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Saturday, 17 September 2011

Nova Chiu - Graduate Showcase

Photography by Lucas Seidenfaden

Wide-eyed London College Of Fashion recent BA graduate Nova Chiu took her collection right back to her roots. Bright coloured, hand beaded creations were the centrepiece of her 6 (3 in the exhibition) piece Shangri La, ethnic inspired line-up. In an ode to her family she recalls; "my parents and friends back home are always pleased with what I make. They always want to know what i'm working on."

Nova is here today with her soon to be design partner Jeff Archer; the pair met whilst on a design placement in NYC at Anna Sui, '"the best thing we got out of it" they say. A permanent smile is etched onto her face and with good reason; the collection looks incredible. Oversized bright coloured blue and red bead and bell embellished fur coats and a heavily hand crafted top dominate her space, twinned with intricately printed leggings and beaded boater-esque, eye-catching, eye-covering heavy hats to boot.

Chiu is particularly proud of her recent appearances in print including the Evening Standard and The Independent. “People stop me in the street” she says, “they know who I am!” I for one can say a lot more people will know who she is after today.

So what does the future hold for Nova Chiu? Having only just graduated BA, an incredible achievement in its-self, this little dynamo has big dreams; “I want to have my own studio in London” she announces. Like many other young designers, alongside her stint at Anna Sui, Chiu has worked previous placements at Matthew Williamson and Richard Nicoll. We spent the rest of our meeting chatting reminiscently about intern days and grab a Hummingbird cupcake to keep us going.

“Are you going to celebrate tonight?”

“Yes, I think so” she replies, it has been a long journey but she is ecstatic with the final outcome. 


Text: Madeleine Ayers