With an hour to go before the winners are announced at our Gala Awards Show, nervous graduates calmed their nerves with rivers of Laurent-Perrier and a number of judges, industry guests and lecturers gathered to catch up on what has been quite a week. Held in the Green Rooms VIP lounge , the guests are enjoying the artistic and curated furniture and design, that contributes to the atmosphere of antipication.
Jane Rapley OBE, a judge and the previous Head of Central Saint Martins, highlighted how impressed she was with the balance between commerciality and creativity. She had been particularly inspired by the Swarovski International Show, due to the varied cultural context.
The HR team from All Saints were also there, telling me how overwhelmed they had been about scale of talent, and how they often looked at the GFW candidates for potential employees.
Sara Stern, the Divisional Trading Director at Debenhams, summed it up perfectly – ‘the future is in this building’. Stern stressed that the gusto and creative talent in the building is something that to learn from – and it is something that will bring guests racing back to Graduate Fashion Week in 2018!
Words by Hannah Stacpoole