Go and search ‘Lady Gaga interview BBC Breakfast 2013‘ on YouTube. You will see her in gigantic hair with seashells and, more importantly, Ming Ma’s BA graduate show piece. After finishing his BA, Ming Ma continues his study MA Fashion Womenswear here at CSM. We caught up with this vibrant boy, and ardent minimalist to talk about his BA graduate show and his Lady Gaga encounter.

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What was the moment when you look at the face of fashion and suddenly fall in love with it?

I have a friend who loves to talk about clothes and fashion with me in high school. I come from an industrial city where there aren’t many resources on fashion and culture. Luckily my friend used to order magazines from overseas like So-en and i-D. We’d devour the magazines for a month. At that time fashion was a bubble for me to escape the boring school life.

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So, why CSM? Are you also one of these ‘only CSM or nothing’ kind of guys?

Before I came to study at CSM, [I’d] studied finance for three years [at] university. I remembered it was during my second year, I started to loathe what I was doing. I just can’t imagine my future working in a bank. And I decided to do fashion which is something I’ve always been interested in. During that time I’ve already read lots of stories, and interviews about the education at CSM which made me eager to find out what it would be like to study there first-hand. 

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What do you feel CSM has offered you? Or, how do you feel you can contribute to CSM?

The school provides us a platform. I feel lucky I have the chance to meet many interesting and talented people from all over the world. We all come from different backgrounds, so the fusion of different cultures really helped me get inspired. We learn from each other. Also, it’s been great to see things from other perspectives.

What inspires you?

Anything that makes me excited really. It doesn’t always have to be about the visuals.

Can your share with us what it’s like to be a BA fashion Womenswear student? You are aware that it is a spot that every fashion lover would kill for, right?!

We [had] around 50 students during the first and second year, and 40 in the end. Students are very diverse and we all [have] different skills and strengths. Womenswear is a relatively larger field, and the teaching doesn’t focus on specific techniques. It gives us more freedom to think about womenswear fashion in new ways but somehow it is harder to stand out from the crowd.

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Were there any major failures during your BA years at CSM?

I came to the course straight after my finance degree.  From the very first White Project, I had no idea how to do proper research. Compared to the students who did foundation, my sketchbook was rubbish. Plus I had very limited technical skills, and we had to produce a final outfit in 4 weeks. For a student with no background, it was quite harsh.

I had a nice tutor who found one good quality in me. She told me that I was good at cutting and draping, and asked me to never stop developing my skills. After that I’ve been carrying on pushing the strength and depth of my work.

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Your BA show was amazing and a very specific style. How would you describe that, and can you tell us why you are so interested in this aesthetic?

The collection’s emphasis is very clean; well-constructed designs. I started my research on a painting by Italian artist Duilio Barnabé, who reduced all subject matter in his paintings to their purist form, and his monochromatic backgrounds made them timeless. Through looking at photographs by Richard Bryant, I became more focused on developing simple, but sculptural lines. Creating volumes but making slits on certain parts of the body. Protruding details of the garments can be seen at different angles. The 3D quality of each outfit was developed through the process of draping and cutting.

Describe the ideal Ming Ma woman? 

The ideal women who’d wear my designs are independent, brave and not afraid to be different.

Lady Gaga wore your design in an interview with BBC. How did that happen?

It’s great that she is so supportive of young designers. Actually Lady Gaga’s stylist’s assistant asked me to send a few of my designs to New York two months ago. I was unable to do so because I was traveling around at the time. Until recently, Lady Gaga came to London for her performance at the Roundhouse, and I sent my designs for her.

Has your Chinese or Asian identity played a role in your final BA show or your fashion career in general? Or do you believe in style/sub-culture rather than nationality/ oriental culture?

I think the Chinese identity will always be within me. However it is not necessary to be very obvious with the Asian elements in the designs. The oriental aesthetics can be expressed in a more in-depth and subtle way.

You also made it to MA fashion womenswear at CSM this year, congratulation! Can you tell us what you are trying to achieve during your MA? How different will it be from your BA study?

BA was like giving you the freedom to do anything you like. I don’t have to worry about the market or the wearability. I’ve been exploring my personal mark throughout the degree. For MA, I aim to establish a stronger, more original vision.

What about your future plan? Set up studio or work for your beloved designers? Who would you like to work for?

I’d love to work for company first. It’s necessary for me to gain the experience and to understand the industry from many different perspectives. Ideally I would love to work for Christophe Lemaire. I love his aesthetics and respect his philosophy on fashion.

Where do you see yourself in the Chinese fashion industry if you plan to develop yourself in China? It is a huge market.

From the high street brands to luxury houses, I think everyone nowadays is aiming at the Chinese market. It’s very likely I will go back to work in China but I don’t think I am ready to establish my own label. That’s why I’ve decided to continue studying at CSM, to get the highest level of education.

Any final words of advice for future and current CSM students?

