Emma Hardstaff, RCA Womenswear, photo RCA/Dominic Tschudin
Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art: the two pinnacles of UK fashion education. While it’s true that British fashion talent does bloom outside of these venerated walls (and enthusiastic coverage of this year’s Graduate Fashion Week, that showcased talent from a range of other schools, is testament to this), it’s also true that the two institutions consistently provide leading industry figureheads and innovators. This year’s crop of MA graduates is no exception to the schools’ long legacies of skill and creative vigour.
At the RCA, womenswear was dominated by gestural silhouettes with playful contrasts in volume and technique. Emma Hardstaff produced a standout collection in foiled faux fur and foiled lace (fabrics she developed herself) cocooned in grey tulle. Presenting looks at once frothy and brittle, Hardstaff’s technique is based on an “exploded” silhouette, or more technically; “Huge flat patterns that transform through the use of elastic into oversized, yet defined, garments.” She uses a sheer exo-skeleton, “a tulle layer that holds the garments together and allows for the suspension of the key elements that make up each outfit.” Despite the fizzy exuberance of the collection, the young designer also told Sleek she was kept motivated by “a lot of Nine Inch Nails” and a trip to the Paul Smith exhibition at the Design Museum.
A recurring motif throughout womenswear was a kind of body-tumble effect: bulbous waves and slices of fabric used to activate (as opposed to clash with) the female form. This was handled deftly by Ida Gro Christiansen, a Danish designer with experience working at Berlin’s own Augustin Teboul. The collection is a balancing act between very thin Italian stretch tulle and heavy furniture wool bound in PVC materials. Christiansen developed her technique using laser cutting, heat pressing, and hand coating to produce ephemeral sci-fi-elegance with a dash of disco. Menswear highlights included crazy-paving tailoring from Jung Sun Kim, Riona Horrox’s punkily rebooted leather daddies and ITS Fashion Prize finalist Natalija Mencej‘s luxe handmade casuals in wool, Japanese selvedge denim and crisp woven raffia.
Anita Hirlekar, Central Saint Martins MA Graduate 2014 London Fashion Week Copyright Catwalking.com
At Central Saint Martins, the MA class was marked by varied takes on deconstruction, from the drifting goat hides and moulded pockets of Drew Henry’s collection to Jessica Mort’s lacerated zombie rugby strips and Fiona Blakeman’s laser-cut chamois-leather and jersey gowns. Anita Hirlekar’s collection was a delight: stiff block power silhouettes broken up by knotty strokes in colourfully embroidered and subtle sheer panels. Hirlekar said she was inspired by the paintings of twin brothers Gert & Uwe Tobias.
There was an additional layer of sentiment to this year’s proceedings. The Central Saint Martins show was, of course, dedicated to the late, great Louise Wilson, tenacious marshal of the school’s MA Fashion talent from 1992 to May of this year. 2014 also marked the end of a sixteen-year-long term for the RCA’s Professor Wendy Dagworthy, former Dean of the School of Materials. It’s the end of an era for London fashion, but if this year’s cross-section of absorbing wit, craft and vision is any indicator, the future is cut in promising cloth.
View our favourite collections in full below.
Text by Ella Plevin