunter, a student from De Montfort University, has emerged victorious in the GFW24 De Montfort University catwalk show.
Excitement fills the air as the winners of the Graduate Fashion Week International 2024 awards are announced. The creativity and talent displayed by the winning designers are truly inspiring.
During Graduate Fashion Week 2024, top figures from the fashion industry gathered to assess the class of GFW24's runway presentations. The talented graduates showcased their creative flair and were recognised for their exceptional work.
During Graduate Fashion Week 2024 we were joined by some of the fashion industry’s finest to judge the class of 2024’s portfolios! Keep on reading to see the incredible graduates who have been rewarded for their talents…
The annual GFW24 Talent of Tomorrow Creative Photoshoot took place in London on Thursday, April 25 and Friday, April 26. This event showcased emerging talents in the fashion industry, providing a platform for young designers to display their creativity and skills.
The Catwalk and GFW Live! Talk schedule for GFW24 has been revealed, promising an exciting lineup of fashion shows and insightful discussions.
Nawoda Bandara, a student from the Academy of Design in Sri Lanka, has been announced as the winner of our GFWi23 Fashion Portfolio Award.
Clàudia Cànovas Buitrago, a student from IED Istituto Europeo di Design in Barcelona, was recognised as the runner-up in our GFWi23 International Accessories Award Supported By Crisden.
JOY JULIUS, a new fashion label, has been launched by Nigerian-Swiss designer Joy Julius, who is based in London and a graduate of Kingston University. Her eponymous brand is a fusion of her Nigerian heritage and western experiences.
FAD International Academy supported the GFWi23 Catwalk Show in Dubai, where 29 student designers showcased their collections. The event was an incredible opportunity for young designers to showcase their vision and creativity on the runway.
ellesse, in partnership with the Graduate Fashion Foundation, is excited to announce the GFF x ellesse Tailors Programme, an initiative dedicated to nurturing and celebrating the next wave of global design talent.
During Graduate Fashion Week 2023 we were joined by some of the fashion industry’s finest to judge the class of 2023’s catwalk shows! Keep on reading to see the incredible graduates who have been rewarded for their talents…
During Graduate Fashion Week 2023 we were joined by some of the fashion industry’s finest to judge the class of 2023’s portfolios! Keep on reading to see the incredible graduates who have been rewarded for their talents…
The Graduate Fashion Foundation invited 38 talented graduating students from across the UK to gain valuable industry experience by creating the annual Talent of Tomorrow campaign, featuring looks from 59 emerging designers.
Introducing GFF Talent, University for the Creative Arts Fashion student Sara Hegyi! Continue reading to learn more…
The Graduate Fashion Foundation partner with Crisis and Love Not Landfill for emerging designer upcycling range. On sale this London Fashion Week!
Welcome to Anya Parker James’ self named fashion brand! A product of our GFW18 alumni. Continue reading to learn more…
It is with great sadness that Graduate Fashion Foundation announces the death of Hilary Alexander OBE. Hilary died on Sunday 5th February, on her 77th birthday, peacefully in London.
Welcome to the new brand Belladonis! A product of our GFW22 alumni and a collaboration between Charlie Orr-Ewing and William Kerr. Click to learn more…
One of the fashion industry greats, British Designer Vivienne was a passionate supporter of young emerging graduate talent and regularly attended Graduate Fashion Week in her role as Patron, alongside the team from her eponymous label.
The Coats X GFF Sustainability Competition challenged GFF member graduates to create an upcycled garment where the stitching is a key feature. After much deliberation, industry judges for the Coats X GFF Sustainability Competition reached a decision on the UK and International winners! We’re pleased to share them with you today.
The GFW21 Catwalk Schedule is here! This year, we’re doing things a little differently, having three dedicated days of catwalk shows during our inaugural event at Coal Drops Yard in Kings Cross, London.
We’re super excited to announce that we’ll be partnering with Tu for the sixth year running, this year as Headline Partner for Graduate Fashion Week 2021.
We’re really excited to share GFF Alumni Mariah Esa’s second collection with iconic fashion retailer Browns! she’s part of an incubator called Browns Focus, which just relaunched with a roster of emerging men’s and womenswear designers who are shaking up the industry.
Graduate Fashion Week couldn’t happen without the help of our amazing partners. Alongside returning Headline Partner Tu, this year sees the return of size?, L’Oréal Professionnel, YKK, TikTok and ASOS to the partnership roster, as well as Gymshark, Illamasqua, Cass Art, Delicate Rebéllion & Visualist.
To celebrate our 30th anniversary year, we set GFF graduates a challenge: to get creative and come up with ways to celebrate this huge milestone. From photography to branding, graduates submitted their innovative ideas that communicated who we are and what we do. We’re excited to share the four winners from the competition and a bit more about their work!
A unique experience for three aspiring menswear designers. MR PORTER FUTURES is a global designer mentorship programme for undiscovered talent. The MR PORTER FUTURES programme will guide three selected applicants through the process of designing, manufacturing and delivering their very own responsibly sourced and produced collections, which will then debut exclusively on MR PORTER
It’s Fashion Revolution Week, and we’re celebrating this important week of action by bringing you the information you need to know about the world of sustainability. Our resident sustainable fashion journalist, Megan Doyle has created her ultimate go-to list of resources to learn and develop your knowledge about sustainability. From interesting Instagram accounts, books you can buy to newsletters, apps and podcasts, there are so many ways to get into the world of sustainability.
If you’ve ever dipped your toe into the world of sustainable fashion, you’ve probably come across Orsola De Castro’s words of wisdom before. Orsola is a leading voice for a more fair and slow fashion industry. She co-founded Fashion Revolution, now a global movement, that was launched in response to the Rana Plaza factory disaster in 2013. To celebrate Fashion Revolution Week, we sat down with Orsola to learn more about this year’s Fashion Revolution Week, greenwashing, practical solutions to change the way we wear and mend our clothing, and more.
The Graduate Fashion Foundation are delighted to announce that they are evolving their support of FACE, Fashion Academics Creating Equality, to include a new prize that will make visible, the spectrum of Black excellence within a framework of diverse Black and Brown creativity.
We’re delighted to announce the launch of our debut innovative digital platform, featuring graduate portfolio profiles, fashion university pages and bespoke live streaming of the annual GFW event. You can find it at www.graduatefashionweek.com.
Graduate Fashion Foundation announces the continuation of the successful Graduate Fashion Mentoring Programme, this year supporting the Class of 2020 who graduated in June whose studies were greatly affected by the pandemic. The mentoring programme is aimed to provide support as they enter into the fashion industry and as they transition into the next step of their career by pairing them with a long-term experienced industry mentor.
How exciting is this? GFF Alumni, Sarah Louise Koessler from the University of Brighton, has had one of her designs chosen for Swarovski’s new campaign “Wonderlab”. As part of the Swarovski rebrand, Louise’s design worn by British model Adwoa Aboah in a film campaign directed by Giovanna Engelbert.
Check out the GFF Designer Profile with content created in partnership with Visualist App, the new productivity suite for fashion creatives, over at LondonFashionWeek.com. Six exciting emerging designers were selected to be featured on the platform that is for both trade and consumer audiences, enabling the Graduate Fashion Foundation to spotlight these incredible talents as they seek to establish themselves in the fashion industry and build their brands.
Graduate Fashion Foundation is excited to announce it will be returning for the fourth season this February to London Fashion Week, working in collaboration with Visualist, the new productivity suite for fashion creatives, to further elevate some of the exciting talent that was discovered at Graduate Fashion Week 2020 to a global audience.
We are excited to announce Graduate Fashion Week the world’s largest showcase of BA Fashion talent, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year in 2021 and will take place from Saturday 12th – Friday 18th June 2021. During this anniversary year, Graduate Fashion Week will move its event to a new home at Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross, London.
The International Range Plan Award has been created to celebrate and showcase the creative practice of a range plan illustration and recognises the value it holds. We are keen to support International graduates communicating their planned final collection vision of garments and outfits through a line up or a range plan image. Meet the nominees below!
The GFF 2020 jury will identify three winners each to receive awards in the following areas of innovation: fashion product design, concept and materials & embellishment. Meet the nominees below!
The winner of the 2020 International Digital Fashion Portfolio Award will be given to the graduate who presents a well-executed, contemporary and professional digital fashion portfolio that demonstrates an individual and creative identity, whilst communicating a thinking process from the concept ideas, through their development to the final presentation and layout. Meet the nominees below!
Technical flat lay digital drawings play a huge part within design and manufacturing roles in the fashion industry. Graduate Fashion Foundation is proud to support the important skill and recognise the value it holds. Ensuring a Technical Drawing is correct, to scale and featuring all components is incredibly important to ensure another team member, or factory can manufacture the garment correctly. Meet the award nominees below!
Performance, and non-performance sportswear or ‘athleisure’ have grown extensively in recent years. Combined, ‘athletics’ and ‘leisure’ is clothing that was developed for sport activities but is worn in everyday life, or free time, or sportswear for non-athletic activities that have become increasingly seen in streetwear and on the catwalks. This award is open to all sportswear and leisurewear categories i.e. performance and non-performance sportswear, athleisure and leisurewear. Meet the nominees below!
Fashion digital media is a dynamic and flourishing part of the fashion industry with new media constantly evolving alongside traditional formats. GFF wants to find and celebrate the voice of a new generation. Project submissions are sought across the board of fashion new media that are innovative and resonate with the industry including websites / app development / blogs / online channels / social media strategy and campaigns. This can be a collaborative project by more than one student. Meet the award nominees below!
Project submissions are sought from students producing inspiring and innovative digital fashion publications that resonate with the Industry and intended audience. Students should demonstrate quality of writing, imagery, layout design and a professional standard of production. Meet the nominees below!
Fashion photography plays a huge part within all aspects of the fashion industry. Graduate Fashion Foundation is proud to support the creative practice of fashion photography and recognises the value it holds within the fashion industry. We are keen to support the ever increasing number of graduates communicating their concepts through fashion photography and celebrate the presence of the ‘image’ in the contemporary fashion industry. Meet the award nominees below!
Entrants into the Fashion Marketing Award have submitted a digital report format which creatively demonstrates their knowledge of the stages and promotional methods required in launching a campaign for a new product / service. Meet the nominees below!
Entrants into the Fashion Communication Digital Portfolio award have been tasked with submitting a well-executed, stylish, and professionally presented digital fashion portfolio that demonstrates individual creative identity, whilst communicating thinking process and development from the concept to final ideas. Meet the nominees below!
The David Band Textiles Award will be presented to one student who creates a distinctive and thought-provoking exploration of the creative textile process, which aims to challenge the established boundaries of technical excellence. Meet the nominees below!
The nominees for the GFF Childrenswear award have been set the task of designing a childrenswear collection of twelve pieces or six outfits for babies or children up to the age of 8. Meet the nominees below!
The Accessories Award sponsored by YKK, challenges applicants to bring a modern and directional approach to the accessories arena. Eligible categories include Millinery, Shoes, Bags, Belts and Jewellery. Meet the nominees below!
The winner of the Footwear Award, Sponsored by Size? will be the design concept for a unique and innovative footwear proposition that expands the boundaries of shoe-making to create the best possible environment for feet. Often the most beautiful and distinctive details are driven by a totally new approach to delivering functionality. Be creative, innovative and push boundaries.
Last week within out webinar series we heard from graduate fashion foundation ambassador and associate editor at hearst studio, isabella silvers.
During the webinar, isabella shared top tips and advice on becoming a freelance journalist and writer, how to price your work and how to approach publishers to get your work noticed. She was extremely kind to share links and resources for starting out in the industry.
We’re excited to share that our first Koi Footwear Design Competition winner, Rosie Coggin-Levy, has just had her mini footwear collection retailed on vegan brand Koi’s website!
The Future of Fashion : Caryn Franklin MBE talks to Sharon Lloyd Co-Founder of FACE
Graduate Fashion Foundation is delighted to announce 10 new Global Ambassadors are joining the charity this October 2020. From iconic designers, International buyers and Sustainability Activists to VIP Stylists, Editors and Marketing Experts, GFF are thrilled to welcome the new line-up as the latest supporters of the internationally acclaimed charity.
Say hello to size? syllabus - An opportunity for universities & their students to collaborate, create and work directly with streetwear retailer @sizeofficial on live briefs and activations. Access to expert industry knowledge, the world's biggest brands and the chance to impact our future campaigns.
Andrew Ibi, co-founder of FACE and course leader at Liverpool John Mores University talks to Caryn Franklin, visiting professor of diverse selfhood at Kingston School of Art.
We’re thrilled to announce the winner of the Coats X The RSC ‘Stage To Catwalk’ Graduate Fashion Foundation Competition!
Open to all final year Class of 2020 students, the judges were hugely impressed by the research, designs and mood boards submitted.
Andrew Ibi, co-founder of FACE and course leader at Liverpool John Mores University talks to Caryn Franklin, visiting professor of diverse selfhood at Kingston School of Art.
Today, we’re excited to share a case study which has been published this week by Northumbria University and Unique Magazines, a platform that stocks over 3000 niche magazines , including 134 fashion titles — many of which you may not have heard of, like Sorbet, Hunter Fashion, Lampoon and Cactus.
Featuring 90 unique, fresh looks by 53 Class of 2020 graduates from universities across the UK, the Class of 2020 Catwalk Show was live-streamed online on Tuesday, September 22nd. Check out a few of the incredible looks here!
We’re thrilled to share the winners for the Class of 2020 Awards, who were recently announced in a webinar awards ceremony. We introduced 5 new awards this year following the news that GFW20 wouldn’t be able to go ahead. In June, a group of industry experts joined us to whittle down the finalists from 10 to 3 graduates for each award, picking only one winner from an incredibly talented selection this year.
We’re getting ready for a big night here at Samsung KX in Coal Drops Yard, where our teams are preparing for a catwalk show and awards presentation this evening. We’re live streaming the catwalk from 6pm this evening, which you can watch HERE! Straight after, there’s the Class of 2020 Awards Presentation at 6.45pm. Watch it HERE. Below, check out the behind the scenes photos taken by our photographer, Deborah Smith.
We’ve had a huge day here at the Class of 2020 Showcase, where industry have been dropping by for the private exhibition viewing of graduates work. We’ve been visited by teams from US Vogue, Joseph, size?, YKK, River Island, Browns Fashion and more. It’s an opportunity to showcase the incredible talent of the Class of 2020 in the flesh.
It’s been a fantastic day here at the Class of 2020 Showcase, where industry have been discovering the work of hundred of graduates in our Showroom here at Coal Drops Yard.
On Sunday night, in another after-hours talk in the Samsung KX store at Coal Drops Yard, Henry Holland interviewed designer Daniel Fletcher in a special podcast recording for What Were You Thinking?
On Saturday night, we were treated to an after hours talk in the Samsung KX store in Coal Drops Yards, hosted by Graduate Fashion Foundation Brand Partnerships Director Joy Campbell who spoke with special guests Josephine Gowans-Eglinton Head of Creative Marketing Europe at Urban Outfitters and Kristina Karassoulis, Brand Partnerships, Luxury (EMEA) Global Business Solutions at TikTok.
