#LGFW2017

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London Graduate Fashion Week 2017

London Graduate Fashion Week 2017 Wed 7th June - Dresser

London Graduate Fashion Week 2017 Sunday 4th June - Viewing

Back home over early summer I eagerly awaited June to arrive for London Graduate Fashion Week as it’s a great chance to see fresh talent and new experimental ideas. As well, the university stands always have previous students work on display, so it is a good opportunity to see different examples of how others present their work and the thinking behind their final outcomes.

I spent the morning looking over students work from universities around the country, of course I started at the Northumbria stand! Below are some images of work I thought was original and creative. The first image a student had printed their photographs onto sheets of chiffon which have an element of transparency to them, this then gave a inventive illusion of a busy photograph made up of many different elements when you stand at the front of the fabric pieces.

Interestingly, I came across a students work who must have had a similar brief to our diversity module where they had set up a campaign poster for ‘All Walks Beyond The Catwalk’. The model had concentrated on the category of gender and playing around with the boundaries of what ‘should or should not’ be worn by each gender. Following from that I also saw that DeMontfords programme handbook featuring a male model with vitiligo on the cover. This is a great example of diversity being bought to the front centre of peoples attention and embracing all skin types.

Later on, I watched the catwalk shows which had some questionable outfits, not too sure that they will become the most popular designs overnight however the majority were showcases of pure talent. Have a look below at some of the images I took from the catwalk and see what you think!

Same event but this time instead of being a guest I was a volunteer dresser working behind the scenes. The experience was such a real insight into the stress of being backstage but so relieving when the show finishes without a hitch!

6am start to be ready and in London for 8am was a morning that was fuelled by many cups of coffee. As soon as I arrived it was all hands on deck, the show was showcasing international fashion students which meant at times communication between the us dressers and the designers was tricky at times but through many hand actions we all managed to pull it off. I was given my rack which had 6 different looks ranging from an industrial leather outfit to oriental kimono to an outfit made entirely from straws. These uniquely creative designs were inspirational and getting to talk to the designers through their design processes was a great experience. I found the hardest part of the job was finding ways to quickly yet carefully get these pieces of art on and off the models within the 30seconds - 1minute interval time that you have from the model coming off the catwalk to needing to be in the line up.

So, there is an experience which I wouldn’t have thought would be something I’d sign up to but was extremely enjoyable and actually educational into the management behind the front show, a good insight into how much work goes into ensuring all runs smoothly backstage.