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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.
The International Fashion Award Show 2018 saw a stimulating array of designs and incredible talent. The award show, sponsored by Swarovski, named the winner Danqi Chen from Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. Chen showcased a collection of animated pieces that displayed true craftsmanship and imagination. Bold yellow and scarlet red ankle-length trench coats were paired with matching accessories that projected a playful but minimalist feeling. Oversized puffer coats created irregular silhouettes and worked alongside the innovative headwear that won her the prestigious award.
Photography by Deborah Smith
Bao Wen Chen’s intricate designs demonstrated a reinvention of artistic flare within pattern. His rebellious designs contrasting one another were an example of how awe-inspiring the talent within this award. The eye-catching shapes and designs of Surya Pratap Singh were distinctive and bold. The primary coloured collection introduced avant garde silhouettes and ideas surrounding body image and gender. The bright red pieces had accents of colour to illustrate female body parts that were embodied as part of the cloth.
The experimentation of texture and colour by these designers was exciting to witness as the designers from renowned Asian Universities and schools across Europe brought a assortment of forward-thinking concepts and contemporary designs.
Words by Ellie Pinder
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.