On Friday night, illustrator Elyse Blackshaw hosted an interactive Fashion Illustration Workshop, inviting guests to put their own skills into practice with the Samsung Galaxy S7+ tablet. The guests joined in, creating their own illustrations and learning from Elyse’s experience, having illustrated live events during London Fashion Week and Graduate Fashion Week for the last few years.
We’ve been enjoying the after-hours events at Coal Drops Yard in Kings Cross during the Class of 2020 Showcase. On Thursday, GFF President Hilary Alexander OBE spoke with founder of Duck Productions Lindsay Lowe, who shared her expertise on the importance of moving image within the fashion industry, immersing guests in an array of award-winning content displayed on The Sero QLED 4K TV.
The public view for the Class of 2020 is open from now until Sunday the 20th of September. Come to the amazing Samsung KX store in Kings Cross at Coal Drops Yard. We’re featuring over 37 designs from our member university graduates, displayed in the 20,000 sq ft store that floats above Coal Drops Yard.
Check out the Class of 2020 Campaign, shot by photographer Rory James in King Cross. We were thrilled to welcome 6 Southampton Solent graduates who did the hair and makeup of our amazing models as they wore 57 garments selected by our member universities. A huge thanks to Rory, the team of grads from Solent, all the models and the production team involved. Check out the full campaign below!
GFW Presents: the Class of 2020 at Coal Drops Yard starts today! To celebrate, we’re unveiling a the campaign film shot on location in King Cross by DUCK Productions, featuring the designs of 57 graduates from around the country. The selection includes oversized tailoring, handcrafted knitwear, technical outerwear, sculptural silhouettes and more.
The Class of 2020 Showcase is finally here! We’ve set up shop at Coal Drops Yard in King Cross with a showroom that offers a unique experience to explore the best and brightest new talent from our UK and International member universities. On show will be 300 diverse looks from over 150 of the brightest design graduates, alongside their portfolios.
We’re so excited to share that GFW19 Shein People’s Choice Award winner Mariah Esa has just launched a capsule collection with Browns! The De Montfort University graduate’s collection that won over the public was made from repurposed labels thrown away in the fast fashion industry. Esa sourced labels that were either over produced or classed as rejects in the fast fashion industry and transformed them into a base fabric by attaching them together.
We’re proud to support the launch of FACE, Fashion Academics Creating Equality, a new group which challenges Higher Education, Further Education and the Fashion Industry to be more inclusive, unified and equal. The group specifically working with issues concerning race, colour and ethnicity, amplifying voices, challenging the status quo and embracing change. Read on to learn more about FACE.
We can’t wait to take over Coal Drops Yard this week, thanks to our partners Samsung KX, we’re presenting a series of talks each night that are open to graduates for FREE! Whether you’re a budding fashion illustrator or fancied finding out how a podcast comes together, there’s something for you. Below, check out the four exciting events to catch during The Class of 2020 event starting Thursday the 17th of September!
Graduate Fashion Foundation are delighted to announce that the Class of 2020 from UK and International Universities will be showcased throughout a series of exciting activities at Coal Drops Yard, London this September. Setting up home for six days in Coal Drops Yard during London Fashion Week, GFF is delivering four unique innovative activities, central to which will be a spectacular exhibition at Samsung KX, London’s hub of Innovation.
We’re excited to be announcing the top three finalists for the two International GFF 2020 Awards; The International Range Plan Award and the International Digital Portfolio Award. On Friday afternoon GFF Special Projects & Communications Director Nicola Hitchens was joined by our amazing International 2020 Award Panel; Samuel Schler, Creative Talent at GAP INC, Kim Giangiuli Ex Senior Director of Talent Acquisition and Creative Talent at Ralph Lauren and Jane Rapley OBE, Professor Emerita Ex Head of College at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design.
During Copenhagen Fashion Week, Small Talks Big Conversations has been discussing the big issues of the industry. Today, we’re sharing some learnings from Sarah Sozzani Maino from Vogue Talents, Ida Petersson, Buying Director of Browns Fashion and Mariasole Pastori, Talent Acquisition Expert for Bottega Veneta about support that institution are and could be providing emerging design talent. They shared some great advice on portfolios, how to stand out, what brands are looking for and more!
We’re so excited to share with you the launch of the womenswear collection by Josephine Roberts, the GFF Tu Clothing Womenswear Scholarship winner for 2019. Josephine has been working hard for a year with the team at Tu Clothing, our headline sponsor for GFF, in Coventry to translate her graduate collection into a 16 piece collection that includes swimwear, knitwear, accessories and more!
Graduate Fashion Foundation is honoured to announce it will be supported by Samsung KX for the 2020 Fashion Innovation Award. Our awards have always been an important part of who we are as a foundation, allowing us to highlight the very best in graduating talent and award excellence.
That’s a wrap of the GFF xTikTok Residency which has taken over Fashion Enter in London for the last two weeks! We had a new group of graduates from around the country here this week to create merchandise for TikTok, taking inspiration from their final major projects, the TikTok ethos and vibe of the platform. We even had GFF President, Hilary Alexander OBE and GFF Ambassador Henry Holland drop by to check out their final products and hear about their time on the residency.
Last week was the first in our two week residency with TikTok, where graduates from every GFF university around the country travelled to London to experience the process of designing and making merchandise for TikTok. On Friday we were lucky enough to have one of our GFF ambassadors Henry Holland visit the factory to meet the graduates, hear about their time on the residency and see their creations.
We’re excited to share that our second Tu Scholarship winner, Michaella Knight, has just had her childrenswear collection go live exclusively with Tu Clothing online! Michaella is the first ever Tu Scholarship childrenswear winner.
We’re excited to be announcing the top three finalists for each of the GFF 2020 Awards, after our judges deliberated last week at Second Home in Shoreditch. Our awards have always been an important part of who we are as a Foundation. It allows us to highlight the very best in graduating talent and award excellence. The awards are crucial for attracting industry as it provides a filter to the talent ensuring that they are seeing the very best work.
It’s been a fantastic week one of our residency with Tik Tok, a partnership with GFF that gives final year students the opportunity for final year fashion students from our member universities to showcase their talent as they embark on their careers in fashion. As the official merchandise partner of Tik Tok, 70 students from our member universities have spent the week designing and creating merchandise inspired by their final collections.
We’ve wrapped on another amazing day of awards judging here at Second Home in Shoreditch! Today, 10 awards were judged by our panels of esteems industry experts from across the spectrum of skills — from fashion photography to creative direction and styling.
It’s been a busy day of judging here at Second Home in Shoreditch, where 20 judges from across the fashion industry have been busy deliberating over the work of graduates from our member universities. From Fashion Range Planning to Fashion Illustration, the awards have been an opportunity for GFF to support and celebrate the incredible work of the Class of 2020.
There are 10 paid graduate vacancies across all categories in our Studio. Each vacancy runs for 12 months from October 2020 to September 2021. As a graduate in our Design team the students will have the opportunity to be an integral part of our creative process. They will help bring to life modern collections with a strong fashion direction.Students graduating no earlier than 2020 can apply with a CV and Portfolio for only one of the postings by the 30th June 2020.
TikTok and Graduate Fashion Foundation are today announcing a new partnership that will provide a platform to final year fashion students to showcase their talent as they embark on their careers in fashion. The partnership will task fashion students with designing TikTok’s first-ever range of merchandise that is fashionable, ethical and distinctly TikTok, with all entries set to be judged by an expert panel of judges including Graduate Fashion Foundation Ambassador Henry Holland, Director of Fashion Enter Caroline Ash and TikTok’s Cassandra Russell, Fashion and Retail Brand Partnerships for EU.
In the last few weeks, we have been listening to our student, graduate and university community to hear how you’d like us to better support and champion BAME emerging fashion talent. It is important that we acknowledge, learn from our past, recognise and do more to celebrate incredible young BAME talents, showcasing the future of the fashion industry and the diverse talent that our member universities have to offer!
We have teamed up with The Dots to showcase the work and profiles of our brilliantly talented Class of 2020 students from our UK member universities. The Dots is a professional network of 500,000 members and over 10,000 brands across the creative industries with over 70% being under 34. The tech platform includes a large live job portal containing roles from the leading fashion industry.
We will be showcasing your work throughout the Summer promoting your talent to creative leaders, collaborators and recruiters across the creative industries.
UKFT has launched a new initiative called UKFT Sew Connect to capture this renewed interest in sewing and help meet the growing demand for fashion and textiles made in the UK. UKFT has created social media pages on Facebook and Instagram to connect these potential employees with employers.
Don’t forget, nominations for the GFW 2020 awards close tomorrow, 29th of May. Judging will commence of the 1st through to the 5th of June, and shortlists for awards will be announced on the 10th of June! You can expect the winners to be revealed in September, at an event to celebrate all the work of the class of 2020 — stay tuned for more information to come.
Graduate Fashion Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of a new exciting series of supportive activities and opportunities for the UK and International member universities. For the first time in 29 years of Graduate Fashion Week, the world’s biggest display of BA fashion talent had to be canceled in March due to Covid - 19. The four-day event is held annually on the first weekend in June featuring work from 38 UK Universities and 40 International universities across all fashion disciplines from Design and Styling to Photography and Marketing. The platform has launched some of the biggest names in fashion supported by its patrons and ambassadors include Vivienne Westwood, Nadja Swarovski, Victoria Beckham, Christopher Raeburn, Henry Holland and Diane Von Furstenberg to name but a few.
The GFF charity is determined that all of the magic of GFW will not be lost and has been in regular consultation with the board of Trustees & universities to bring workable and exciting solutions for the 2020 graduating year group. GFF has ensured all activities and events within the new plans deliver upon the charity’s mission statement and objectives across three key areas; Advice and Guidance, Bridging the Gap to Industry and Showcasing, Rewarding, and Celebrating the Best.
Creativity in isolation is no easy feat — whether your time in quarantine has left you feeling anxious, exhausted or unable to concentrate — tapping into your creativity might not be as easy as it usually is. If you’re looking for prompts to start a new project, push past your creative block or simply keep you busy, we’ve collated some ideas below.
We’re thrilled to announce that vegan brand Koi Footwear was so impressed with the quality of work that they’ve chosen not one but TWO winners from over 100 entries into the Koi X Graduate Fashion Foundation competition.
It was with deep sadness that the charity learned on Sunday morning of the passing of ‘Terry’ Mansfield CBE, the second Chair of the Graduate Fashion Foundation, earlier named Graduate Fashion Week. Terry took on the role of Chair of the charity in January 2004 serving enthusiastically for seven years, until stepping down in November 2011. During Terry’s period of tenure he was very much ‘hands-on’, traveling the length and breadth of the country to fully comprehend and understand the educational requirements of the charity’s university members and the aspirations and goals of the graduating students associated with the annual London Graduate Fashion Week event.
2020 marks the 20 year anniversary of trainer store, and GFW19 partner, Size? To celebrate, the brand curated a two-day preview show and installation to delve deeper into its past, present and future. GFW19 award winner Mariah Esa was invited to take part in the exhibition as part of a handpicked group of future tastemakers which are on the Size? radar.
Graduate Fashion Week exists to give you the visibility you need to the industry you want to work in. We are more determined than ever to make this visibility happen for you, somehow, somewhere. We are here, so join the digital conversation, share your work, stay at home, stay safe and we will be in touch very soon.
Katherine-Jayne Watts was the winner of the Sportswear and Leisurewear award sponsored by Tessuti at GFW19. Her menswear collection, inspired by the old nautical charts of the Blackwater Estuary her grandad used to navigate the network of salt marshes and mudflats. Katherine shares her experience of GFW19, her advice for final year students and what she’s up to now.
In the UK alone, 11,000 bales of textiles end up in landfill every week, so developing ways to reduce this waste is a lucrative skill. GFW travelled up to Yorkshire with 20 final year graduates to visit Oxfam WasteSaver to learn about reducing, reusing and recycling clothing and textiles.
While so many things are out of your control, it’s more important than ever to apply what you know about protecting your mental health and emotional wellbeing to your day to day life while we navigate the unknown together. We’ve pulled together stories from the GFW archive which are full of useful and practical advice for students to help you stay healthy, busy, calm and positive for the next few weeks.
Now working as a product merchandiser at Burberry, Jainelly Portocarrero Torres graduated from Ravensbourne University and went on to win the Considered Design Award powered by Farfetch, as GFW19. We caught up with Jainelly to learn about her final project RE-UP, what she leant during her time at university and her advice for final year students.
Meet former Savannah College of Art and Design student, Ivy Lam, who won the International Fashion Show Award at GFW19. Ivy tells us about her collection, what it was like to be at GFW, her top 5 pieces of advice for final year students and her plans for the future.
Graduate Fashion Foundation - An update on Covid-19 and the event
Graduate Fashion Foundation is pleased to share an exciting role as VM Guideline specialist role for Kontoor Brands Inc, based in Belgium.
Graduate Fashion Foundation is excited to announce it will be returning this February to London Fashion Week in the British Fashion Council’s Positive Fashion Exhibition with a second season of the ‘GFW Presents’ stand from Friday 14th – Sunday 16th February 2020. GFW Presents will showcase the work of four talented Graduate Fashion Week 2019 alumni, who’s collections were part of the Best of GFW Top 28 Collection show.
Having been the former Fashion Director of the Daily Telegraph, named Journalist of the Year twice at the British Fashion Awards, been awarded an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II for her services to fashion journalism and most recently been appointed President of Graduate Fashion Week/Graduate Fashion Foundation, Hilary Alexander has cemented herself within the fashion history books. She sits down with Jordan Wake to discuss a life in fashion, what she hopes to achieve in her new role, fashion journalism in the digital age and her plans for the future….
We’re thrilled to share some images from the latest issue of LOVE Magazine, where four graduates from the Class of 2020 have had their work featured. Shot by Tim Walker and styled by fashion editor Ib Kamara, the shoot was dedicated to the young designers who weren’t able to show their collections this year.
Behind the Scenes on the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s Dream Big GREAT Britain Campaign, featuring 16 graduates and students from GFF member UK universities.
Meet the award winning class of 2019: Rosie Baird from Edinburgh College of Art scooped the Catwalk To Store Award sponsored by George.
At the beginning of November, leading changemakers and creative minds in the fashion industry gathered together under one roof at the Royal Academy of Arts for the Frieze Academy's Art & Fashion Summit. The event not only explored some of the most pressing issues our world is facing and the constantly evolving landscape of the industry, but also those who are shaping it.
Graduate Fashion Foundation is proud to announce our collaboration with the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s GREAT Britain Campaign on a fun video featuring 16 graduates and students from GFF member UK universities.
Meet the award winning class of 2019: Ryan Hyde winner of the Publication Award!
The Graduate Fashion Foundationcharity is delighted to announce that from 4th– 8th November 2019 we will be running a series of national UK masterclasses, and from the 11th– 13thwe will be hosting two international masterclasses, all in partnership with Ralph Lauren. During the GFF tour we will be visiting five UK host universities and colleges across the UK and in total 18 Graduate Fashion Week UK member universities will have the opportunity to benefit from the advice and information presented from Ralph Lauren and the GFF teams.
