Graduate Fashion Week - the selection process begins!

Fashion students are nervously waiting to find out which of them will be showing their work on the catwalks of Graduate Fashion Week in London.


Some 22 Fashion Design students put their collections before the judges during the annual selection day, sharing their inspirations as well as demonstrating the technical brilliance honed over three years at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).

Judges, who included Fashion Design course leader Della Swain, Buddy Penfold, senior lecturer in Fashion Design, as well as designers Alex Mattson and Scott Ramsay Kyle, quizzed each student about their work, research and gave their opinions on the designs and ideas behind each piece.

The judges will make their decisions this week on the students who will get to show their collections at Graduate Fashion Week, the world’s leading event showcasing the creativity of students and graduates. It starts the first week of June.

Philippa Carney, 21, from Cheshire, used a #DMUglobal experience in Hong Kong to inspire her. Visits to Buddhist temples and learning about Chinese culture led to her creating intricate macramé work in bright colours such as intense orange and hot pink.

“We visited the temples and met the Buddhist monks and I saw how their wall hangings were styled and the colours they used, so when I came back to DMU I knew what I wanted to do,” she said.

Carmela DeVivo, 23, from Nottingham used her family’s Italian heritage to inspire her collection. She said: “I went over the family albums to see what my relatives wore. For the women, I looked to the north where the colours are richer, there’s chiffon and fitted lace whereas the man were more classic, more sophisticated.”

Seventies music icons David Bowie and Fleetwood Mac were the inspiration for Matthew Robinson, 22, of Cardiff. He said: “I like the 70s as an era and I love the photographs you see of stars and clubbers at Studio 64 in New York. I was intrigued by the idea of how they looked after a night out, falling out of the club which is why my clothes look deliberately torn or dishevelled.”

Alex Mattson, menswear designer, has been through the Graduate Fashion Week selection process as a student so he knows only too well how stressful it can be.

He said: “It brings it all back to me! We’re looking for flair and talent today. It doesn’t have to be perfect, polished, we’re here to see ideas.

“This year we have seen more tailoring, last year was swimwear which shows how trends change.”