Middlesex BA Graduate Show

Liesemarie Schulte-Kitzing

Katrina Ferrari

Panda Parker

Malene Oddershede Bach

Held in the uber cool Truman Brewery off Brick Lane, the Middlesex degree show was set to be rather high brow affair. Absolutely rammed, and with nowhere to sit, we spent the whole show craning our necks, but have no fear, it was worth the strain.

Liesemarie Schulte-Kitzing opened the show with muted green sheer dresses appliquéd with matching tonal flowers. Tan leather panels, connected with silver rivets, added an edgy structure, and the collection was accented by a bright red rose headdress, complete with delicate, mysterious veil.

Elegance was the order of the day for Katrina Ferrari, with her collection of simple, draped jerseys in long, fluid lines. The long lengths continued with knotted, twisted dresses, accessorised with shaggy, sheepskin shoes and ornate wicker hairbands.

Malene Oddershede Bach closed the show with black and yellow reptilian graphic prints in long, streamlined skirts and dresses. Skirts folded back into a zip detail, creating a body con silhouette and cut out sections also featured. Classic, cinched in waists, with chunky leather jackets thrown over the top, completed the look.

The Middlesex Degree Show will run until Monday 7th June. The show is part of the Free Range initiative, launched and supported by the Truman Brewery. The Middlesex Graduate Show will be repeated during Graduate Fashion Week on Tuesday 8th at Earls Court. Don’t miss out!

Emma Drinnan

Degree Show Report: Westminster

Jessica Madden

Bushra Ahmed

Harriet Holling

Shefa Rahman

Hayley Lai

A hop from Baker Street, a skip across Marylebone Road and a scoot down a narrow, industrial entrance that looks suspiciously like a car park and you’re at the entrance to one of the hottest graduate shows in town. Rising up through the ranks, Westminster’s degree show is always one to watch, and Wednesday night’s, complete with mile long queue and glittering front row, was practically sizzling with anticipation.

The room collapsed into darkness, deafening, booming beats blasted from the speakers and the first of 16 collections thundered down the vast white runway. Heavy, austere felts and thick, moss green coats were first up, with round, tinted glasses that Lennon would be proud of and long, hippie hair under knitted beanies. Following suit was Jessica Madden, lightening the load with a dose of Victoriana. Reams of stiff, plasticised ruffles, pleats, petticoats and pearl-toned doily shapes gave a modern feel, with silver sheathes over heads and butter coloured, lace up boots on feet.

Super structured made an appearance with a wine red and glossy black collection from Bushra Ahmed. Enormous, pom pom covered cropped gilets and black, patent Minnie Mouse ear shoulders stretched out against curved, futuristic tailoring. Calf skin, which featured in several of the collections, adorned boots in a deep, blood red hue, and bold, chunky knits added texture.

We went all ethereal and retro with Harriet Holling’s dreamy hippie collection. Billowing parachute dresses swept down the runway in the lightest, sheerest of chiffons, printed with aquas, lilacs, lemons and turquoises. Softly teased, 70’s hair with silver head bands and dreamy, dewy eyes and lips defined the look.

Contrasting with the glamazon girls, a highlight for the menswear was Shefa Rahman’s gritty, grubby, boiler suit clad boys. Mean, moody and dirty faced, the boys wore miner’s lights, goggles and heavy, rubber working boots. With a charcoal colour palette and plenty of leather, latex and black, layered silhouettes, the collection made a dramatic contrast with the bright, cartoonish colours that dominated the rest of the menswear looks. The opposite of clean and preppy, Rahman put back the M in macho.

Finally, for form and technical ability, Hayley Lai’s cubist collection was a standout winner. 3D, sequin encrusted pyramids and exaggerated points, coupled with fragile, cobweb knits and a lilac accent colour, created a powerful, show stopping aesthetic. Beautiful, but tough, and embellished, yet simple, Lai’s take on a much-done trend was exciting and impressive. Westminster’s graduates certainly aren’t afraid of taking risks and showing off what they can do. Every collection teamed with commitment, power and a strong, flowing theme. No duds, flops or missing links in the chain, the looks were accomplished, and inspirational.