This week sees the launch of the two winning t-shirt designs instore nationwide and online with Fatface. GFW 19 Graduates Alexandra and Roxanne won the FatFace Graphic T-Shirt Competition 2019, with their winning designs being selected by industry experts and designers Christopher Raeburn and Rob Jones.
Meet the award winning class of 2019: Aoife Malone from Heriot Watt University won the 2019 Styling & Creative Direction Award sponsored by Size?
The official BBC Children in Need t-shirt designed by Norwich University of the Arts (NUA) graduate, Megan Grinham, which was unveiled on 5th June at this year’s Graduate Fashion Week, is now available to buy from George at Asda stores across the UK and online.
A part of the British Fashion Council’s mentoring programme, with a focus around non- designer access to the creative industries for young people. Launched by Adwoa Aboah five key industry mentors and mentees will work togetherover a period of four months from Sept – Jan.
Meet the award winning class of 2019: Keri Thornton winner of the Clarks Footwear Award at GFW 19
Meet the award winning class of 2019: Ciara Neale winner of the New Fashion Media Award at GFW 19
This week GFW spoke with Hawthorn, one of the UK’s leading clothing manufacturers, producing garments of the highest quality. They proudly support fashion start ups, small brands, SMEs and emerging designers. Hawthorn offer a full scale manufacturing solution including a range of services.
GFW discussed key information for any designer looking to launch their label, from pricing and minimums to fabric sourcing and production lines.
Graduate Fashion Week is excited to announce it will be present for the first time this September at London Fashion Week in the British Fashion Council’s Positive Fashion Exhibition with a new ‘GFW Presents…’ stand from Friday 13th – Tuesday 17thSeptember. GFW Presents… will showcase the work of four talented Graduate Fashion Week 2019 alumni, who’s collections were part of the Best of GFW Top 28 Collection show in June.
Graduate Fashion Week is excited to announce it will be present for the first time this September at London Fashion Week in the British Fashion Council’s Positive Fashion Exhibition with a new ‘GFW Presents…’ stand from Friday 13th – Tuesday 17thSeptember. GFW Presents… will showcase the work of four talented Graduate Fashion Week 2019 alumni, who’s collections were part of the Best of GFW Top 28 Collection show in June.
Meet the award winning class of 2019: Hannah Stote from Bath Spa won the Catwalk Knitwear Award
The IJL Catwalk showcase the inspirational final year collections of six GFW high flying graduates, alongside an overview of high street jewellery trends for 2020.
Meet the award winning class of 2019: Alexandra Fan from Edinburgh College of Art scooped two award
Check out the following internships opportunities at GFW19 sponsor, JD Fashion Group. JD Fashion is looking for a Digital Design intern and a Multi-Chanel content intern, with the job information laid out below!
This week, six graduates were given the opportunity to join GFW sponsor Cunard’s Transatlantic Fashion Week Crossing which this year was headlined by milliner to the royals, Stephen Jones OBE. Go behind the scenes of the cruise and see which GFW graduates took part!
We’re excited to announce that the Julien MacDonald tote bag, created in collaboration with Matalan and GFW is out now! Coming in two colour ways — pink and green snake print inspired by the ladies swim prints from Julien MacDonald’s recent LOVE collection — the tote bags can be found in all Matalan stores and online!
We’re excited to announce that De Montfort University graduate Mariah Esa has been chosen by the public as the winner of the People’s Choice Award X SHEIN for GFW19! Selected from 28 other collections, Mariah repurposed labels thrown away in the fast fashion industry to create her garments.
There’s something in the water at the Edinburgh College of Art — the largest and oldest art school in Scotland — which took out a host of awards and runners up at GFW19. So what is it that makes the school and its graduates so highly regarded? We spoke to Mal Burkinshaw, ECA’s Programme Director of Fashion at the School of Design, as well as judges who picked the winning graduates, to hear their thoughts
In the news this week, beauty brands increased campaigning around Gay Pride month makes us question their marketing strategies and transparency, Valentino’s SS19 casted a record amount of models of colours sparking a debate on inclusivity in house couture, while Stylist started their series of articles on how money is linked to our wellbeing.
In the news this week, Glamour reviews GFW19 sustainable collections, British government rejects a new plan to tackle the environmental impact of fast fashion, while Underpinned urges the importance of mental health in freelance work.
Did you check out the Considered Design Hub Powered by Farfetch during GFW19? The space hosted three days of workshops, discussions and screenings hosted by an impressive list of guests. Sustainability within the fashion industry was the topic of interest, with different perspectives shining a light on the future of fashion. Check out our highlights from the Considered Design Hub, powered by Farfetch below!
In the news this week, Hypebeast wonders why we don’t create more inclusive fashion, i-D examines what is means to be a designer in 2019, while Girlboss has your back on writing a killer LinkedIn summary.
The People’s Choice Award sponsored by Shein, allows the public to have their say on their favourite designer from the final top 28 collections from across the event.
Congratulations to Ivy Lam from Savannah College of Art and Design Hong Kong, who was announced as the winner of the Gap Inc. International Fashion Show Award at the Best of GFW show on Wednesday!
Straight off the back of winning three awards — the Christopher Bailey Collection of the Year Award, the Considered Design Award and the Hilary Alexander Trailblazer award — at the Graduate Fashion Week 2019 Gala, we caught up with Edinburgh College of Art graduate Brian Mc Lysaght! Brian tells us about his final collection, inspirations, the time it took to create his show stopping wooden garments, and his plans for the future.
As Graduate Fashion Week 2019 comes to an end, the winners of this year’s Gala Catwalk Awards were announced, celebrating the ‘Talent of Tomorrow’ with graduate stars such as award winners Brian Mc Lysaght, Alexandra Fan and Hannah Stote.
We caught all the exhibition award winners as they came off stage at the Best of GFW19 Show! Hear from some of the winners and judges of awards like the Fashion Marketing, Fashion Publication and Fashion Design Portfolio award and more!
Today Cody Eastmond and Francesca Shuch, from the PR company, The Communication Store, held a GFW Live! panel, where they discussed the other side of fashion communication.
UCA Epsom took to the Clark’s Catwalk Hall, to share the university’s sustainable, 1970s inspired, powerful pieces.
Every year, GFW hosts 40 universities from around the world for the International Fashion Award Show. With designers from Japan to Uruguay and everywhere in between, the Clark’s Catwalk Hall hosted some spectacular looks.
Sophie Colombo, who worked closely with Givenchy’s Founder, Hubert de Givenchy before he passed in March 2018, is the brand’s heritage coordinator. Today at the GFW19 Talk Space she tells us about the heritage project, which involved analysing 42,000 lookbook pictures, dating back to the 1950s.
On the final day of GFW19, we headed around the exhibition space to seek our this year’s biggest trends.
On this evening’s panel we had Gap Inc.’s, Simon O’Mahony, John Caruso and Jane Ebara. They were joined by Jasmine and Issy, two recent interns who discussed their experiences with Gap Inc.
The Clark’s Catwalk Hall showcased UCA Rochester’s design students, boasting an audience full of familiar faces, whilst the designs were colourful, cultural and a force to be reckoned with.
Fashion Designer, Henry Holland, who founded his own fashion house, House of Holland in 2008 talks to the younger generations at GFW about starting a career in fashion.
Caryn Franklin joined artist, Alex Box, influencer, Rachael Sealy, Fashion Journalist, Bel Jacobs and Stylist, Kyle De Volle in the GFW Live! Talk Space. They discussed how to face the fashion industry with a bold face, and how to cope with being an outsider.
With the stands full to the brim, it was time for Brighton University’s Fashion Design students to showcase their work.
Martyn Roberts, Managing Director of GFW, took to the Gap Inc. GFW Live! Talk Space to speak with 2018 TU Scholarship Award Winner, Molly Hopwood and her mentor, LFW Menswear Designer, Oliver Spencer, to catch up on what she’s done since winning the Tu Scholarship last year.
Joining us today in the GFW Live! Space was Helen Banks who, after starting her university studies at the age of 25, began her career in food marketing. Now she works in fashion as a European Marketing Account Manager at Asics. How did she do it? Find our more.
De Montfort University opened up there dmu2019mashup show with part one. The show consisted of sixteen looks from fifteen designers, featuring everything from back to front blazers to delicate satin dresses made from durable plastic.
Pepper Your Talk’s Dior Bediako hosted the Career Paths in Fashion talk at the Gap Inc. GFW Live! Talk Space, with the panelists, Chloé Watts, Founder of ChloéDigital and Katy Lubin, the Vice President of Communications at Lyst.
Northampton University sent out a series of collections that shouted about inclusivity and sustainability: positive messages that look towards a brighter future for the fashion industry.
Up in the Clark’s Catwalk Hall, Arts University Bournemouth put on a show that kept the audience on their toes, with each collection coming out to overwhelming cheers and applause.
Specsavers’ head designer, Stig Hansen spoke about his role, the art of designing glasses, and last year’s winners of Specsavers Design Competition.
Former fashion editor and co-editor of i-D magazine, Professor Caryn Franklin MBE inspired all in her GFW Live! talk this morning.
Trustee, Adrien Yakimov Roberts, explored the importance of accessories with: YKK fashion director, Kei Kegami, conceptual fashion designer, Jo Cope, footwear designer, Chau Har Lee and artist, Eeiko Moorer. They discussed the world of accessories and the need for more accessory designers in the fashion industry.
On the third day of GFW19, the students from Norwich University sent their eccentric collections down the catwalk.
In the Gap Inc. GFW Live! Talk Space, Ralph Lauren’s Senior Director of Creative Talent, Kim Giangiuli, gave some useful tips on how to get your career started, accompanied by Rob Armour, Creative Presentation Director, and Barry Jordan, the VP of mens design.
Winner of last year’s Tu scholarship, Jennifer Healy now has her own collection. Chloe Ford spoke to Jennifer about her journey so far, her new collection and her pop-up shop at GFW.
Closing the second day of GFW19 was Ravensbourne. Their award winning fashion course has an international reputation. Their catwalk show consisted of a multitude of inspirational collections, which covered everything from bridal lace, to water rafts.
Manchester Fashion Institute knows how to throw a party. Set in the Truman Brewery’s private warehouse space, the university held it’s fourth fashion presentation filled with silver streamers and rotating collections.
‘Sculpture’, ‘sustainability’ and ‘organic’ are the words that come to mind whilst watching the Edinburgh College of Art’s catwalk show.
Jane Ebara from Banana Republic, and John Caruso from Gap, joined us with the Head of AMFI, in the GFW Live! space to discuss their company goals and their aim for a more sustainable future.
Manchester School of Art’s collection was called ‘please do not touch’, and as a university they all came together as one. The same elongated slow beat track ran throughout each collection, intertwining the fashion design students of Manchester. But each designer held their own identity.
Fashion law is often overlooked, yet it should be at the forefront of everyone’s minds, whether they’re a student, a graduate or a seasoned professional. On day two at the Frederica Boateng, of Fashion Business Education moderated a fascinating panel called Fashion Law, Know Your Rights talk at the GFW Live! Talk Space, with panelists from across the fashion industry on hand to explain the best way to protect yourself.
In view of the upcoming ceremony for the Tu Scolarship Award, the winner of the 2018 Tu Scholarship, Jennifer Healy joined Sara Liberati to discuss her experience with the brand and her career aspirations for the future.
Fashion director of Fabulous magazine, Tracey Lea Sayer interviews the vice president of George at Asda, Mary Kate Campbell. She shares her advice on how to look after yourself while balancing a career in fashion.
Nottingham Trent University presents an impressive catwalk with collections that included only disabled models, are Caribbean inspired and stand against violence and division.
Amy Powney, Creative Director of Mother of Pearl, talked to Hilary Alexander OBE at the Considered Design Hub powered by FarFetch, discussing how she ensures Mother of Pearl is as sustainable as possible, and what the future of ethical fashion is.
Queues lined up around the GFW venue for Gok Wan’s talk with Hilary Alexander OBE today. One thing’s for certain, Gok is incredibly humble.
Birmingham City University’s students presented a catwalk show full of talent and personality this afternoon.
The Gap Inc. GFW Live! Talk Space hosted today’s Tessuti panel with menswear buyer, Ghulam Nabz Khadki. Discussing the rise of streetwear in mainstream fashion and where it will go from here, with panelists, KishKash (writer and manager of @Sneakerness) and model, stylist and influencer, Ramario Chevoy.
Bath Spa University students kicked off today’s catwalk shows. The show tapped into several subjects including nature, technology, culture and heritage.
New Balance’s footwear designer, Sam Pearce joined us today in the GFW Live! Talk Space for a conversation with Size?’s Alex Vos and Cameron Poole.
Debbie Le (@TheFashionablePan) and Kesia Archer, part of the Mothercare Body Proud Mums campaign, discuss body positivity and being a real mum on Instagram with Mothercare’s Caroline Hesford at the GFW Gap Inc. Live! Talk Space.
As the second day of GFW19 has begun, we’ve asked our exhibitors and hair stylists for their thoughts on the hairstyle trends apparent throughout the collections. Positive themes such as sustainability and inclusivity are apparent in the pieces on show but what does the hair represent?
East London closed the first day of GFW19 with their highly anticipated show, and they had a lot to live up to. Their beautiful presentation had many worldwide influences whilst keeping up a classic East London edge.
It seems incredible, but the first day is already over. As we went through the exhibition, our team selected a range of names that we think constitute the peak of today’s exhibition space.
The Clark’s Catwalk Hall housed neon brights, risqué cut outs and in-your-face drama from the Northumbria University graduate collection. It was an eclectic mix of designs, with everything from neon brights to muted neutrals walking the runway.
Print or digital? the never-ending question. One is fast-paced, one is more collectable. One is sustainable, one preserves the beauty of luxurious fashion. What is the future of magazines?
The University of Central Lancashire showed an assortment of manipulation and that their main source of inspiration is different eras — from the Victorian era all the way through to the swinging 60s and 90s grunge — UCLAN had it all.
Gap inc. GFW Live! Talk Space played host to a panel of experts on the future of sustainability and why we can no longer ignore it.
Since showing his work to Queen Elizabeth II at London Fashion Week, Richard Quinn’s fame has grown increasingly over time. Today, he joined us in a conversation about his career and what advice he can offer to young creatives who aspire to have a place in the fashion industry.
The 170 yr old Sheffield Hallam institute of arts has a timeline of artists, makers, students and industrial partners. The Sheffield institute of arts showcase final year fashion design students who show their assortment and portrayal of empowerment down the catwalk.
From the first designer on the catwalk, Liverpool John Moores University showed a beautiful display of creativity which, on top of the incredible designs, showcases values of sustainability and inclusivity.
The Gap inc. GFW Live! Talk Space was host to Swarovski’s Conscious Design discussion. As the sponsors for our Conscious Design Award, Swarovski took the lead on our panel discussing the importance of being socially responsible when it comes to fashion.
Eight universities showed together to kick off GFW19. Models wearing collections from the graduating students of Glasgow School of Art, Greater Brighton Metropolitan University, Falmouth University, Leeds Art University, Plymouth College of Arts, University of Huddersfield, Cambridge School of Art, and Solent University walked the first show at GFW19.
