I was very proud to attend my college’s undergraduate show and cover it for 1883 Magazine. The designs were really impressive and I can’t believe how much work much have gone in to each collection. Here is my article 1883 Blog.
You know it was a good fashion show when the runway is left strewn with bells and the buzz from the audience is louder than the music. Undergraduate designers delivered one powerful collection after the next in the London College of Fashion catwalk 2011 show that was bursting with colour, creativity and raw talent.
The heavy use of trimmings (thus the bells left on the runway), and mixed materials can be explained by the Barnett Lawson “best use of trimmings” award and the Biddle Sawyer Silks award for “most innovative use of fabrics”. The former went to Charlotte Barry, who created a collection of intricately embroidered and embellished dresses in simple silhouettes with a mustard yellow and burnt orange colour scheme. The latter was awarded to Stine Riis’s “Decadence and Decay”, a very wearable collection of separates featuring dyed fur coats, high-waisted two-tone trousers and panels of patent leather to contrast with luxurious classic fabrics like wool and fur.
Creative use of textiles was a theme throughout the show. Angela Brandys womenswear collection was a beautiful pastel rainbow of colours and textures; dyed fur trim on cuffs and collars, shoulder cutouts, chains details on sleeves, foxtail clips, buttons, straps, d-rings, clear plastic, pink, turquoise, red, mint, orange, and beige somehow held up as a unified collection of tops and skirts, worn by tattooed models with dyed hair and eyebrows. Among the menswear collections, Brett de Jager’s “Punx on Safari” was a vibrant, tribal-inspired collection with a 70’s punk edge. Red tie-dye shorts over bright blue tights, tartan over stripes, and paint-splattered fabrics with multicoloured beads on exposed chests were Jager’s proposed uniform for the well-traveled subcultural man.
Although London College of Fashion has clearly turned out consistently brilliant student designers, there was one that stood out from the rest. Wun Wun Nova Chiu, winner of the Collection of the Year award, was responsible for the deserving “Shangri-Ladida” winning collection. The print heavy, ethnic-inspired collection of embellished dresses, beaded and bell-covered leggings and bold colour combinations was meticulously executed and seemed to exhaust every hand technique from dying to embroidery.
The range of inspirations and attention to detail displayed at the 2011 LCF catwalk show was genuinely encouraging; not only is it clear that London College of Fashion hasn’t lost its touch, it is clear that the future of fashion is being left in capable hands.
Read on 1883 Blog
Written by Emma Freed
Photography by Millie Liveing
I don’t wear a whole lot of scarves but I think that needs to change. I love this antique-looking scissor print. Available at 
NastyGal/Urban Outfitters mashup…I should really stop procrastinating and write my Ethics paper.