Fiona Anderson

LCF Graduate Show Streaming Live

Joanna Prichard

Amber Siegel

Jess Sayers

Stephanie Goynes

Flett Bertram

Making a World first, at 7pm today, LCF will be streaming their Graduate Show Live!

The Dairy will play host to the LCF BA (Hons) Fashion and Technology Graduate Show, showcasing 26 collections from Womenswear, Menswear and Surface Textiles as previewed above. Pioneering the way for the live streaming of a graduate show, we are sure this new, exciting initiative will encourage many other institutions to follow suit and embrace digital media.

You can catch the show live here at 7pm.

20: The Exhibition

The Vauxhall Fashion Scout team were delighted to attend the opening of 20: The Exhibition, at Somerset House on Wednesday evening. Celebrating twenty years of Maison Martin Margiela, the sun was shining, the weather was fine and we got to chat with some top notch industry insiders. Sipping our complimentary drinks on the beautiful terrace at Somerset House, the view of the South Bank and the glistening Thames provided the ultimate backdrop for such a glamour-packed event.

Held at the Embankment gallery, the event served as a comprehensive retrospective of Margiela’s work from past to present, exploring the designer’s use of varying shades of white, and the deconstruction of garments. Minimalist, clean and elegant, the multimedia presentation played with projection, clever lighting and mediums like cardboard and Styrofoam to highlight Margiela’s extensive, two decade career.

Roxanne Chen

CSM BA Graduate Show

Last night we had the perfect antidote to the inauspicious, rainy evening in the very fashionable form of the Central Saint Martins BA Honours Fashion Show. 

 

CSM is never one to disappoint. Building on their reputation for exciting and inventive designers, this years 40 strong graduates treated the audience to inflatable swimwear, stilt walkers, 3D animal inspired jumpers and country house interior-inspired designs where models appeared to step out from picture frames and chairs. 

 

The L’Oreal Professionnel Young Designer of the Year award went to womenswear designer Yi Fang Wan. The judging panel, comprising of Hillary Alexander and Marios Schwab, awarded Wan for her billowing, neutral collection which had Elizabethan and peasant undertones. 

 

Catherine MacMahon, Head of L’Oreal PR, who presented the award told Fashion Scout that “L’Oreal were proud to be in their 10th year of sponsoring CSM, as they passionately believe in investing in education and in supporting young talent.”  

 

First runner up was awarded to menswear designer Phillip Paterson for his grungy, yet refined 90’s inspired men’s suits. In stark contrast, second runner up went to Alex Mullins for his menswear cartoon inspired collection; a confident mix of prints, long tassels and eccentric head-pieces, all in primary brights.  

 

Presenting the prize to Mullins was Vauxhall Fashion Scout designer David Koma. After the show Koma told us, “It was an amazing show. CSM is one of the best fashion colleges in the world, I’m very happy to be part of it.” 

Amy Finch 

Hermione de Paula Film in Because Magazine

The dreamy, whimsical fabulousness that is Hermione de Paula has struck again, however this time the brilliant stylist Pandora Lennard, direct from Tank Magazine, has sprinkled some of her fashion magic over the proceedings. Lending her eye for style to the folks at Tank’s new shopping title, Because Magazine, Pandora has teamed up with de Paula to show the designer’s SS09 collection in a gorgeous fashion film. Amped up with rocking beats and bleached out lighting, de Paula's soft, fantasy-fuelled pieces appear to dance across the shimmering, kaleidoscope-like film, looking even more beautiful than we remember.


Considering that Browns have sold out so fast they’ve had to do a whopping re-order, we think Pandora, who has previously styled Fashion Scout’s Ones to Watch show, has done an amazing job.


Check out the film for yourself here.


Fiona Anderson