Hannah Craggs shares her career journey from university to being the Senior Youth Editor at WGSN. Founded in 1998, WGSN is the world's leading trend forecasting company. Specialising in youth forecasting, Hannah takes us through the WGSN process of spotting and creating trends in colour, print and apparel.
Pepper Your Talk founder Dior Bediako takes to the Gap inc. GFW Live! Talk space to discuss her top tips for finding career confidence.
Day four is Gala day at GFW19! We’re wrapping things up with the International catwalk show at 11am, the Best of GFW show and then the big one at 19:30: the GFW19 Gala! We can’t wait to see who wins the Christopher Bailey Collection of the Year award, as well as the other awards being given out during the event. Over at the GFW Live! Talk Space, the final talks for the week will be hosted by Givenchy and Tu — not to be missed! Check out the final day events below.
Luxury brands and groups LVMH, Givenchy, Farfetch, Ralph Lauren and more will be present at GFW19! From the stands in the exhibition space which will host CV surgeries, networking and recruitment opportunities, to the discussions held in the GFW Live! Talk Space and Considered Design Hub powered by Farfetch, there’s so many ways that luxury brands are getting involved in GFW19. Find out more!
There’s only two days to go until GFW19! Last year, 30,000 people attended across four days of GFW — including industry, media, buyers, celebrity judges and guests — to name only a few! It’s a great opportunity to meet people, gain a better understanding of the industry, and promote yourself and your work. Ensure you make the most of your time at event with our GFW Checklist!
We caught up with GFF global ambassador Henry Holland, who has been working with GFW since 2016. Through the years, Henry has been a judge, a guest speaker, has released a range of tote bags with GFW and Primark, and much more. We sit down with henry to discuss his time with GFW, the skills he believes are crucial for young fashion professionals to possess, and his advice to the 2019 graduates.
On Tuesday, we’re looking forward to seeing Caryn Franklin MBE hold a workshop on how emotional intelligence can be harnessed to combat stress as well as Hilary Alexander OBC in conversation with Henry Holland at the end of the day. Over at the Considered Design Hub, powered by Farfetch, a panel will discuss the question: What does a UK Ethical Factory look like? Check out the full schedule of day three below!
We’ll be getting in to the swing of things on Day Two of GFW19! Check out what’s happening at the catwalk shows, GFW Live! Talk Space and the Considered Design Hub powered by Farfetch. We can’t wait to see Gok Wan In Conversation With Hilary Alexander OBE and brush up on our fashion law knowledge with the Panel: Fashion Law, Know Your Rights.
Make sure you don’t miss any of the action at GFW19. From the 23 catwalk shows, GFW Live! Talks, Considered Design Hub activities and exhibition stands running for the full four days, there’s so much to see and do at Graduate Fashion Week. Below, check out the schedules and pencil them in!
We’re excited to announce that luxury online retail platform, Farfetch, will be sponsoring the Considered Design Hub at GFW19! On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, the Considered Design Hub will host a schedule of talks, panel discussions and workshops that look to address the burning issues of sustainability and responsible design and manufacturing in the fashion industry.
Meet Mercedes Benson, a multi-hyphenate creative working in the music industry who is a DJ, brand partnerships manager, social enterprise founder and influencer. Mercedes sat down with us at the GFW Talent of Tomorrow shoot to discuss how she got into, and how she balances her various jobs, and why she’s passionate about supporting young BAME talent into the industry.
Head to the International exhibition at GFW19 to check out the stunning work that has been created by graduates around the world. Discover the universities that will show their work up close in the International Exhibition.
40 international schools from around the world will take part in GFW19, with an exciting lineup for the International Fashion Award Show and International Exhibition. Sponsored by Gap Inc, the International Fashion Award winner will receive a prize of £1,000, alongside the opportunity to showcase for free at London Fashion Week SS20. Read more here!
Today, we’re excited to announce the judges for the International Catwalk Show, who will deliberate over the final collections of graduates from countries like Australia, Japan, The Netherlands, Russia, the US and more. The International Fashion Award, sponsored by Gap Inc. will be judged by…
This week we meet Chloe Street, Senior Fashion and Beauty Writer for the Evening Standard. Chloe joined 6 other influencers at our Talent of Tomorrow campaign shoot in April, and sat down with GFW to discuss her career journey, which has taken her from marketing to event production and now to journalism. Chloe shares her advice for young writers who want to break into fashion media, and her thoughts on the future of print and online fashion publications.
To celebrate the launch of the Tu Scholarship winner collections in Sainsburys, we caught up with one the 2018 scholarship winners, Molly Hopwood, whose menswear collection can be found in selected stores and online now! Molly gives us a glimpse into her sketchbooks to see how the denim-focused collection, inspired by her graduate collection, came to be.
Emphasising the need for ethical and sustainable practises within the fashion industry, Graduate Fashion Week alongside sponsors Farfetch; the leading global technology platform for the luxury industry, have launched the Considered Design Hub for 2019.
This week, we’ve announced the judges for more than 20 awards and scholarships to be given at GFW19! The Collection of the Year Award is the biggest accolade to be given at GFW19. Meet the GFW19 Collection of the Year judges here.
Around 30 representatives from titles like Vogue, Drapers, LOVE magazine, Harpers Bazaar, Hunger, Vogue Business, Wonderland and more, came along to peruse through an array of graduate portfolios and garments which lined the private dining room of Balthazar, Covent Garden, for the GFW19 press breakfast.
Meet Rachael Sealy, a fashion and beauty blogger who joined us at the GFW19 Talent of Tomorrow campaign shoot. As a plus sized influencer and woman of colour, Rachael is driven to break the stigma around black and plus-size fashion and beauty.
As GFW19 approaches, we catch up with Global Ambassador Christopher Raeburn, founder and creative director of his self titled brand, as well as recently appointed creative director of Timberland. With a passion for responsible design, Christopher shares his thoughts on the current sustainability conversation in the industry, as well as sharing his advice for graduates and what he’s looking out for at GFW19.
To celebrate the launch of our competition to win tickets to the V&A’s retrospective of the life and works of Mary Quant, GFW contributor Faith Richardson gives us a brief history of one of Britain’s iconic designers, whose feminist influence can still be seen almost 70 years later. Head to our Instagram to find out how you can win tickets!
In the news this week, the debut Gucci Beauty campaign celebrates imperfections, i-D examines how Instagram has transformed the fashion industry, while Susie Dent writes for Stylist about the money language that can help us get comfortable talking about our finances.
GFW meets Dame Zandra Rhodes DBE RDI in her Rainbow Penthouse in Bermondsey, London, to discuss her 50 year career, why she’s joining GFW as a lifetime patron in 2019, the secret to her longevity and more.
This year was the first time we got to involve final year graduates within the making of the Talent of Tomorrow campaign shoot. Following submissions from tutors, we worked with our photographer, Erika Astrid and stylist Jennifer Mertens to select eleven talented students to help create content. Meet the team here!
GFW digital editor Megan Doyle speaks with Sul from @SulsWorld — a blogger, influencer and Youtuber who creates content on fitness, fashion, lifestyle, self confidence, dating and everything in between. Sul shares his advice for students transitioning from university into their careers, as well as sharing the most surprising aspect of his job.
Meet Erika Astrid, the Brooklyn-based fashion photographer who shot the 2019 Talent of Tomorrow campaign for GFW19. Erika shares her thoughts on the shoot, her tips for aspiring fashion photographers and her plans for the future.
We’re excited to welcome SHEIN, one of the world’s largest fashion destinations, which will sponsor the People’s Choice Award for the first time!
In the news this week, GQ presents an examination of the potential future of the fashion industry under no-deal Brexit, Quartz debates if cheap fashion brands can ever become ethical, while Jack Williams finds a solution to opinion that art and design courses produce unemployed young creatives over at Intern.
The Talent of Tomorrow campaign is here! Meet the influencers, check out the looks they chose for the campaign, find out about the student designers behind their looks, and see our behind the scenes video from the shoot!
We’ve been teasing the GFW19 campaign release for weeks, and we’re finally ready to share the final product! Shot by photographer Erika Astrid and styled by Jennifer Mertens, the campaign featured the work of students from across the UK.
At the FatFace flagship on the Kings Road in London, GFW ambassador Christopher Raeburn and Rob Jones of Teatum Jones joined the FatFace team to sift through over 100 applications for the FatFace Graphic T-Shirt Competition.
We’re excited to share the capsule collections from the 2018 Tu Scholarship winners, Jenni Healy and Molly Hopwood, which will be available to purchase at selected Sainsbury’s stores and online at Tu.co.uk from 19th May.
We’re proud to welcome Talent Tin, an industry-first platform that is totally reimagining the fashion process for recruiting freelancers, as a sponsor for GFW19. The founder of Talent Tin, Shiv Sensarma, shares his thoughts with GFW on diversity in the fashion industry and what can be done to create a more diverse industry.
In this week news, Paul Smith’s shares his top 10 tips on how to build a brand that lasts, Refinery29 sheds some light on why candidates are ghosted after a job interview, while the leather debate continues — is vegan leather better than the real deal?
We’re pleased to announce that Gap Inc. will sponsor the GFW International Fashion Award catwalk show for 2019. Returning for a fourth year, Gap Inc. will be present with four brands from the company’s portfolio Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta.
To celebrate Fashion Revolution Week, we sat down with model, influencer and artist Jade Pearl — a multi-hyphenate creative who incorporates recycled materials into her art. We discussed her thoughts on sustainability education, how being environmentally conscious is a lifestyle, not a trend, and her advice for students finishing their degrees.
Founder of fashion and lifestyle platform Inthefrow, Victoria Magrath, sat down with our digital editor Megan Doyle at the recent GFW19 photoshoot to discuss the evolution of her platform, where she’s been sharing her unique aesthetic since 2012.
In this week news, BBC new series explores the future of fashion, Fanny Bourdette-Donon shares her career journey, and Fashionista investigates natural beauty marketing claims, while Drapers presents optimistic view on waste in fashion retail.
Take a look behind the scenes of the GFW19 official photoshoot, which took place this week at the home of Graduate Fashion Week, the Truman Brewery in Shoreditch.
Fashioning the minds of emerging talent, the Graduate Fashion Foundation is thrilled to welcome back clothing brand George at Asda as Graduate Fashion Week’s Education Partner for the third consecutive year.
In this week news, top fashion figures share their tips on starting out as a creative, i-D discusses the changing culture around sexual harassment in the UK universities, and Stylist delivers advice on how to stop compulsive worrying.
There’s only two months to go until GFW19! Whether you’re a graduate showing your work, a 1st or 2nd year, or still in high school, there’s so much you can do to get yourself ready for the event. Make the most of GFW19 by following our GFW-approved to-do list.
We’re pleased to introduce the Tu Scholarship 2019 mentors who will guide and support the two winners throughout their year contract with Tu Clothing. The chosen graduates will each earn a mentorship with acclaimed designers Tamara and Natasha Surguladze from label Tata Naka, and returning mentors Rob Jones and Catherine Teatum from Teatum Jones.
In this week news, advice from fashion’s top designers on breaking into the industry on i-D, how to talk to your boss about your mental health, and why young women are reimagining the poetry landscape.
We’re thrilled to welcome Dame Zandra Rhodes DBE RDI who is joining the GFF charity as a lifetime patron! An iconic figure in the fashion industry, Rhodes is celebrating her brand’s 50th year in spring 2019 and will be at GFW19 on the judging panel for the Hilary Alexander Trailblazer Award.
Iconic footwear brand Clarks is back for Graduate Fashion Week 2019, sponsoring the Clarks Footwear Award! They’re looking for creativity, innovation and boundary pushing design thinking in a competition that’s open to students from all disciplines in their final year at a GFF member university.
In this week news The Atlantic reports on expansion of plus-size options on high street, Alison Green shares her tips how to negotiate salary after job offer, and GirlBoss analyses what quarter-life crisis is, while i-D debates if a degree is necessary to have a job in fashion.
YKK — the global provider of fastening solutions for the creative industry — are back for GFW19, sponsoring the YKK Accessories Award as well as hosting an Instagram competition and exclusive offer for GFW member universities!
In this week news Louis Vuitton’s Michael Jackson inspired collection is facing backlash after ‘Leaving Neverland’ documentary, i-D’s experts debate upon gendered red carpet, and all English secondary schools and NHS patients will receive free sanitary products, while the conversation about offensive designs in the fashion industry is gaining momentum.
Norwich University of the Arts student Megan Grinham has been unveiled as the winner of the BBC Children in Need x George competition.
In this week news founder of Find Your Intern Jasmine MacPhee shares her internship tips, The Cut discuss financial advice for freelancers and Alyssa Mastromonaco from GirlBoss gets real about the career advice.
Where once, sustainability was something of a side line, these days it is rapidly becoming a main event, argues GFF trustee Hilary Alexander.
In this week’s news, the shortlist for LVMH Prize is announced, the Guardian discusses racial insensitivity in fashion industry after Burberry’s noose hoodie and Fashion United is debating the sustainability of vegan fashion.
In this week’s news, the industry remembers designer Karl Lagerfeld, a new fashion studio assistant apprenticeship was announced during London Fashion Week, while Refinery 29 shares tips on how to succeed in a workplace as a woman and Harpers Bazaar discusses the mistreatment of models.
The heritage label weaves its Scottish heritage through the AW19 offering in a thoroughly modern manner, which is sure to resonate with its followers.
In this week’s news, editors discuss recent staff layoffs in digital media, milliner Stephen Jones shares his legacy with Another Magazine, whilst Refinery29 and GirlBoss present us with practical career advice.
In this week’s news, editors discuss recent staff layoffs in digital media, milliner Stephen Jones shares his legacy with Another Magazine, whilst Refinery29 and GirlBoss present us with practical career advice.
After 3 successful years, the Graduate Fashion Week Tu Scholarship Programme is growing internationally to showcase the dynamic and global career path that Tu offers its designers.
In the news this week, prominent fashion educators weighed in on the future of the fashion school, the V&A museum unveiled the new Dior exhibition, while BoF republished a mental health guide .
Graduate Fashion Foundation is eager to announce the continuation of the successful Graduate Fashion Protégé Project for 2018/2019.
Eco-friendly fashion has been on the rise over the past few years. More fashion designers are becoming savvy to the increased demand in sustainable clothing, particularly among millennials. Established brands are turning their attention to creating new ethical clothing lines, and new brands are also emerging to compete.
Graduate Fashion Foundation, the charity behind Graduate Fashion Week in association with UK Fashion & Textiles Association (UKFT), hosted an exclusive reception at the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday, celebrating their strong ties with leading industry experts, bringing together fashion’s brightest young graduate talent and key policy makers.
The Graduate Fashion Foundation charity is delighted to announce that from 12th – 16th November we will be running series of national masterclasses in partnership with Ralph Lauren. During the GFF tour we will be visiting five host universities and colleges across the UK and in total 20 Graduate Fashion Week member universities will have the opportunity to benefit from the advice and information presented.
The appointment of Louise Trotter as the Creative Director for Lacoste is revolutionary for the French brand. As the first female Creative Director in Lacoste’s 85-year history, expectations, for the new chapter she’s going to write, are high. Louise Trotter, will replace the Portuguese designer, Felipe Oliveira Baptista as leading the creative direction of the company. Trotter has big shoes to fill, as Oliveira Baptista his coined with establishing the popularity for the honoured Lacoste Polo.
