Safra Ducreay

Posts Tagged ‘Graduate Fashion Week’

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One to Watch: Hoi Lam Wong

In Fashion, Good Look, One to Watch, designer on December 17, 2009 at 11:50 pm

If you’re going to do floral prints, do it right or forget it. But not only has floral prints taken over the fashion world, the saturation of it has made my stomach churn with nausea.

There was once a time when I wanted nothing more than to be encompassed in an endless field of sun-kissed flowers. Now, the mere thought of it makes me roll my eyes with exasperation. And to think, I once truly loved floral prints; I would have owned a closet full had it not been for its mass-production for a quick buck. But I digress. Alas, my love for floral prints has been salvaged.

London of College of Fashion graduate Hoi Lam Wong has saved it. The award-winning designer’s final collection – as part of Graduate Fashion Week – was based on creating a “modern womenswear collection that drew heavily from male tailoring.” Which could be why I’m in love with floral prints again.

Wong’s collection is – at it’s absolute worse – blatantly sexy. But not in the way you’d expect. What makes it sexy is that it’s conservative. There’s no need to show a lot of skin (though we all know I do love lots of that). But the fact that she can formulate a full collection while having so many elements in mind is something worth paying attention to. There’s sequins and floral amalgamated with timeless pieces, and the overall collection has a distinct androgynous look. All boundaries pushed, men or women could literally wear the collection. Now, how brave men would be to wear it I’m not sure, but there is something in there for everyone – that’s why Hoi Lam Wong’s a winner.

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One to Watch: Stephanie Moran, Hannah Buswell and More!

In Collection, Fashion, Fashion Heat, Good Look, London, One to Watch, designer, dress on December 2, 2009 at 4:59 pm

When looking at a designer’s collection, the obvious question “Would I wear this?” comes to mind. But sometimes, it’s not that easy, because it’s common to get caught-up in the glitz and glam of fashion rather than the practicalities of it (price point being one of them). Therefore, I try not to do too many write-ups on designers if their clothes don’t present the functionality and concept that interests me, because then I’ll just be highlighting designers for the sake of it. In this case though, these university graduates don’t have staple collections – yet. So they’re merely showcasing their talents.

It’s a shame though, because when they say they’d one day like to establish their own labels, I’m looking at what they’ve done and thinking  “this is hot!” But due to financial hardships and everything else, they have to gain more experience working for other establishments first.

In this particular case, if I had the money, and I knew them, I would most definitely buy out their collections before hand. If I had a photo shoot, there’s no question that they’d be one of the first people I’d call. Their meticulous attention to detail hasn’t gone unnoticed – at least by me.

Stephanie Moran

According to her bio, UCA Epsom graduate Stephanie Moran’s final collection (part of London Graduate Fashion Week) was cinematic, feminine and punk – just how I like it. An obvious fan of feathers and beading, Ms. Moran took inspiration from 1940s divas, femme fatales and Burlesque to create a collection that explored the line between titillation and property.

Ultimately, when it comes to fashion and art, everything is left to interpretation, but Ms. Moran has demonstrated an authentic ability to incorporate past and present in an enticing, yet wearable way.

Gemma Murphy

While I’m not keen on looking like a christmas tree topper, I don’t mind Ms. Murphy’s holiday ornament inspired designs. The monochromatic colour palette is congenial with the overall look of the collection. And the fact that she specializes in knitwear will be a major benefit to her; she’ll be able pump out those staple pieces for the fashionably conscious in colder climates.

Holly Russell

Maybe you’re not a fan of wearing synthetic wigs and beetle wings on your clothes. But if it looks artistic and flows effortlessly into my own sense of style, I would.

Holly Russell took things perceived as ugly and literally transformed them into beautiful garments. The MMU graduate was inspired by animals, minerals and outer space – very British in idea – and of course, digital print. Specific highlights were the pig suede high-waist trousers and sequin nude coloured-top embellished with green/blue metallic beetle wings.

Petra Toujani

Imagine what life would be like if your work was recognized by a pink-haired lady who once designed for the late Lady Diana? Tis the story of Petra Taoujni. Her collection, short-listed for the Zandra Rhodes Textile Award was traditionally inspired by a plethora of things, including Moravian costume from South-East Czech Republic and Hussein Chalayan’s designs. But it did have a lot of misses. Some of the pieces looked more like a Baby Phat collection than ready-to-wear fashion, but  when she had a hit, it was stellar. I believe that she’s one for growth, and once she’s associated with the right band of fashion leaders, she’ll flourish.

Hannah Buswell

As you may have noticed by now, I have a soft-spot for designers who aren’t afraid to push print and colour boundaries. For her final collection, Hannah Buswell chose an interesting concept: vegetable plots and wooden clad tree houses by Baumraum and the work of artist Ruth Root. Of all the designers mentioned she’s more refined, having worked with Cooperative Deigns A/W 2008 collection with Hussein Chalayan. her own collection is an influx of aboriginal print, abstract expressionism and houndstooth, with shapes and colours intermingled creating fun, impressive pieces.

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Hidden Gem: Abigail Williams

In Fashion, Hidden Gem, designer on November 8, 2009 at 2:53 am

One can’t imagine what’s it’s like to rummage through page-after-page of Internet sites in a quest for a fashion breakthrough. Seeing the same thing over and over can become quite mundane, you know. I don’t know if this one is a “breakthrough” per say, but she was able to leap into territories many fashion designers aren’t quite keen to do.

The young Ms. Abigail Williams is a BA (Hons) Fashion/Textiles graduate from the University of Plymouth who debuted her collection in the Graduate Fashion Week in London this past June. I was able to pull these images by Chris Moore.

Williams didn’t win any awards or gain any major recognition, as those that do sit on a trunk of gold (which inevitably lead to top-of-the-line collections). And while the construction of Williams’ garments are a bit box-y, and the dresses do have a bit of ways to go from  high-school prom dress into full-blown couture, I can appreciate her bold use of colour and obvious Caribbean influences that  run rampant throughout her collection. Now, there’s an advantage for Williams here, as big-name fashion houses such as PPQ and even sports brands like adidas are putting major emphasis on tribal designs as the new trend. There is an obvious conservatism about in line, but there’s also a sense of fun. It’s British heritage is also prevalent making it easy to see that it may accumulate some success in the UK. I also think that she should invest a good amount of time completing an internship at a fashion house; honing the skills will improve her talent significantly.