When you throw 26 budding young designers into the mix it makes it all the more easier to notice those memorable individuals with a real unbridled talent. Glass took on that knowing responsibility at the London College of Fashion BA14 graduate show at the end of last week, and clearly, due to an alumni that includes Jimmy Choo and Patrick Cox amongst others, no one was going to let their guard down. To them, taking all the advantage they can of every inch of the catwalk means more column inches in the long run, and so it should, because the capital’s next generation of creative talent are now entering an industry where you have to make an impact in a split-second.
Faye Van Andel, who for the love of LCF strung out a slew of impressive textures, seriously readily wearable forms, and a show-stopping deconstructed trench coat with all-encompassing lapels that we would love to find in our wardrobes. Top choices Faye, top choices indeed.
Marta Cesaro was the next to pique our interest with satellite-dish brims and, balancing out the terrific span of the hats, equally oversized sweeping skirts. Additional praise has to be lavished upon her colour-scheme, sublimely succinct, and next to this, cuts and tailoring that showed solid potential.
As the show progressed further, we couldn’t keep our eyes off the plastered ramshackle glam sparkle of Lucia Kelly’s dazzling designs. Their joyous graffiti decadence took print to new places and should definitely take the designer a few places herself.
A special congratulations and celebrations must finally go to Victoria Smith (womenswear) and Hae-Na Kim (textiles), who coloured us pastel happy with their chic award-winning Best Overall Collection.
by Liam Feltham
Images courtesy of London College of Fashion, by Roger Dean