Fashion has long held a bad reputation for its whitewashed runways. But thankfully ethnically diverse model casting has been at the forefront of the agenda for some time now and the value of diversity is increasingly being recognised. There is a lot more visibility for Black models, but for other Black people within the industry– not so much. Yet the industry thrives from having ethnically diverse figures, because they contribute alternative perspectives to fashion - making it more creative, inclusive and more varied.
Our ambassador Christopher Raeburn is known for his sustainable ethos and ethical credentials. Having always focused on his Remade collection, the designer has now announced a community building project, that teaches his customers the skills of repairing, and offers the chance to meet similarly like minded people.
Fashion From Nature, the first UK exhibition to explore the complex relationship between fashion and nature from 1600 to the present day, is currently on at the Victoria & Albert museum in Central London. The Graduate Fashion Week team attended a conference surrounding the exhibition on Friday, to learn more about the ethical ethos behind the exhibition, and why the prestigious museum commissioned a forward thinking project focused on design.
House of Holland SS19 related to the women of London. Any woman who has been in a rush, run out of time to dry their hair or felt they had to touch up their makeup on the tube can be held responsible for inspiring this collection. The suitably named ‘Pull in Emergency’ showcase paraded Henry Holland’s response to the London girl aesthetic; attitudes, cultures and mind sets alongside, obvious urban sportswear and 1980s influences.
Leopard: Fashion’s Most Powerful Print, published by Laurence King in October 2018, is the definitive collection of all things leopard as told by award winning journalist and GFW trustee Hilary Alexander OBE. Leopard examines the enduring appeal of fashion’s most perennial print, as Hilary explores the meaning behind the vibrant patterns in her first ever book.
#TagYourTalent is a weekly competition, seeking to highlight talented final year students from our member universities, as they create their final collections. We want to see your journey from week one to #GFW19, with images of your studio, films of the loom at work and #BTS of your photoshoots. You can post any image that you like, and a winner will be selected each week. The winner will be awarded £50 for their efforts!
During London Fashion Week, Richard Quinn, the designer that skyrocketed to fame after the Queen sat front row, took a new approach. With high expectations following his AW18 show, Quinn used his front row to positively protest against the current governments policies regarding changes to fashion in education.
Johnstons of Elgin showcased new cutting edge lightweight textiles and knit innovations with their SS19 collection during London Fashion Week at the Waldorf Hilton Hotel. Johnstons of Elgin is a Scottish cashmere brand with a woollen mill in Elgin, especially concerned with the preservation of traditional craft, and ensuring the conservation of special and increasingly rare skills.
Recently, the quirky accessories, stationary and gift brand Caroline Gardner, filled their window in Marylebone with the designs of talented and creative designers from GFW18, Lucie Sperry and Penny Gibbs.
Saskia Lenearts, winner of the first ever Considered Design Award at GFW18, recently went behind the scenes at the Johnstons of Elgin textile mill in Elgin, Scotland. Saskia took us round with her on our instagram, where we were witness to the extensive yarn store complete with over 6500 shades in the colour library, the clock tower and the warping and weaving departments!
The final show, the scuttling to seats, the whispers of excitement, it must be the Gala Show. The most prestigious catwalk of the 4-day event revealed multiple designs, styles and techniques fashioned into the selected designers collections.
The Swarovski International Fashion Award Show at Graduate Fashion Week 2018, featured 51 different graduates, from universities all around the world. From Japan, Taiwan and India to Sri Lanka, Australia and America, the inspirations and concepts for the designs were diverse.
Each year, we recognise the most inventive and artistic university stand design, taking into account limitations such as financial resources, the visitors experience and the management of the stand itself, including the maintenance by staff and students alike.
Through 2017-18 we have seen a dramatic rise in the catwalk being used as a space for protest. From Public School standing against Trump in their AW17 show to Vivienne Westwood showing a fashion film with an underlying Brexit theme in place of a catwalk at her 2018 London Fashion Week Men’s show, protest has been a talking point for fashion. Political challenges shone through in many of the collections we had the chance to view at GFW18, indicating that the catwalk will continue to be a stage for creatives to express their political opinions through their art.
Here at Graduate Fashion Foundation, the charity behind the Graduate Fashion Week event every June, we're committed to supporting new fashion talent and GFW alumni throughout their careers in the industry. As part of this ethos, we teamed up with Pure London this weekend, to showcase selected graduates designs on their stage.
For the second year running, we partnered with SmartFocus, the Digital Messaging Cloud, to give you a voice and the chance to award your favourite designer with an iPad and the opportunity to showcase at the GFW Houses of Parliament event in November.
Whilst the SmartFocus catwalk welcomes the conceptual final collections created by graduates from around the world, the guests that come to see the portfolios have an inventive style of their own. GFW18 saw some uniquely styled guests, expressing their identities through their clothing choices.
Behind the scenes of the unique and inspiring event that celebrates student and graduates’ talents each year, there is an incredibly talented and hardworking digital team whose role is to create and share all the catwalk and backstage insights on Graduate Fashion Week’s digital platforms.
During Graduate Fashion Week 2018, we welcomed many ambassadors, experts and industry professionals, to see the work of graduates from around the UK and the world. Caryn Franklin MBE, is a Fashion Commentator and Agent of Change, and a Professor of Diversity at Kingston University. We caught up with Caryn to hear what she thought about the 27th edition of the largest showcase of graduate talent in the world!
Swarovski, principle sponsor of Graduate Fashion Week 2018, held a popular stand during the event. Whilst with us, Dax Lovegrove, Vice President of Sustainability at Swarovski, spoke with our team- find out why they put sustainability at the core of their practises.
The YKK Showroom is a unique resource and platform for emerging designers, students and customers. With the showroom based in the heart of Shoreditch, visitors can get the chance to speak to industry professionals, have instant access to YKK’s latest products, catalogues and collections and purchase limited edition items and samples.
We were proud to welcome Superdry to Graduate Fashion Week for the first time this June, with many job roles available on their stand, a new award and an informative conversation with Siri MacDonald in the GFW Live! talk space. From influencer takeovers to insightful masterclasses, find out what Superdry got up to at GFW18!
Vivienne Westwood is the activist, punk and designer that has been revolting against the norm since the eighties. As one of our Lifetime Patrons, the iconic British creative was the perfect match to lend her name to an award we created in 2013, to recognise the growing need for sustainable design. In 2016 the award transformed from the Ethical Award to the Dame Vivienne Westwood Sustainable and Ethical Award.
Graduate Fashion Week have partnered up with Smart Focus, global leaders in digital marketing for another year to present the competition of the People’s Choice Award. The SmartFocus Catwalk Hall hosted 26 catwalks during the four-day event early this June.
In the months before Graduate Fashion Week 2018, designers were spending their days and evenings working in their university studios, preparing for the catwalk and creating pieces that represent their ideas and passions. Before GFW18 begun, we collaborated with many brands to offer competitions, and the designers shortlisted in the Lenzing Sustainable Denim Competition, are the pioneers of tomorrow. Find out more about their work here.
The prestigious Christopher Bailey Gold Award, named after the first winner of the award in 1992, Christopher Bailey, was awarded to Rebecca Wilson of Arts University Bournemouth, her menswear, womenswear and childrenswear collection.
The final show of the Graduate Fashion Week 4 day event just revealed the winners of the 18 awards up for grabs by the sponsors of the event.
The SmartFocus People's choice is live! Make sure to vote for your favourite looks from Graduate Fashion Week 2018! Extending its relationship with the globally celebrated annual design showcase for the 2nd year, SmartFocus will be hosting 26 catwalks during the four-day event within the ‘SmartFocus Catwalk Hall.
The Best of Show at Graduate Fashion Week 2018 housed many friendly faces to the organisation
Mary Portas led a talk with interviewer Helen, Head of Marketing at TU.
The International Fashion Award Show, sponsored by Swarovski was an incredible display of exceptional craftmanship and innovation from graduates across the world.
In this GFW Live! talk by Adidas Originals, Adidas Marketing Consultant, Gary Aspden discusses Manchester culture.
The British Model Oliver Cheshire discussed his career and work with M&S with Freelance Journalist, Stylist and Author Alex Fullerton.
The Considered Design Showcase featured chosen graduate’s collections alongside a Q&A with 5 industry experts.
The Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture at Kingston University is renowned for courses that are industry focussed and professional.
With over 150 years of experience and tradition teaching within the Art and Design spheres UCA’s reputation speaks for itself.
Hilary Alexander introduced her guest Mark Heyes to the talk, greeted with cheers and applause from the audience.
The UCA EPSOM catwalk showed a diverse display of colour and pattern, demonstrating their individuality and a high level of visual communication skill.
In this GFW Live! talk Eric Underwood discussed his time as a ballet dancer, how his career progressed into modelling and his future endeavours within the fashion industry.
The Fashion and Textiles programme at the University of Brighton offers thriving, well-established courses in Fashion Design, Textile Design and Fashion Communication.
In this GFW Live! talk three members of the Clarks team discussed how insight influences Clark’s seasonal collection.
The De Montfort University catwalk show reflects the innovation and commitment that the university aims for.
The Arts University Bournemouth catwalk show captivates the commitment and innovation that the university strives for.
In this GFW Live! Talk by TU, the winner of 2017’s TU Menswear Scholarship, Amy Vanderwal and Fashion Designer, Oliver Spencer joined Graduate Fashion Week’s Managing Director, Martyn Roberts to discuss working alongside an established British Fashion Designer and what the award meant for her career.
The Royal School of Needlework showcased an impressive exhibition of exceptional embroidery and needlework.
Norwich University of the Arts is a specialist University offering degrees in Art, Design and Media subjects from a campus in the heart of the city of Norwich.
Ravensbourne’s core principles of encouraging brave and creative thinkers were showcased in the innovative designs produced on the catwalk.
The innovation and creativity that is on show at Graduate Fashion Week has been captured through the illustrative work of Calypso Pierpoint.
With two days gone and now only two days left of GFW18, there is no time to waste to make sure you do not miss our incomparable array of fashion talent. There are still a diverse range of talks, catwalk shows, presentations and more.
Hilary Alexander OBE explored the early life and beginning of Orla Kiely’s career in a conversation at the last talk of the day.
The multi-disciplinary partnership at Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester Fashion Institute aims to combine expertise from across the Fashion Industry.
Edinburgh College of Arts showcased their exceptional approach to an experimental and highly personal style of designing on their catwalk today.
What was meant to be a way to fund ski adventures rapidly became a popular high street brand appealing to all.
Manchester School of Art is one of the largest providers of Art and Design courses in the UK, with a distinguished 170 years history.
Laura Gillings, Women’s wear design assistant for TU at Sainsbury’s, joins Martyn Roberts to discuss life after she graduated, how GFW helped her career and the recent TU collections in this GFW Live! Talk.
Former Creative Director at Calvin Klein, Franciso Costa joins Hilary Alexander OBE to discuss what it takes to land a job in one of the world’s leading luxury brands.
The Birmingham City University catwalk show captivates the ambition and confidence that the university strives for.
CEO & founder of Fashion Roundtable, Tamara Cincik chairs the panel talk on ethnic representation in the fashion industry
Bath Spa University evidenced their ethos for expressing issues that affect their graduate designers in their catwalk today.
Sheffield Hallam University help their students to work on real projects with employers whilst studying as well as having lecturers with industry backgrounds.
London Beauty Artists are industry experts and educators attending big events such as London Fashion.
The Northampton University catwalk show captivated the challenging and individual approach that the university strives for.
The influencers, Sandra Haglestam, also known as 5 Inches and Up, Victoria Magrath, also known as In The Frow and model and influencer, Emma Breschi joined Hunger’s Emma Firth to discuss what it takes to be internationally successful in the GFW Live! talk.
With day one of GFW having flown past already, we are already seeing the amazing and emerging talent that our graduates have been creating the past year! There will be plenty more catwalk shows and talks you will not want to miss.
University of East London started the catwalk off with a presentation video with titled “I’ll show you what woman is,” followed with videos of women throughout history. The audience were captivated by this show, with the volume loud with cheers and applauding welcoming each graduate’s designs to the SmartFocus Catwalk. Rock music, accompanied by a fast pace and toe tapping, kept the electric atmosphere alive throughout the multiplicity of work showcased this evening.
Its 60th year, Fashion at Northumbria University, is renowned for its innovative courses and strong links in the fashion industry. With an award winning building with excellent workshops, placements for students in the industry are implemented in the UK, US, Europe and Asia.
The world’s first super-model and 60s icon, Twiggy joined Hilary Alexander OBE to discuss her life in fashion in the GFW Live! talk by M&S.
Head of Womenswear and Accessories design at John Lewis, Iain Ewing discussed Fast Fashion and how to stick to a clear design idea in the GFW Live! talk by John Lewis.
The University of Salford catwalk embraced their broad design education that is taught in the institute. Salford uses a contemporary practice in fashion industry and encourages individual creativity in Fashion Design, Fashion Image Making and Styling.
GFW Alumni and Head of Superdry Womenswear Design, Siri MacDonald joined Hilary Alexander OBE to discuss all things Superdry and career pathways in the GFW Live! talk space.
Liverpool John Moores University has a long and inimitable heritage dating back to 1825. Their ethos of pushing the boundaries was demonstrated through the fashion design and communication graduates’ catwalk.
Sustainability was a hot topic in GAP INC GFW Live! talk on designing for American Heritage Brands. They aspire to create a sustainable brand and taking steps to move in this direction. Find out more.
Menswear blogger, Sam Marvin joined Boohoo Man’s design manager, Shane Chin to discuss all things trends, inspiration and office life in the GFW Live! talk by Boohoo.
University of Central Lancashire deals with over 200 global brands, and has an established alumni profile in senior positions in a wide variety of international companies. UCLAN displayed a large variety of different styles within their catwalk.
The first catwalk show at Graduate Fashion Week started off with cheers from the audience, whilst the graduate’s designs captivated the audience.
The 27th year of Graduate Fashion Week is here! We cannot wait to show you what incredible shows, influential talks and exciting exhibitions day one has to offer.
With GFW starting tomorrow, the excitement is sky high knowing there is only 4 days until our Gala Award Show. The Gala Award show finishes off our four days of a fashion spectacular with students from our member universities winning life changing awards.
Leading lifestyle brand FatFace have partnered with Graduate Fashion Week to shine the spotlight on the next generation of design talent, as part of their 30th birthday celebrations.
The Boys by Girls Styling and Photography Competition gave two students, one stylist and one photographer, the opportunity to work with Cecilie Harris, Editor-in-Chief of Boys by Girls, on a shoot to be published on the female gaze focused magazine! We're pleased to say that the imagery produced on this photoshoot, has now been released! Check out the appealing and beautiful images below, or over on the Boys by Girls website.
Considered Design Showcase, with the graduate winner receiving £750 and an additional £250 for the winning university. The award recognises a student’s outstanding specific contribution to a range of pertinent ethical or societal issues relating to fashion design which include a range of factors from diversity, ethics of manufacturing and the environmental impacts on fabric and material choice.
