Trendsetters
This year's art college fashion shows again showcased a fresh batch of graduates with an astounding wealth of innovative ideas, reports Nadia Scullion
From Year 3's 'The
Legacy Project'
The 2011 Edinburgh College of Art Fashion Show saw a change in the longstanding format, allowing audiences to choose from three distinct show programmes: Fashion, Performance Costume (with professional choreographers and live musicians exploiting the dramatic power of design for stage and screen) and a Mixed Show which included work from both Fashion and Performance Costume. The raised catwalk was also removed, with models from Scotland's leading agencies weaving their way salon-style through the audience in the college's dramatic, neoclassical Sculpture Court.
Opening the show was a Year 3 project entitled 'Tailoring: Fashion as communication'. Executed entirely in white, the presentation featured six womenswear looks and one menswear which gave a nod to the minimalism currently so influential in fashion, art, architecture and interiors. The collection included deconstructed pieces and garments with unusual detailing, such as curved, double-jetted pockets, a testament to the students' technical ability. With an overall sporty feel, enhanced by the models defined eyebrows, natural make-up, low-key hairstyles and white headbands, the collection was a fresh and modern way to start the show.
Year 3 students also impressed with 'The Legacy Project', in which they worked in collaboration to create three unique brands. Opening the segment in dramatic fashion was Blake, an accessory-led brand which featured a model carrying an ultra-oversized men's bag. Next came SIA, focusing mainly on surface design, which showed tactile garments. A woven maxi-dress was a standout piece. Finally, Ensemble, a tailoring-led brand, showcased inspired pieces which were both well executed and commercially aware.
Designs by
Danielle McNeil
(Final Year
collection,
Textiles)
The Year 2 contribution to the show was sizeable too, showing the results of a collaboration with the textiles department. Inspired by the Entomology archive at the National Museum of Scotland, the students showed sculptural garments in a vivid spectrum of insect-inspired shades. The group also presented 'All Walks on the Catwalk', a project which looked to promote diversity within the fashion industry. The main event, the graduate collections, revealed an impressive display of ideas and talent. Ellie Reeves' collection, 'Into the light', utilised papery fabrics in beautiful, cocoonlike shapes. Inspired by light and natural erosion, she used a palette of soft whites, creams and rust colours punctuated by pops of bright blue to dramatic effect. Details like wooden buttons fastening the back of garments and subtle fabric manipulation only further enhanced this considered and quietly brilliant collection.
Felix Chabluk-Smith presented the first menswear collection shown at the college in 15 years. Exploring genetics and family history, his technical skill was astounding, producing professionally finished garments. His re-thinking of traditional menswear details such as the lapel or the shirt collar make it easy to see why he was one of three national winners in the BFC/Burberry competition, which earned him a threemonth internship at Burberry.
Designs by Barbra Kolasinski and Kyle Spires
(Final Year collection) All ECA photos: Tony
Marsh Photography
Delivering an altogether different aesthetic was Emma Clifton, whose collection could be summed up in one word: fun. An abundance of skinny trousers and shirting executed in eye-popping colours gave the collection a 'teddy boy' feel, but this was where any historical reference ended. Clifton's garments appeared to have been taken apart, partially turned inside out and mischievously and playfully pieced back together again.
Anna Stephenson showed a new vision of femininity, realised in bold, digitally printed floral fabrics. The collection, which contained mainly full-length pieces, also explored new ways of using fringing, gathering it in sections to create focal points on the garments. The headpieces added further height and enhanced what was already a considered and mature body of work.
One of four final year students exploring the possibilities of knit, Anika Höppel's collection was a highlight. Her layered creations, executed in beige, taupe, sky blue, orange and turquoise, combined knitwear, supple, perforated leathers and quirky accessories, such as bright blue belt bags. The overall silhouette was oversized, slouchy and had a sporty, modern feel, contributing to what was surely one of the show's most commercial collections.
Designs by Barbra Kolasinski and Kyle Spires
(Final Year collection) All ECA photos: Tony
Marsh Photography
Did the new 'salon-style' presentation work? Definitely. Having the models walking at audience level (a format most closely associated with the shows of the Paris couture houses) made it easier to see subtle details on the garments and appreciate the sheer hard work which goes into a graduate fashion collection.
The legendary Vic Bar was the setting for the last ever annual Glasgow School of Art Fashion Show to take place there before the venue closes for redevelopment along with other areas of GSA's campus. In tribute, the third year Textile Design students created capsule collections inspired by the Newbery Tower, home to Textiles since the 1970s and also earmarked for redevelopment.
Using the wealth of information from the fantastic GSA archive and working within their chosen specialism of print, knit, weave or embroidery, each student created both the garments and the textiles from which they were made.
The three-piece collections displayed a wide range of influences, from Chinese kimonos to Glasgow-style embroidery to the condemned Newbery Tower itself. Second year students also contributed a garment to the show.
The prestigious textiles programme at The Glasgow School of Art has a long heritage and has produced some outstanding talent, such as Jonathon Saunders, Louise Grey, Bebaroque and Timorous Beasties.