Be passionate about what you are doing and stay true to yourself.

The post A Bubble to Escape the Boring School Life- Ming Ma on Fashion appeared first on 1 Granary.

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CSM students and graduates are probably most well-known for their rebellious attitude towards fashion, or simply everything in life. After producing one of the most memorable graduation collections of 2012, Menswear graduate Tigran Avetisyan has moved a step forward by launching his second collection. “Nothing Changes”, one of the slogans on the garments, makes me wonder whether this is a reflection towards society, or if it’s more about Tigran himself? In this new collection, we see some interesting duplications of ideas and concept from his previous, and we just had to have a little chat with Tigran, for the second time, to learn more about this continuation of rebellion and self-expression.

How has life been since graduating?

I took a long break after graduation. Having spent 6 years in higher education, first as a product design student and then menswear, I knew I had to stop studying. I really needed a change to reflect on everything that has happened and to map out my next steps. Although my graduation collection was picked up by the press internationally, I was absolutely clueless as to where I could take things further, and who to go to. Fortunately I received an email from Machine-A saying that they would love to have my designs in their store. This is how I ended up where I am now.

Being labelled as a rebellious designer by journalists led me to think about the idea of rebellion in fashion. As the pace of the industry is increasing, and there are more and more collections each year, I realised that the only way to protest against this endless stream of creativity was to repeat myself. Hence there is nothing new about my new collection. That’s my way of saying ‘NO’.

How did you come up with the messages/words on the garments?

I remember being on the verge of crying on the day of the show at CSM. It was one hour before the catwalk and I still hadn’t had anything scribbled on my garments. At that point I had lost the very little confidence I had; I was terrified. I realised I had nothing to say whatsoever. Finally, after much hesitation, I picked up the chalk and wrote: “Graduate 2012 – Nothing more to say”. The models actually walked out with paint still being wet. I absolutely hated myself then for leaving it all till last minute, but now I think that was one of the coolest things I have ever done.

Do you consider your work as being political?

It is to a certain degree, but I don’t like defining my work. I try to make it open-ended. I am more interested in hearing what others think about it. Having said that, there is one thing I surely wouldn’t want it to be; I am often asked if I consider it to be art. Nothing is more despicable and redundant than what is regarded to be art today.  

As a working designer, do you feel the pressure to be more practical with your designs?

Figuratively speaking, to keep the ball rolling, I only need to find the few dozen people around the world to sell my clothes to – it is not that hard.  I interned for two big houses in my first and second years at CSM. They were Fred Perry and Dunhill. Going there I thought I’d learn everything I needed to about menswear. To my dismay when I arrived, those companies didn’t even have sewing machines. Designers were so isolated from the products they were making, and the work was really calculated. At Fred Perry for instance, the design process consisted of changing colours on the collars of their much coveted polo shirts and placing their laurel logo on second hand Ralph Lauren jackets. I was disappointed to say the least.  Of course I have ambitions, but I am not in a hurry. I am not ready to give up my freedom just yet.  

Do you think that CSM students are less prepared for the real business-oriented fashion world out there than students from some other fashion schools?

The students of Saint Martins have one thing that many other graduates don’t – that is ideas. Having ideas is the ability that counts the most in any creative practice; it is the thing that turns people on. The Fashion industry is full of wonderful kind-hearted people. If you have a vision there’ll surely be someone willing to help you to take your first steps. I was incredibly lucky to be supported from very early on by the LVMH group and subsequently by Stavros Karelis and Maria Ter-Markaryan. My latest collection wouldn’t have been materialised without their support.

What has London given you as a fashion designer, and how would you compare London with other fashion capitals?

London is an incredibly exciting place for young designers. There is a slightly disrespectful, yet healthy attitude towards tradition that is necessary for new ideas and concepts to emerge. I am in love with Paris too. I find the mixture of melancholia and romance there so inspiring. Yet what is more important is to keep in mind that the world is not just London, Paris, Milan and New York – it is so much bigger! When you’re constantly working it is easy to forget that.

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Do you have any advice for fashion students?

Yes, I do… David Koma told me this: when it comes to your final collection, make sure it can be described with no more than two words. Be concise. Be bold.  http://www.tigran.co.uk/

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Swedish womenswear student, Alve Lagercrantz, produced a final collection that caught the eyes and imaginations of those watching this year’s degree show. Titling his collection ‘Principality of Slumberland’, Alve’s conceptual garments were both technically and aesthetically progressive – especially in their use of lightweight parachute silks, and Alve’s refusal to use zips, buttons or any other form of fixed fastening. Despite this futuristic element, Alve’s use of colour and manipulation of fabric resulted in a collection that, in its overall look, was both captivating, and feminine.

Alve, we loved your collection when we saw it at the degree show but, for those who didn’t see it, can you tell us a bit about it?