For the first time ever, we are taking over the second floor of Truman Brewery, to hold a 'Second Floor Showcase'! There will be lots to do and see from exhibitions to presentations with influences and work from all over the world. The second floor exhibition will be showcasing work all four days of GFW from university displays to recruitment advice and is definitely not worth missing! See what's on below.
Recently, one of our sponsors boohoo.com ran a competition for one talented designer to receive £1,000 toward their final collection and a limited edition boohoo discount. The winning design will be created by boohoo, and sold globally.
Graduate Fashion Week is renowned for celebrating the diversity and expanding talent of fashion institutions globally. GFW not only showcases design students work in the form of catwalks, but also praises the inventive talents from courses such as print, weaving, photography, journalism, graphics and more.
As we move into a digital era, with social media becoming more prominent and influential in the industry, we're pleased to announce that we're appointing Digital Ambassadors! With support from Stylists, Journalists and Activists, we're excited to extend the ethos of Graduate Fashion Week beyond the annual event in Truman Brewery and into the digital sphere.
It is officially less than two weeks until GFW18 which means little time left to prepare all of the last minute’s essentials. We have combined and provided some top tips and tricks to guarantee you utilise all of the benefits from our exhibition extravaganza. Remember, GFW18 is there to ease the transition from education to employment, so make sure to speak to everyone, attend all the talks and really make the most out of the experience!
Each year, the GFW Live! Talk Space becomes host to numerous workshops, talks and demonstrations form industry experts. With an interdisciplinary approach, the topics range from the power of the influencer, conversations with iconic model Twiggy to London Beauty Artists and 'Survive and Thrive' a two part workshop on emotional intelligence with Professor Caryn Franklin MBE.
GFW18 is fast approaching with now less than two weeks to go! Through campaigns such as #FeatureFriday, we've been able to see beyond the walls of a university studio to see the provocative, original and artistic designs that have been created and explored this year.
With over 30 awards at GFW18, from design, stands and marketing, we're focused on recognising those with an outstanding ability from across the different fashion disciplines. The most prestigious of these awards, is the Christopher Bailey Gold Award- won by the designer for the first time in 1991.
This year sees new brands flock to support Graduate Fashion Week the largest showcase of BA talent in the world, and the emerging young talent it represents. Ralph Lauren, John Lewis, Johnstons of Elgin, Tessuti and Size? are the latest leading retailers to get involved in the four-day event that aims to bridge the gap between graduation and employment, joining the likes of George, SmartFocus, ASOS, Boohoo, L’Oréal Professionnel, Bonmarche, Mothercare, Gap Inc., YKK and Boux Avenue.
Here at Graduate Fashion Week, we not only have UK based institutions, but many from around the globe! Our International Fashion Award Show this year takes place on Wednesday 6th June in the Truman Brewery, Shoreditch, and features over 50 international universities, from Australia, USA, China, Russia and more.
Finnish-born Sandra Haglestam, the creative behind 5 inch and up, has been in the fashion industry since graduating from London College of Fashion, having moved to London 9 years ago. The Content Creator and Actress recently participated in the GFW18 Talent of Tomorrow Campaign, styling the wares of Teresa Lee from Manchester School of Art.
As we strive to be at the forefront of an inclusive industry, for GFW18's Talent of Tomorrow Campaign, we worked with influencers from all walks of life, representing our audience and values through our campaign imagery. We're proud to work with pioneers, those at the forefront of movements fighting for positive fashion.
Now in our 27th year, we continue to bring the latest innovative and exciting emerging talent to the world’s attention, showcasing the fashion innovators of tomorrow with a four-day event in London on the 3rd - 6th June 2018.
Here at Graduate Fashion Week, we not only have UK based institutions, but many from around the globe. Our International Fashion Award Show this year takes place on Wednesday 6th June in the Truman Brewery, Shoreditch.
Ahead of GFW18, beginning on 3rd June 2018, at the Truman Brewery Shoreditch, we brought together influencers and models to shoot graduate collections. With many creative and inventive designs from across the UK and from our International Universities, the calibre of design talent continues to improve year on year.
Recently, Graduate Fashion Week took part in the TASK PR press day in Central London! Our stand included the creative portfolios of soon-to-be graduates, the designs of students from our member universities and a film educating the media in attendance of the largest showcase of BA graduate talent in the world! Whilst the inventive pieces were available, many of the media wore the garments for a streetstyle shoot.
We are so pleased to announce that along with Nadja Swarovski joining Graduate Fashion Foundation as an International Lifetime Patron, the world-renowned crystal company will provide 28 crystal trophies for the award winners at the prestigious Gala Award Show, and supported a new Swarovski Sustainable Accessories Competition showcasing upcycled crystal!
We are proud to announce our continued partnership with Tu for the third year running. Following the success of previous years, the 2018 partnership will see both a Womenswear and Menswear graduate receive a year-long scholarship within the Tu design team in Coventry. The lucky graduates will embark on a mentorship with acclaimed British designers Oliver Spencer, who joins for a second year running as menswear mentor, and Teatum Jones who join for the first time, mentoring for womenswear.
With a life goal of eating pizza in every country, Turkish Cypriot blogger Teral Atilan, is the lifestyle blogger that approaches fashion and travel, often together. Noting her blog as a way to feel more confident, meet people and showcase her love of clothing and styling, her once university application blog has expanded rapidly.
Paris based, Vogue Australia Contributor, Jiawa Liu recently travelled from the city of lights to London, to participate in the GFW18 campaign photoshoot. From rebellion to London's eclectic aesthetic, Jiawa has a refreshing perspective on the fashion industry, dismantling the idea that a career path has a set chronology.
Marques Emmanuel, self described fashion superhero & creative astronaut, recently wore the clothes of this years graduating class atop the roof of The Truman Brewery.
On Friday afternoon, the shortlisted candidates for the Lenzing Sustainable Denim Competition were invited to Blackhorse Lane Atelier in Walthamstow to attend a series of talks and workshops designed to educate in the production of denim and sustainable materials.
The Boys by Girls Styling and Photography Competition gave two students, one stylist and one photographer, the opportunity to work with Cecilie Harris, Editor-in-Chief of Boys by Girls, on a shoot to be published on the female gaze focused magazine!
On Tuesday 24th and Wednesday 25th April, we took part in the Task PR AW18 press day at the Oui Rooms on Great Titchfield Street, London. Alongside many other brands such as Joules, ASH and Iphoria, were collections created by our member universities graduating class!
As an industry renowned for its glamour, the world of fashion manufacturing is ironically far from that. Society’s obsession with fast-paced trends has triggered an environmental, social and economic whirlpool of issues.
Graduate Fashion Week is proud to announce that British department store Debenhams will partnering with the charity for the third year running for 2018. The retailer which introduced designer collaborations to the high street will bring an exciting roster of visiting Fashion Designers to the event including LFW’s award winning Richard Quinn.
This week marks the annual Fashion Revolution Week, from the 23rd- 29th April 2018. The global campaign calls for more fashion supply chains, both high street and designer, from Primark to Marc Jacobs to seek better workers standards and a more sustainable future. Fashion Revolution ask you to ask brands #whomademyclothes and demand a greater transparency in the fashion chain.
Char Ellesse, Model, Art Director and Instagram 'Influencer' recently styled pieces from students at our member universities at the GFW18 Campaign Photoshoot on the roof of The Truman Brewery. Having been featured in Weekday campaigns, and recently signed by Wilhelmina models, Char is an emerging creative, fighting for visibility and representation across the industry.
We are so pleased to announce that iconic fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg, and Chairperson of the Swarovski Foundation, Nadja Swarovski will be joining the charity this April 2018 as International Lifetime Patron's!
Yesterday marked the GFW18 campaign photoshoot, featuring influencers and professional models, wearing collections created by this years graduating class. With pieces from Northumbria University, Plymouth College of Art, University of East London and many many more, the culmination of different universities made for a creative exploration of talent heading to GFW18!
Head around the world with us every Wednesday where our Instagram is going to be taken over to bring to you exciting posts and news. If you don’t already follow us, ensure you do, on @officialgfw, as this is not something you will want to miss!
Graduate Fashion Week is pleased to announce that British high-street retailer Marks & Spencer will be the joint principle partner of the charity for the third year running, sponsoring the acclaimed Womenswear Award.
Kayleigh Hilde, a freelance fashion illustrator, has recently taken her eclectic style of illustration to the students at member university Carmarthen School of Art, as she returns to showcase her experiences within the industry.
We're proud to announce that global denim and apparel brand Levi’s® is partnering with Graduate Fashion Week in 2018 , sponsoring the long-established Vivienne Westwood Ethical and Sustainable Award alongside introducing a new Graduate Talent Programme!
Playful designer and GFW Global Ambassador Henry Holland, is known for his ironic take pop culture with slogans such as 'Get Your Freak On, Giles Deacon' and 'Cause Me Pain, Heidi Slimane'. We caught up with Henry at the FatFace competition judging, to find out what informed his choice, why he supports emerging graduate talent and why he's concerned that fashion needs to be aware that political movements aren't trends...
Amy Thomson is an emerging designer, with a penchant for pink candy floss tones and hand illustration. With naivety working as a central concept in informing the playful pieces, Amy has shown with Fashion Scout during London Fashion Week since graduating from Leeds Arts University and showcasing at GFW17.
This is the last week for the chance to enter our Lenzing Sustainable Denim Competition for the chance to win £1000 for yourself and £500 for your university!
Today was judging day of the FatFace Graphic T-shirt Competition. With over a hundred entries there was a lot of fantastic work to be looked it. The judging panel consisted of esteemed Journalist, Hilary Alexander OBE and creative British designers Holly Fulton, Christopher Raeburn and Henry Holland.
We are excited to announce that leading lifestyle clothing retailer FatFace are sponsoring the charity for the very first time, running a competition that will see four winning students’ designs sold across FatFace stores nationwide.
Each year GFW celebrates the incredible creative talent of fashion students all over the country, and internationally too. Not only do we celebrate student talent during GFW, we also commend inventive artists throughout the year.
Today all over the world, International Women’s Day is being celebrated! Here at Graduate Fashion Week, we want to share our acknowledgement of our thoughts on the importance of today, especially within the fashion industry.
We’re excited to announce that one of our members, Arts University Bournemouth, has been awarded The Queen’s Anniversary Prize for their BA (Hons) Costume and Performance Design program. The prize was awarded for ‘distinguished degree level education in costume design for the UK’s leading creative industries’
We're proud to announce that renowned British brand Superdry is partnering for the first time, sponsoring a new award: The Superdry Outerwear Award.
In celebration of World Book Day, the Graduate Fashion Week team have been reflecting on their favourite books! From novels inspired by paintings in the National Portrait Gallery to magazines that provide page after page of inspiration, we've been thinking about our favourite reads.
Here at Graduate Fashion Week, we have launched three exciting competitions that you are able to enter! We have teamed up with Fatface, Lectra and Lenzing to bring to you three amazing awards with fabulous prizes.
winner Amy Vanderwal visited the TU studio to introduce her new collection. The yet to be released collection features heavy prints, and large check’s continuing Amy’s punk theme, and colour palette from her graduate collection.
This season, three Graduate Fashion Week Alumni, Claire Tagg, Amy Thomson and Maddie Williams, showcased their AW18 collections at Fashion Scout during London Fashion Week.
Throughout 2017 fashion dove head first into the powerful trend of adding political context to shows and collections. Public School’s Fall/Winter collection stood against the newly elected President Donald Trump by recreating his “Make America Great Again” merchandise, Anniesa Hasibuan’s show only featured models in hijabs to oppose Trump’s ‘Muslim Ban’, and Prabal Gurung’s collection presented a variety of feminist slogans including “The Future is Female” and “Revolution has no Borders”.
Recently, we ran a social media competition, offering the opportunity to win tickets to the Christopher Bailey's final show as Creative Director at Burberry. Four students from the University of Rochester were the lucky winners of the tickets, and accompanied by Managing and Creative Director of Graduate Fashion Week, Martyn Roberts, headed to the rainbow themed show on Saturday 17th February.
The LGBTQ+ community has an integral part to play within the fashion industry. Some of the world's leading designers and most well known brands are run by creative directors who identify as LGBTQ+ and these names may be much more obvious than we assume.
Here at Graduate Fashion Week, we are offering the chance for you and a friend win one of our Limited Edition, 25th Anniversary books! The book contains a limited edition signed Christopher Bailey illustration for you and a friend.
Graduate Fashion Week 2018 is fast approaching and we're looking back to the most creative looks backstage, in anticipation of the styling and beauty looks designed backstage, here at the most inventive looks from last years event!
In celebration of LGBTQ+ history month, we've teamed up with writer Georgia Gadsby to highlight the huge contribution the community has made to fashion, from influencers, to fashion films and icons.
The first in this series is 'Five Female LGBTQ+ Fashion Voices You Should Be Following' below! Check back every Friday in February to read more about the journey the LGBTQ+ community has taken through the industry in this celebratory series.
Three talented Graduate Fashion Week Alumni, Claire Tagg, Amy Thompson and Maddie Williams, are showing with Fashion Scout during London Fashion Week this February!
This weekend, Founder and Creative Director of Fashion Scout & Graduate Fashion Week, Martyn Roberts visited Rome. Where Martyn visited Accademia Costume & Moda, to meet the students whom could potentially showcase in our international catwalk show. He spoke to the students and saw the innovative showcases of their work.
At the beginning of 2018, fashion communication students at Brighton University were preparing for a new term of creative work, creating and designing magazines that explore the limits of fashion publishing. After printing copies of six magazines, Neighbour, Breach, Outof, Voix, Unco, and Strip, the emerging writers, editors and publishers took to the Magazine Shop in Brighton, to decorate their window and sell the magazines as part of the thriving independent industry in Brighton & Hove.
On Wednesday the 17th January, GFW Alumni and winner of the TU Womenswear scholarship 2017, Laura Gillings, visited the TU clothing studio to introduce her stunning collection. The collection presents garments featuring Laura’s hand drawn prints, striped garments designed with ruffles to display a disorganised effect and statement slogans.
We held our first American showcase in New York on Tuesday, partnering with SmartFocus the Digital Messaging Cloud. We worked closely with major brands and publications during the trip, to highlight 27 years of work with fashion's next generation.
At this time in the academic year, weeks can become blurs that look vaguely like the inside of a studio but mostly like development work and final-year-collection stress. Whatever your fashion discipline, sometimes taking a step back and reconnecting with the wider world of fashion, art, textiles and photography, can give the energetic inspirational encouragement that you need to keep working.
One award that begun five years ago and has quickly risen to become one of the most sought after titles for young designers, is the LVMH prize. The LVMH Group- Louis Vuitton, Moet, Hennessy a luxury goods company working alongside 60 subsidiaries of prestigious global brands are hosting the LVMH Prize for the fifth year running.
We're so excited to announce that we're heading to New York, for our first American showcase! Partnering with SmartFocus, the Digital Messaging Cloud, Managing and Creative Director of GFW Martyn Roberts and Industry Trustee Hilary Alexander OBE, will be attending two major events aimed to highlight and showcase the work of Graduate Fashion Week.
