OVER THE past couple of weeks, Graduate Fashion Foundation has reached out to their current and past graduate BAME students to showcase and discover more about their recent works. Supporting 14 universities world-wide, the GFF Charity highlights the top talent on their website celebrating diverse groups of emerging creatives.
Below, Glass presents four of GFF’s selected talents who bring fresh and unique perspectives to their work, using personal and cultural heritage to tell important stories through fashion and art.
- Ama Avoh of Middlesex university
Ama Avoh, who studied fashion textiles at Middlesex University, explored a variety of themes for her final year collection ranging from her French and West-African heritage to her adoration of graphic novels. Using primary research of her trips to France and West-Africa alongside secondary research of 1970s and ‘80s Marvel comics, Avoh wanted to keep her collection as authentic as possible, “as a mixed-media knitwear designer I created knitted and embroidered textiles that the celebrate the rich aesthetic of my mixed-race background as well as tongue-in-cheek energy of comic book superheroes,” she told GFF.
Read Ama Avoh’s full interview here.
Ama Avoh design work
Ama Avoh design work
Ama Avoh design work
- Alisha Kumar of Nottingham Trent University
‘From God’s Own Junkyard’ is the name of graduate Alisha Kumar’s collection. Inspired by a visit to God’s Own Junkyard (a neon light exhibition in London), Kumar delves into her own personal idea of heaven.
Deriving from her Punjabi heritage and visits to the Sikh temple back in her hometown of Leicester, Kumar explores the culture clash of traditional Sikh clothing with sportswear, to which she describes as humorous and bashful, “people come in wearing traditional Sikh wear but layered with a sporty puffer jacket and air max trainers for comfort,” she tells GFF. Her collection is a celebration of her Indian heritage and its rich and vibrant culture but with an exuberant twist.
Read more of Alisha Kumar here.
Alisha Kumar design work
Alisha Kumar design work
Alisha Kumar design work
- Nishan Greyson of Southampton Solent University
Empowering young black woman is what graduate Nishan Greyson aims for with her final year project. Graduating from Makeup and Hair design at Southampton University, the young creative made an eBook which celebrates black girls’ hair and encourages them to embrace their natural beauty. Inspired by this venture, Greyson also created a children’s book based on Caribbean culture which focuses primarily on food, “the history of the Caribbean is rich with blended cultures and natural diversity which is something I want to share with the younger generation,” she says. The book will include games and colouring pages alongside recipes.
Read more about Nishan Greyson’s work and future endeavours here.
Nishan Greyson photography
Nishan Greyson photography
Nishan Greyson photography
- Mathushaa Sagthidas of Ravensbourne University
Meet Mathushaa Sagthidas, a Design and Media graduate from Ravensbourne University. Focusing on her Sri Lankan heritage and desire to understand her parents’ experience of the Sri Lankan Civil War, Sagthidas’s most recent project ஒரு தீவிலிருந்து ஒரு நகரம் (A city away from an island) looks, through the lens of fashion, at her Tamil culture in comparison to her home city of London. Her discovery has taught her to embrace rather than hide certain aspects of her life, especially as a young Londoner.
Read more of Mathushaa Sagthidas in her GFF interview here.
Mathushaa Sagthidas Photography
Mathushaa Sagthidas Photography
Mathushaa Sagthidas Photography
by Molly Denton
Click here to find out more about the GFF Charity, their worldwide talent and their 2020 Award Nominees.