Ten LCF MA Fashion Design Technology Womenswear graduates drew inspiration from far and wide for this year’s LCFMA16 Womenswear Catwalk show including Romany Gypsies, silence, surgery, the idea of rebirth and massacre. The event took over centuries old Royal College of Surgeons in central London, and featured make-up by Lou Teasdale of Bleach London, Claire Mulleady of MAC pro makeup team, nails by Liza Smith at CND and styling by Anders Sølvsten Thomsen. Live music was provided by Haelos.
The featured designers were Pelin Isildak, Lauren Lake, Sui Yiru, Alexandru Tunsu, Zhixan Wang, Ning Xu, Yawen Qian, Kirim Yun, Desiree Slabik and Ysabel Lee.
The designers presented their collections to a leading audience of press and industry that included Machine-A founder Stravos Karelis, ASOS’s Head of Fashion Zeba Lowe, Rinse FM broadcaster Yinka, fashion journalist Hilary Alexander OBE, WWD’s Lorelei Marfil and Head of College Professor Frances Corner.
LCF News spoke to Serge Kerbel, fashion director and fashion photographer, who attended last nights show to find out what his highlights were, and what he thought about the calibre of work at this year’s show.
I had a chance to see this year’s collection first, up-close and personal backstage, and later on during the show and I was blown away by the designers’ artistic visions, quality of craftsmanship and attention to details. I was also pleased to see how graduates were able to achieve a perfect balance between creativity, trends and wearability. I loved Desiree Slabik’s play with volumes, Lauren Lake’s clash of colours, materials and textures, Ning Xu’s fresh take on activewear and Yawen’s edgy modernistic cuts. Looks like the future of fashion is in great hands!
Ashanti of Adorn Girl was in attendance last night, LCF News also caught up with her.
London College of Fashion womenswear graduates continue to be on the cutting edge of design, There was obviously an excellent execution throughout the entire showcase, which married creativity but viable commercial pieces. First initial collection that I loved was Lauren Lake. Lots of colour, texture and layering reminds me of an uber chic bag lady which always does it for me. Also a shout out to the wonderfully weird ‘dental’ brace face jewellery.
Turkish designer Pelin Isildak began her collection by analysing uniforms between 1600-1900s and why society has used them throughout history. She explored the purpose , the hierarchy attached to them by states and authorities, and what wearing them meant. She also looked at the common people, what they wore, and their dress code or uniform said about them. She wanted to mix noble uniforms from the past with those of common people to create a single moment in dress.
Lauren Lake‘s collection was called, ‘Some Girls Aren’t Meant To Be Tamed’. It was inspired by Romany Gypsies because of their rawness and fun, she wanted to mix this with today’s modern women. The collection and her muse are based on a tribe of women that she sees as powerful, confident and able to wear any clothes they desire. Lauren played with patterns and styles from early 1920s to 1940s with her collection, she used colour to maximise volume.
Sui Yiru based the entire collection around geometry and zen. Sui wanted to create a clean look that combined both of the collections inspirations, but also had a natural element to it, that’s why wood wood was used.
Bulgarian designer Alexandru Tunsu called his collection “Massacre of the Innocents”. His whole look is based after the life-cycle of a garment, and the afterlife that it can go on. Alex looked at how garments are born, how they mature, and how they die. This cycle created the ‘ghost of garments’ according to Alex, where the afterlife was born. He wanted to look at garments as people, taking the concept quite literally, he says.
Chinese poet and writer San Mao was the inspiration for Zhixian Wang‘s final collection. San Mao spent her life seeking freedom and true love. Zhixian grew up reading her stories, so she wanted the collection to resemble this dream world depicted my San Mao. The story used for this collection is a sad but romantic one, she wants to represent the author and how strong she is as a women in the collection.
Ning Xu‘s collection explored a spirit called “depth of thinking and identity”. The collection drew inspiration from childhood memories, and when Ning had an accident and during the whole experience had no hearing, only fragments of sound were left in the his head. This later developed a personal shyness, and thats what the collection represents.
Ywaen Qian called her collection ‘Sick’. It was inspired by and dedicated to her parents – both of whom are doctors. Yawen focused on the hospital itself but then looked at people with disabilities and the fashion that surrounds them.
Kirim Yun took inspiration from 19th century children’s garments in her collection, this is why the collections uses a lot of petticoats, according to the designer. The collection is intended to make people think about love.
Life after People was the inspiration for Desiree Slabik‘s collection. Prior to creating the collection, she wanted an American documentary where scientists and experts talked about a possible future where their was no human life on earth. This inspired her to create and portray a collection that represents this predicted world. She looked at clean and white architecture, mixed with organic vegetation, which is the only thing left on the planet. The final garment is a large flower bomb, that represents the transition of vegetation taking over what humans left behind.
Ysabel Lee was inspired by the Meiji Ishin restoration that took place in 1860s Japan. She combined this historical element with today’s world, she believes society is getting bored of all the information we are exposed to. Squares, rectangles and cubes were used throughout the collection. The visuals took inspiration from the kimono and the designer added a modern touch.
To watch the show on replay visit the LCFMA16 page.
All photography credits to Roger Dean.
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