London Fashion Week Mens 2018 runs from 6th - 8th January, and with many exciting London based emerging designers participating, we’re more than excited to see the menswear talent on show. To celebrate the most innovative talent, we’ve compiled a list of three unmissable shows and presentations, that are sure to make waves across the menswear sector.
The next Graduate Fashion Week masterclass is held by GFW Managing and Creative Director Martyn Roberts and renowned British Fashion journalist Hilary Alexander OBE the 10th of November at Edinburgh University.
Yesterday evening Graduate Fashion Foundation, the charity behind Graduate Fashion Week in association with UK Fashion & Textiles Association (UKFT), hosted an exclusive reception at the Houses of Parliament, celebrating their strong ties with leading industry experts, bringing together fashion’s brightest young graduate talent and key policy makers.
Marks & Spencer have combined their in house expertise with young design talent, to produce a collection of exclusive evening wear pieces. The collaborative collection consists of 11 pieces with creative prints and classic silhouettes. Claire Tagg, runner up at GFW17, has created a collaborative collection with the experts at M&S, and it's available to buy now.
Graduate Fashion Week's Managing and Creative Director Martyn Roberts and renowned British fashion journalist Hilary Alexander OBE held a masterclass at University the Brighton on 3rd November.
The exclusive House of Parliament reception is an annual event hosted by Graduate Fashion Week in partnership with UK Fashion and Textiles Association (UKFT). The event will be held at The Riverside Terrace, Houses of Parliament on Tuesday 14th November to celebrate and support the best talent from 2017 and, to launch GFW 2018.
Graduate Fashion Week is going global, are we're thrilled to announce that thirteen of our graduates will be showcasing their inspiring collections in Dubai for Fashion Forward 2017.
Graduate Fashion Week isn't just an exciting event that takes place at the end of the university year- we have several initiatives that run all year round in order to support our graduates through the transition between student life and being part of an international industry.
We are so excited to announce the launch of The Protégé Project for GFW. A scheme especially designed to support the award winners of the Graduate Fashion Week event that we host each June. The protégé project was created to aid our graduates as they enter the industry.
On Wednesday 11th October, GFW Managing and Creative Director Martyn Roberts and former British Fashion Journalist of the Year and freelancer Hilary Alexander OBE held a Graduate Fashion Week masterclass at Northumbria University.
This year at Fashion Scout during London Fashion Week, showcased three of our Graduate Fashion Week alumni's pieces. The designs were in full view along the red carpet entrance to the Gallery catwalk in Freemasons' Hall. Each designer had mannequins displaying their work through the exciting event!
Every year, Graduate Fashion Week celebrates the most extraordinary talents from UK and around the world, ushering them into spotlight as they take home the most prestigious awards given to graduates in fashion.
UKFT rolls out manufacturing masterclasses across five UK universities as part of the Made It campaign with Marks and Spencer.
Located in the heart of Rome, the Accademia Costume & Moda for over 50 years has homed a number of students for both undergraduate, and master courses of many subjects. Combining history, theory, and craftsmanship into their studies, Accademia Costume & Moda prepares their students for the future world that they go into, whether fashion or costume design, media and marketing, or accessory design.
Ahead of pride celebrations in Brighton this weekend, Boohoo man have released a special collection in honour of the LGBTQ+ rights celebration in collaboration with activist and creative Philip Normal.
It was inspiring to see such a refreshing take on menswear at Graduate Fashion Week 2017. Almost every university showcased a men’s collection, but several graduates stood out by challenging the conventional ideas of menswear, using ‘feminine silhouettes’ and fabrics like silk, lace and sheer fabrics. We also saw a more diverse selection of models, with Ellen Fowles’ collection modelled entirely by older men at the Ravensbourne show.
We would like to say a big thank you to our partners Design-Surgery, for providing the mannequins used during GFW Live! and the Swarovski International Exhibition. All of their mannequins reflect today’s body shapes and incorporate a number of useful aids. Every one of them is made by hand using traditional methods and recycled materials.
It was wonderful to see so many graduates using fashion to take on meaningful topics that are important to them. Some designers were more direct with their social justice statements. Lauren Sian Black from Liverpool John Moores University, sent one of the models down the catwalk carrying a bright yellow sign saying ‘Black Lives Matter’, with one of the tops featuring Eric Garner’s final words ‘I can’t breathe’. Her menswear collection showed a clear stance of support for the international activist movement which campaigns against violence and systemic racism towards black people.
It was a pleasure to welcome back the amazing L’Oreal Professionnel team at Graduate Fashion Week and to have L’Oreal Professionnel as our official sponsors once again! Hair has always been an integral part of fashion and essential when creating a total look, so naturally hair stylists play a crucial role backstage at catwalk shows.
At the beginning of the last day of GFW 2017, we had senior professionals from Clarks talk to us the process of creating and crafting a shoe. Head of Evolution at Clarks Rosie McKissock led the talk through the intricate collaborative processes between senior designers Helen Richard-Rees, Christopher Anderson, and last maker Kerry Hooper behind Clark’s footwear products. Kerry even did a live demonstration of building a shoe from scratch -the audience were amazed at how fast and talented she is at her work.
After the huge success of the Gala Awards show, we are delighted to have some of our finalists show at 'Graduate Fashion Week Gala Roadshow’ this July! The bringing forth of graduate creativity doesn't stop when the Truman Brewery closes it's doors- we're dedicated to discovering and recognising the movers and revolutionary spirits emerging n the industry all year round.
Another day, another exciting line-up of GFW live! Talks at GFW 2017. The first talk took place in the morning with members of the buying team at BOOHOO. Sophie Rycroft (Lead Buyer) and Janine Smith (Head of Buying) shared insights into working as buyer within the competitive fashion industry. They shared the four qualities boohoo looks for in its buying staff: passion, agility, creativity, and teamwork. Despite the old cliché, Sophie and Janine insist that “passion for fashion” still is the fundamental element for success in the industry.
The votes for the People’s Choice Award ended on Sunday night and with just under 4,000 entries, we're really pleased to be able to announce the winner! This year's Graduate Fashion Week was filled to the brim with creative ingenuity, collections as platforms for making political points and expert craftsmanship.
We had an exciting selection of GFW Live! Talks on Monday 5th June with topics ranging from “The Art of Creative Catwalk Production”, to “Macro and Micro Trends that Influence the High Street”, as well as helping everyone to “Get Dream Job Ready”.
The Swarovski International Catwalk Competition took place on the final day of GFW and the audience spent the afternoon eagerly anticipating the winner announcement. As is always the case, it was difficult to bestow the award upon just one young designer, as the 32 university strong show, was refreshing, energetic and eye opening.
From an interview with creative and managing director of Graduate Fashion Week, Martyn Roberts, to behind the scenes tutorials with 3ina and London Beauty Artists, there was a lot to Graduate Fashion Week 2017 that you haven't seen yet...
The first day of GFW 2017 kicked off with Where Are They Now? A talk where GFW Alumnus Hazel Symmons (winner of 2016 Christopher Bailey Gold Award) and Genevieve Devine (winner of 2016 Tu Womenswear Scholarship) sat down with us to talk about their ventures post Graduate Fashion Week. Both graduates have been busy with the challenging process of establishing their identities in fashion, however, both ladies reflected at their journeys with gratitude, especially Genevieve, who had great fun releasing her capsule collection for TU with British Designer Holly Fulton as mentor.
Yan Ting Kwok from Norwich University of Arts was announced as the winner of the Little Black Dress Celebrity Gown Competition, live at Graduate Fashion Week. Alesha Dixon named Miss Ting Kwok the recipient of the award and the Britain’s Got Talent Judge will wear Yan’s dress to a high-profile red carpet or TV event.
Every year, Graduate Fashion Week celebrates the most extraordinary talents from UK and around the world, ushering them into spotlight as they take home the most prestigious awards given to graduates in fashion.
This year, our judges couldn’t help but notice one graduate in particular for her work’s impeccable visual impact and originality- Halina North from Edinburgh College of Art, whose womenswear collection won both the Christopher Bailey Gold Award and the Hilary Alexander Trailblazer Award in partnership with Swarovski!
We know the rest of the UK is caught up with a different voting process at the moment, but here at Graduate Fashion Week we would love you to exercise your right to a voice one more time!
For the first time, in partnership with SmartFocus, we're hosting a People's Choice Award! Many of the collections that hit the catwalk during #GFW17 were absolutely astounding, and we feel that it's time to recognise collections outside of the experts favourite.
The Best Of Show happens every year on the last day of Graduate Fashion Week, where the best collections from the whole week, across both UK and International universities, gather on one stage. Top industry and media members and professionals fight for the show’s tickets as it truly condenses GFW’s vast talents into its most concentrated, elite few.
Gok Wan sits down with a panel of industry experts and spills secrets to our graduates about the fashion industry, with TU at Sainsbury's
We sit down with M&S to talk about making fashion sustainable in today's industry
The lucky 25 shortlisted graduates exhibited their collections on our SmartFocus catwalk in the The Best of GFW Show
We catch up with Nina Marenzi, Head and Founder of The Sustainable Angle to talk about the Future of Fabrics Expo.
Myleene Klass gives us a lesson on creating a kids brand at our GFW Live! talk space, with Mothercare
Celebrity style consultant Mark Heyes in conversation with Hilary Alexander OBE about his new job with Bonmarché
The Swarovski International Catwalk Competition was the first show of the day to grace our SmartFocus Catwalk
Talented shoe designers and makers from Clarks take us through the story of the shoe at our GFW Live! space
Throughout Graduate Fashion Week we’ve seen some great names from the industry, returning faces and new ones. Take a look at our guest list!
So the best 25 collections of Graduate Fashion Week 2017 are here! Check out the shortlisted collections
Graduates from Kingston University take to the SmartFocus runway to round off the Tuesday of GFW2017
The final Daily Awards Show of Graduate Fashion Week 2017 saw the winners for Fashion Marketing Award and 3INA Styling and Creative Direction Award
The Ravensbourne graduates work reflected their passion and dedication in the show on our SmartFocus catwalk
The De Montfort show displayed a mix of garments and collections from 19 graduate designers on our SmartFocus catwalk
This afternoon, Gok Wan spoke about his 22 years in the fashion industry in our GFW Live! talk space, presented by TU at Sainsbury's
Acknowledging talent in both Design and Communications, the five finalists for each award have finally been announced
This evening, M&S held an inspirational talk on the GFW Live! stage with Jessica Harris and Duncan Morris
Chief executive of Boohoo Carol Kane was in discussion with Hilary Alexander OBE at our GFW Live! talk space
Graduates from the University of Brighton sent their exciting collections down our SmartFocus catwalk
Norwich University of the Arts took our SmartFocus Catwalk by storm with their graduate collection
Central Saint Martins graduate and designer Savannah Miller shares her advice on creating for the mass market with Debenhams
An inspiring talk hosted by Gap Inc., for budding communication students taking their first steps into the industry
The SmartFocus catwalk saw an array of colour, pattern and flawless design from Birmingham City graduates
Our first GFW Live! talk of day three took place this morning with members from the talented team at Boohoo
UCA Epsom held a dramatic and exciting final show on our SmartFocus catwalk to round off our Monday night!
Manchester School of Art showcased an incredible amount of talent, here on our Smartfocus Catwalk for Graduate Fashion Week
Costume Designer Nicola Atkinson sits down in conversation with Hilary Alexander OBE in our GFW Live! space, presented by Little Black Dress
Graduates from Manchester Fashion Institute showcase a mix of womenswear, menswear and sportswear collections in GFW17’s first presentation
UCA Rochester showcased a broad range of creative and thought-provoking fashion forward design on our SmartFocus catwalk
At the GFW Live! space, TU at Sainsbury’s hosted a conversation with designer Henry Holland from House of Holland.
Two members of the Marks & Spencer social team took to the GFW Live! space to deliver an insightful talk on the importance of social media and research
We delve deep into the world of trend forecasting, with Debenhams' own Kate Crossey and her dream team, Nikki Gorrie, Angela Baidoo and Laura Yiamka!
Graduates from Liverpool John Moores University send their designs down our SmartFocus catwalk
The first GFW Live! talk this Monday afternoon introduces a new take on catwalk shows and production
The students of Bath Spa showcased their latest graduate collections to an eager crowd at our SmartFocus catwalk.
Students from the Arts University of Bournemouth showcase their collections on our SmartFocus catwalk
Manchester graduate Eva-Joy Sargent stages a protest against unsustainable fashion in our GFW space
See what is on the agenda for the second day of Graduate Fashion Week 2017!
We end the first day of Graduate Fashion Week 2017 with some jaw-dropping designs from the students of the University of East London
Northumbria displayed an amazing array of collections which all embodied different themes, influences and identities to each given designer.
As the first day of GFW comes to an end, it means it’s time to announce the awards winners
Swarovski lend a helping hand for these three young designers who sit down in conversation with Hilary Alexander OBE
We sit down with Marks and Spencer's Francessca Zedda (Head of Trends and Business) and Nabina Legan (Head Designer for Womenswear)
All eyes were on Salford’s graduate show as they mixed up womenswear, menswear and childrenswear
Graduate Fashion Week is proud to have 3INA as the beauty force behind the makeup and hair styles during GFW17
The students of the University of Central Lancashire took to the SmartFocus Catwalk to showcase their diverse range of graduate collections.
Graduate Fashion Week kicks off with our first SmartFocus Catwalk, showcasing young talent from Northbrook College and Sheffield Hallam University
Boux Avenue join us once again at Graduate Fashion Week and this year Buying Director Debbie Duckett gives inspiring advice to students on the GFW Live! stage.
Graduate Fashion Week are proud to kick off the first day of the four-day event, packed with students and their work from some of the best universities as well as talks with notable names discussing the industry.
We're so pleased to have Kei Kagami and Aitor Throup judging the YKK Accessories Award! Both judges will be looking for a designer that has taken a modern directional approach to the accessories arena, and with a prize of £750 to the student and £250 to the university, there's no doubt it's all to play for.
Outside Truman Brewery during Graduate Fashion Week, will be an innovative, interesting and interactive project! The project is called SUYT (Show Us Your Talent) and consists of an installation in which design students can recreate their own atmosphere through a selected music and light settings, and have 10 minutes to show their talent via a digital white canvas, a design tablet with an intuitive software developed specially for the project.
On 26th May we held our Graduate Fashion Week model casting day to decide which beautiful boys and girls will be wearing the graduates’ creations. Our show producers and casting directors spent the day selecting a number of models from various agencies across London, going through their portfolios and their walks.
The beauty teams who will be backstage at Graduate Fashion Week, 3ina and London Beauty Artists, held tutorials last week – it’s sure to be a great chance to get a sneak preview of the make-up and hair looks on the catwalk at GFW!
There are lots of iconic and innovative brands that make Graduate Fashion Week possible, be it through giving their time and knowledge or sponsoring our awards. We're happy to tell you that the latest brand to lend their name to the GFW cause, is dunhill London!
GFW Live! kicks off this year on Sunday 4th June with a star-studded line-up that cannot be missed! From Henry Holland to the queen of fashion journalism Hilary Alexander herself, the talks will cover topics from how to develop an American portfolio to developing a signature brand.
