The fashion department at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) was in celebratory mood last night after a super slick London catwalk show saw four students’ longlisted for a prestigious gold award.
In all, 20 final year DMU Fashion Design students saw their collections modelled on the catwalk yesterday during Graduate Fashion Week, Europe’s biggest showcase for young designers, attended by more than 40 universities.
Melissa Earl, Emma Hubbard, Fraser Miller and Farrah Highton were singled out by judges for their collections and are now being considered for the Gala Show, the grand finale of Graduate Fashion Week, which takes place tonight (Wednesday) and will see one student crowned the Gold Award winner.
They are hoping to emulate DMU graduate Hazel Symons, who took the Gold award in 2016, prompting a rapid slew of industry job offers.
Emma, whose designs incorporated glitter and plastic details on tailored dresses, said: “I am on cloud nine. That is the only way I can describe it. It is such a proud moment to know that someone else thinks your work is good enough. For someone else to appreciate your work is amazing.”
Melissa, whose collection fused the free, relaxed world of skateboarding fashion with the strict order of military wear, said: “I am in shock but so happy. It feels so rewarding to get put into the mix. I am so excited. I never thought this would happen.”
Fraser, whose collection was called An Abundance of Kin and was influenced by hand-me-downs and the idea of holding onto clothes with sentimental value, said: “The show went really well.
“I was quite nervous beforehand but when I saw everything on the catwalk I was delighted. I’m shocked and surprised to be picked out. It’s just amazing. I feel really good.”
The story behind Farrah Highton’s collection was turning chaos into control using a mixture of knitwear and woven materials.
The DMU catwalk show attracted a huge audience of close to 600 industry insiders, VIPs, London fashionistas, media and students.
It was launched by models parading down the runway wearing single designs by DMU students.
The models carried protest banners bearing slogans referring to being single such as ‘All the Single Outfits’, ‘Single Shopper’ and ‘#Single Talent’.
The opener received lots of applause and was even captured by fashion guru Hilary Alexander OBE on her Instagram account.
Emma, Melissa, Fraser and Farrah will find out if they have made it on to the shortlist later today (WED)
Posted on Wednesday 6 June 2018