Royal College of Art fashion show extravaganza wows London

Fashion students from the prestigious Royal College of Art showcased their amazing and forward-thinking collections at the RCA’s annual graduate show today, which stunned all who attended.

To open the show, we were treated to the showcase of the seven-year collaboration with Italian menswear label Brioni in impeccable style. The focus on the project is the development and realisation of sartorial garments, enabling the students on the menswear fashion design course to live exclusive formative experience to the highest level, which they clearly achieve.  Each of the 12 pieces were all immersed in class, talent and tailored godliness, illustrating what almost 70 years of Brioni’s incredible mastery of the art of luxury tailoring and the exceptional collaboration with RCA can formulate and create.

Straight after, the 30 students’ creations were presented with a mixture of menswear, womenswear and knitwear.

The menswear collections were a stunning mixture of colour pops, formal wear and abstract creations, with originality and artistic genius.

Some menswear designers that caught our eye included Raj Mistry, whose collection titled 01582 is hugely influenced by Luton town, with the colour palette taken from Luton Football Club’s orange, blue, white and black home jersey, the importance of sports wear amongst youth and the collection being named after Luton’s area code phone number. The talented designer is a sure thing of the future, turning heart-warming and distinctive inspiration into fantastic fashion inventiveness.

Another name to look out for is Faye Oakenfull, whose beautiful nostalgia of her homosexual uncle whom she barley got to know due to him tragically dying of AIDs is woven into her quilt effect textile collection, draped in stunning colours with real meanings and glorious prints.

Womenswear was a jaw-dropping showcase of a bright future, brimming with cutting edge, wild and artfully adroitness. One of the most abstract and wonderfully original collections was designed by Ida Gro Christiansen, whose use of tulle, plastic, heavy furniture wool and other contrasting materials creates an amazing burst of colour, shaped so there is space for the body, and defining lines that take the designs to the next level.

A collection that really stunned us was the one designed by Katie Roberts-Wood, which focuses on synergistic approaches between textile technique developments and silhouette. The complex and masterful artistry creates an almost wave, by using opposing tones and bright colours that are applied to the top and the under-surfaces. Immense and fantastic creativity paired with genuine intelligence produced the eye-catching and superb collection that wouldn’t look out of place in Vogue.

Every graduate has clearly been guided with immeasurable proficiency and excellent expertise, which is why the Royal College of Art is such an established and well-respected place of education. The talent that flowed from the catwalk was astonishing, and the next generation of designers will clearly be gifting us with beautiful garments and astounding creativity for years to come.

Holly Ashe
Photos: Krisztian Pinter