We are proud to announce that Swarovski will be this year's main sponsor for the renowned International Catwalk Show Competition; returning for its fifth year. The Swarovski International Catwalk Show Competition invites the world’s leading fashion institutes to enter their top graduate collection; GFW showcases the best and most innovative students they have to offer under one platform. From The New School Parsons in New York, Donghua University China, Bunka in Japan, Accademia Costume & Moda Rome and numerous other European institutes, it is set to be the largest show yet in the history of the worldwide competition.
We are delighted to confirm the judging panel for the highly regarded Gold Award, Fabio Piras, Sarah Harris and Carlos Nazario. First won by Burberry’s Creative Director Christopher Bailey 26 years ago, its recipients have gone on to be some of the most successful British designers of our time.
Make sure you don't miss any of our exciting talks, taking place in the GFW Talk Live Space. We have 27 talks taking place during Graduate Fashion Week 2017 providing the the opportunity to listen to fantastic names in the industry, from John Rocha to Henry Holland.
A few weeks ago we held our Graduate Fashion Week photo shoot where we got to see eight of our graduates’ designs come to life with models and influencers wearing them. Given that many of our alumni go on to be some of the biggest names in fashion, we thought they deserved no one less than the renowned photographer Damian Foxe to shoot their designs.
We are happy to announce The Dame Vivienne Westwood Sustainable and Ethical Award sponsored by Lenzing Group, supported by The Sustainable Angle and Ethical Fashion Forum.
To win this prestigious award, the judges will be looking out for a design that is sustainable, ethically aware and socially responsible with a lower environmental impact that embodies and communicates sustainable and ethical practices.
We're really excited to announce that Angela Missoni, creative director of Italian design house Missoni, will be joining the judging panel for the prestigious Gold Award! The award will be presented during the finale of Graduate Fashion Week 2017.
We are proud to announce EveryCloud as one of our sponsors for Graduate Fashion Week 2017. EveryCloud are the cloud confidence consultants providing independent and impartial cloud security consultancy and implementation services.
Lipsy is well known for dressing fun-loving girls for every occasion from red carpet dresses to everyday tees. First established in 1988, Lipsy has grown in recognition and now stocks over 200 brands as well as Lipsy’s own label. With a number celebrities spotted wearing Lipsy and collaborating to launch their own ranges it is recognised both in the UK and internationally.
We are proud to have Boux Avenue supporting us once again at Graduate Fashion Week. Launched in April 2011, the London-based brand prides itself in being the destination for beautiful lingerie, nightwear and swimwear that is accessible to every woman. They offer an expert bra fitting service and high quality lingerie, swimwear and nightwear at affordable prices. This is our second year being involved with Boux Avenue and we are delighted to announce that they will once again be sponsoring the Lingerie and Swimwear Award at this year’s Graduate Fashion Week – two categories that they certain know a lot about!
The Little Black Dress Celebrity Gown Competition was judged on Wednesday 10th May. The panel of judges included Britain's Got Talent Judge Alesha Dixon, Little Black Dress's Mark Evans and esteemed journalist Hilary Alexander OBE. Four contestants were assessed on whether they could capture Alesha’s personal sense of style with their dress designs.
As #GFW17 draws near we are pleased to announce that our Digital Marketing Partner SmartFocus will be providing us with the digital platform to help showcase Graduate Fashion Week. They have also generously sponsored our Catwalk Hall that will host up to 800 people! Their support has proved invaluable in helping us to engage with the best of graduate design talent from around the world.
You may follow Karlmond Tang already. If you don’t then you probably should, because his interesting and unique perspective on fashion, is one of the most genuine that you’ll come across in the digital age of pretending. During our photo shoot, our digital editor grabbed a few words with Karlmond to bring you some thoughts from the artist and writer. Here he offers advice on how to strike a balance between social media and self expression, and offers a refreshing perspective that seeps knowledge without any pretension. Oh, and why you should never tell someone that what they’ve done is wrong.
Nancy Dreaming is the fashion and beauty blogger with a penchant for pink and colouring her hair. We caught up with her behind the scenes of our photoshoot to chat about sewing without formal training, using vegan beauty products and why tattoos don't have to mean anything at all to look pretty.
Graduate Fashion Week is proud to announce its partnership with Tu at Sainsbury’s for the second year running. Following the success of last year, the 2017 partnership will see both a womenswear and menswear graduate receive a scholarship within the Tu design team. What’s more, the lucky graduates will embark on a year-long mentorship with acclaimed British designers Henry Holland and Oliver Spencer as they create a Graduate Fashion Week collection for Tu’s SS18 range.
We're pleased to announce that The Little Black Dress Celebrity Gown Competition is being judged on Wednesday 10th May!
The panel of judges are the lovely Alesha Dixon, television presenter Mark Evans and esteemed journalist Hilary Alexander OBE. They will be deciding whose designs will become the dress that Alesha will wear.
To provide students with a cool place to stay over Graduate Fashion Week, our official preferred hotel sponsor is the creative Green Rooms, the North London based arts hotel.
We spoke with Nick Hartwright, the founder of Green Rooms and Mandy Tutt, the director, to find out how the idea for the hostel came about, what it's like trying to find unique furniture, and the rewards of watching a young artist flourish.
We're proud to announce that the renowned International Catwalk Show Competition returns for the fifth year running on Wednesday 7th June at 12noon. Last year, Amesh Wijesekera from the Academy Of Design, Sri Lanka, won the chance to put his work on display during London Fashion Week, with Fashion Scout.
After Graduate Fashion Week, our alumni go on to some amazing companies, and so we've been chatting with them to find out how to make the most out of GFW17, how to enter a seemingly intimidating industry and why you should never stop learning.
We spoke with Rachael Eustace, now a menswear designer at H&M in Stockholm, who showed her graduate collection in 2015.
This year is shaping up to be really exciting for awards and competitions. We're pleased to announce the CanO Water Design Competition! CanO Water are an innovative company that package water in resealable cans, as opposed to plastic bottles.
"We wanted to create a simple yet effective alternative to single use plastic water bottles, with the aim to put an end to the global impact caused by the plastic ending up in our beautiful oceans and landfills.
GAP Inc a huge employer of young people in the fashion industry, are going to be sponsoring Graduate Fashion Week! The reason that GFW exists, is to ease the transition between university life and graduation, and the working world. It is with the support of sponsors such as GAP Inc, that we're able to launch the next generation of talent into the industry.
A few weeks ago we held our GFW17 photo shoot, with influencers and models wearing pieces created by this year's graduating classes from across the UK. We spoke with Charley Van Purpz, an influencer and popular man on Instagram, to get his view on the fashion industry in the modern world, how relationships between creatives can get rocky and why he can't wait for the era of loud fashion to come calmly to a close.
We caught up with graduate of Nottingham Trent University and award winner at GFW25, Rosella May, to see what she's been up to since the long days of sewing and toiling to put together a collection to send down the catwalk in Truman Brewery. It's been a busy yet exciting year for the young designer- read on to find out more about her time working alongside SEO Jarkata in Indonesia, experiences designing within a different culture and what it's like to now be a junior denim designer at Calvin Klein!
WE'RE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT GRACE WELLER, THE 2014 GOLD AWARD AND WOMENSWEAR WINNER, HAS BEEN LABELLED RUNNER UP IN THE SOPHIE HALLETTE DESIGN CHALLENGE AND HER GRADUATE COLLECTION IS FEATURED IN THE NEW 'LACE IN FASHION' EXHIBITION AT THE FASHION MUSEUM IN BATH.
On Wednesday 26th January 2017 a selection of lucky hand-picked graduates from across the UK had the opportunity to attend an intimate masterclass with one of Graduate Fashion Week’s Lifetime Patrons; Victoria Beckham OBE. The private masterclass was an insightful tool for the graduate guests, offering tips and advice into a successful career in the industry.
Meet Portillo Vazquez, a fashion communications graduate from Heriot Watt University. Alicia’s final year project aims to subvert traditional concepts of masculinity which damage and stunt the freedom of emotion and expression in young boys in Mediterranean countries like Spain, Alicia’s home country.
On the evening of 21st October, Holly Fulton was recognised as the Fashion Innovator of the year during the 11th Annual Scottish Fashion Awards.
Graduate Fashion Week Trustee Hilary Alexander joins Britain's Next Top Model judging panel once again!
Graduate Fashion Week 25th Anniversary graduates Anita Atuobi, UCA Epsom & Som Kerdsiri, Edinburgh College of Art feature in Wonderland Magazine, New Threads.
'UN ORANGE LABEL PROJECT: FASHION SAYS NO TO VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN' Competition.
Graduate Fashion Week are offering 10 lucky winners the chance to attend Fashion Scout SS17 during London Fashion Week.
Graduate Fashion Week are thrilled to congratulate, along with a number of our member universities, Kingston University BA(Hons) Fashion degree, having elevated to second place in prestigious Business of Fashion Global Fashion School Rankings. The high-profile recognition cements our member universities among the highest ranked fashion universities world wide.
The 'Graduate Fashion Week 1991 to 2016' book enlightens people as to the importance of GFW. It has evolved and developed into a monumentally important event within the fashion industry, growing from strength to strength with each passing year. The book showcases a variety of interviews, articles, illustrations and photographs from the past 25 years of GFW.
We caught up with our 25th Anniversary award winners to ask them about their experience of GFW, how they got there and what they have planned for their futures in fashion!
We caught up with our 25th Anniversary award winners to ask them about their experience of GFW, how they got there and what they have planned for their futures in fashion!
We caught up with our 25th Anniversary award winners to ask them about their experience of GFW, how they got there and what they have planned for their futures in fashion!
We caught up with our 25th Anniversary award winners to ask them about their experience of GFW, how they got there and what they have planned for their futures in fashion!
We caught up with our 25th Anniversary award winners to ask them about their experience of GFW, how they got there and what they have planned for their futures in fashion!
We caught up with our 25th Anniversary award winners to ask them about their experience of GFW, how they got there and what they have planned for their futures in fashion!
We caught up with our 25th Anniversary award winners to ask them about their experience of GFW, how they got there and what they have planned for their futures in fashion!
We caught up with our 25th Anniversary award winners to ask them about their experience of GFW, how they got there and what they have planned for their futures in fashion!
We caught up with our 25th Anniversary award winners to ask them about their experience of GFW, how they got there and what they have planned for their futures in fashion!
We caught up with our 25th Anniversary award winners to ask them about their experience of GFW, how they got there and what they have planned for their futures in fashion!
We caught up with our 25th Anniversary award winners to ask them about their experience of GFW, how they got there and what they have planned for their futures in fashion!
ASOS Marketplace and The Clothes Show is offering emerging designers the chance to retail their collections at the UK’s largest fashion and beauty consumer show!
Graduate Fashion Week 25th Anniversary
Graduate Fashion Week 25th Anniversary
Graduate Fashion Week 25th Anniversary
Graduate Fashion Week 25th Anniversary
Graduate Fashion Week 25th Anniversary
Graduate Fashion Week 25th Anniversary
Graduate Fashion Week 25th Anniversary
Graduate Fashion Week 25th Anniversary
Graduate Fashion Week has named Nick Knight OBE, one of the world’s most celebrated and influential fashion photographers, as a Lifetime Patron.
Dame Vivienne Westwood is one of the global fashion industry’s true originals – a powerhouse of inspirational and radical design and polemic. Her immense influence on the contemporary British fashion industry and on decades of fashion students is acknowledged and celebrated as Graduate Fashion Week welcomes her as a lifetime patron as part of its 25th Anniversary celebrations.
Graduate Fashion Week features in this week’s ES magazine which has just hit news stands alongside tonight’s Evening Standard.
Did you pick up a copy of Sunday Times Style over the weekend? If you did you will have noticed a full page editorial featuring Graduate Fashion Week!
We spoke with L’Oréal Professionnel’s Monica Teodoro about L’Oréal’s ongoing support of Graduate Fashion Week, what looks we should expect to see at the GFW 25th Anniversary and catwalk hair highlights from the past 25 years!
Highly respected, Senior Editor of Vogue Italia and Editor of Vogue Talents, Sara Maino will be on the International Catwalk Competition judging panel at Graduate Fashion Week 25th Anniversary.
In today's Draper's Magazine, spanning 4 pages, Fashion Editor, Graeme Moran, charts the legacy of the past 25 years of Graduate Fashion Week, celebrating past alumni and graduates who will be showcasing their work at this years GFW. We can't wait to see the designers innovative creations at the Old Truman Brewery 5th-8th June 2016!
Graduate Fashion Week are proud to announce that, for their 25th Anniversary, Hilary Alexander, award winning Journalist and former Fashion Director of the Daily Telegraph, will be in conversation with Journalist, Fashion Critic and International Fashion Editor for Vogue online, Suzy Menkes.
Toby is running a one day Masterclass on June 11th, in London, around his book ‘How to Set Up & Run a Fashion Label’ and is kindly offering a 30% discount to graduating design and management fashion students that may be interested, use code ‘GFW30’. He will also be prizing the winner of the Barclays New Business Award with a free ticket to the event!
Enter our competition for a chance to shoot or style a New Look social media campaign.
Being all about that upcoming party, the catch up with friends and all the excitement that comes with it, we could not be more pleased that London-based fashion brand New Look are sponsoring the Graduate Fashion week 25th Anniversary Official afterparty.
Design and produce a captivating, trend-setting commercial womenswear garment worthy of a red carpet event! Win £750 for yourself and £250 for your University.
We are delighted to announce that Sainsbury’s are partnering up with Graduate Fashion Week for our 25th Anniversary!
Whilst some students are yet to discover who will have their collections exhibited, we asked some of the potential exhibitors about their anticipation building up to GFW, their time at University and more…
Marking our 25th Anniversary London-based photographic talent Hanna Moon was invited to capture the work of nine talented graduating designers. All extremely diverse in design but bringing together a broad universe of ethnicity, youth culture, politics and historical perspectives.
This year, for the first time, Sophie Hallette are joining forces with Graduate Fashion Week so our University Design Challenge will become a part of the whole event. This will make it easier for the students and colleges as our judging panel will have access to the collections when they are submitted to the GFW Committee for judging, rather than holding a separate event. The winners will be announced on the Final Evening of GFW at the Awards Ceremony.
The talented Nicola Glass SVP of Accessories Design at Michael Kors will be on the Accessories Award judging panel at Graduate Fashion Week 25th Anniversary!
We are ecstatic to announce that the ever innovative, Gareth Pugh, will be joining us, to Judge at the Graduate Fashion Week 25th Anniversary.
We are thrilled to announce that one of the UK’s leading retailers, Marks & Spencer, are partnering up with us, Graduate Fashion Week, for our 25th Anniversary.
After months of anticipation we are proud to announce our new website is now live!
Graduate Fashion Week are pleased to announce that the ticket booking for our 25th anniversary event is NOW LIVE!
In the news this week, designers and editors give their advice on how to win a fashion prize, BoF analyses the importance of a mentor in rapidly changing fashion industry, while Fashion Network reports on haute couture turning its back on fur - real and fake. Over on Quartz, do people really care if their clothes are new anymore?