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 GFW celebrates the array of innovative international design and creative talent by showcasing the diverse collections, unique design techniques and culture clashes our universities has to offer. GFW brings students, tutors and judges from all over the globe creating an insightful and alluring atmosphere beyond compare.
A huge congratulations to the winner Danqi Chen of Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology and Congratulations to the runner up, Bao Wen Chen of Shih Chein University. We would like to say a huge well done to each student that participated, our largest Swarovski International Fashion Award to date was an incredible display of fantastic and innovative talent from around the world.
GFW works alongside a multitude of award winning fashion institutions including Accademia Costume & Moda in Italy, Amsterdam Fashion Institute, Bunka Graduate Fashion University in Japan and FAD India to name a few. See a full list of our amazing global institutions here.
This years group of graduates did not disappoint and brought inspirational contemporary designs to our Swarovski International Catwalk. The 2018 catwalk showcased more collections than ever before presenting immersive prints and shapes, mesmerizing knitwear ideas, a wide display of radiant colours and extraordinary embellishment techniques. Some of the collections really gaged our attentions by presenting garments that disregard conventional concepts of proportioning to female and male models’ bodies, many of the designs exhibited changed ideas of how fashion should communicate with gender, which really fit into the ideas of revolutionising the fashion industry. Other concepts communicated subtle messages of politics and current affairs, imaginative and structured head pieces, eye catching accessories, stunning applique and contrasting proportions and methods of shaping the body using garments.
“Through GFW international and the Swarovski fashion Award we are able to unite so many different countries that reflect their great cultural diversity within fashion culture as well as the different approaches to education. We give the opportunity for institutions, large and small, well known and less to discuss, socialise and above all have sensational visibility in london which is in many ways is the world’s fashion capital for new design talent"
Adrien Yakimov Roberts, International Trustee at Graduate Fashion Week
It is so important to GFW that our international influences are presented; lifestyles, culture, architecture, religion and politics are so diverse and differing in each different country that it is mesmerizing to see the different ideas behind each individual collection. Fashion can be used as an internationally recognised language that allows different people from contrasting backgrounds and countries to come together united to celebrate their appreciation and talent. Our catwalk’s and presentations at GFW have no boundaries and do not segregate communities and schools, but bring their common interests together to observe and commend the artists that will form the future of fashion.