Edinburgh College of Arts showcased their exceptional approach to an experimental and highly personal style of designing on their catwalk today. From start to end, the experience and atmosphere was intense. Before the catwalk began, the university was setting an ominous scene, which began feelings of immense anticipation amongst the audience. Powerful electronic based music drew in the audience into a new world of fashion forward design.
It can be understood from watching today’s catwalk why Edinburgh College of Arts was so popular and successful in winning awards in 2017. Not only did the university win the Catwalk Textiles Award and numerous individual awards, but five of their collections were featured Best of Show out of twenty-five collections. This standard was also translated into this year’s catwalk pieces. Overall, there was a theme of irregularity and subversion to traditional masculine and feminine tailoring by creating unusual patterns, textures and silhouettes, with a focus on sustainable fashion.
Most outstanding garments that resulted in an audible reaction from the audience was Rosa Cameron’s lampshade headdresses. These came in a range of sizes in black and covered the majority of the model’s face with long tassels. Cameron could be echoing the female stereotype of housewife with the lamp covering their face and mind to suggest that a woman’s mind may have been captured by this patriarchal ideology but through Rosa’s fashion they are able to manipulate this view into fashion forward styling. Secondly, Michelle Mcauly’s woven creations shocked the audience also. Again, the models had their head and face covered by Rosa’s sculptural weave, which portrays her inspiration of folklore and ritual. Finally, Marta Kaźmierczak’s collection screeched onto the catwalk, showcasing a totally unique insight into futuristic fashion. The models came out in garments that made them appear robotic as a humanoid species of our near future, complimenting Marta’s obscure designing pattern.
Words by Anna Tank
Photography by Becky Mukerji