My collection consisted of seven looks, all very lightweight and voluminous. Some of them billow out whilst walking. They are made almost solely with lightweight windproof fabrics, habotai silk and cotton silk. The colours are largely pastel shades- dreamy accents- with a strong red highlight throughout. If I were to describe my collection quickly I would probably use the words ‘dreamy’, ‘playful’, ‘light’ and ‘free’.

The ideas behind your collection are quite complex, what gave you the inspiration for this?

I have been studying a lot of theory surrounding architecture and human psychogeography. It made me think about the human urge to create private spaces, and our emotional connection to places. I was very inspired by a micro-nation called Elgaland-Vargaland which was set up as an art project by Swedish artists Leif Elgren and Carl Michael von Hausswolff. It’s claimed to exist in all “Border Territories: Geographical, Mental & Digital”, for example, the state just before you fall asleep. I was also reading about temporary housing, the collection is supposed to create its own mobile territory, like wearing a sphere around the body. Lightness and freedom are crucial, I like the idea that the garments are almost not material but like an ozone layer around the body; a collection made out of air.

So, how did your choice of fabrics fit in to this?

Even though it is very light and airy, the collection it still quite durable. After being worn I thought the garments should squash down in to a little tent bag. I was reading a lot about nomadic people and it got me thinking that today we live in a semi-nomadic way. We move around a lot, and are becoming less and less dependent on a stable home; nobody really has a stereo or a photo album, or those other things that used to define a home. It should be the same with clothes. It would be so nice to have all your clothes in just five bags or something, no hangers, no wardrobes. Ultimate freedom right?

After four years studying fashion, designing your final collection can feel like a huge undertaking. Were you trying to achieve anything specific with yours?

It’s really just an expression of myself; I’ve never really been very good at thinking about a market when I’m designing. When I started my final year I wondered if I should adjust my work to be able to get a specific job after graduation. I gave up on that idea quite quickly. I don’t think it ever works when you are just trying to give people what they want, I mean they probably don’t even know themselves. I think if your work is honest enough there will always be people who like it. It might sound a bit naive, but I think it’s the truth.

We have no doubt there were plenty of people who liked this collection.

It is such a wonderful gift every time somebody likes your work – especially for your final collection. I was particularly happy with the comments I got online. That somebody you don’t know actually put in the effort to write something, it doesn’t even need to be positive, there’s something beautiful about that.

What do you think is the biggest challenge in designing a full collection?

Money. It always comes back to that unfortunately. I was really lucky to receive the Sally Woodward Award, which helped a lot. I also got some of my fabric very generously sponsored by Singtex.

Now you’ve graduated, what do you think your strongest memory of CSM will be?

In years to come I think it will probably be all the emotions involved in making the collection. They often express themselves in strange ways, like me or any of my friends going mental about an ugly seam or stain. It’s really quite stupid the amount of effort you put in to a few garments.

So, what’s next for you?

I am currently doing a project for Dries van Noten. After graduation I got asked to go over to Antwerp for 3 months. It has been quite an amazing experience, since it’s a brand that I really admire. After this [is over], we’ll see what happens. I don’t really have a plan B, it’s a bit boring isn’t it? My friend told me I might be able to start selling kites on Brick Lane, why not?

Finally, as a designer just starting out, where do you think the industry is heading?

I think fashion (as with the rest of the world) is getting more, and more decentralised, and that it might return to how it used to be. It will not be your local tailor you visit, but the designer connected to your online neighbourhood. Also, there are more and more small brands emerging all over the world. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the design will become more interesting but I think it could create a more personal connection with the designer, which I find interesting.

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We cannot explain how fashion works. Or as Professor Louise Wilson OBE puts it in this Guardian interview: “How does it work? How do you lick a cock!” What we can show you here at 1 Granary, however, is how we dissect a collection to the bone (or thread, in this case).

When Jewon Jay Lee finished his two-year military service in Korea – which was “extremely intense; I lost 14 kilos in six weeks” – he started thinking about what he wanted to do with his life. Before going into the army, he was halfway through a BA in graphic design. But Jewon missed making things with his hands and, having always been interested in clothes, he decided to apply for Fashion Design with Marketing at CSM. Now, four years later, Jewon has just graduated with an incredibly beautiful menswear collection.

Playing with different kinds of textures and fabrics, Jewon then made a true mix between skateboarding and hunting: he scanned a piece of tweed, turned it into a print, and printed it on top of a light, wax-coated canvas that was made into a pair of skateboarding shorts. Add tweed kneepads for better movement, skater boy-inspired ties in tweed prints and an overall use of thin, light fabrics – and the skater x hunter influences are covered.

And what about the tweed dungaree-like things, the leather sleeves and goggles? It all came from 20th century British workers, who used to wear aprons on top of suits: “The combination is so unusual nowadays, but back then it was really normal – I was amazed by it. I got rid of the straps to make it a bit more minimal for two looks. And since the box split in between the legs almost looks like a pair of shorts, I decided to go and make some. For another look I combined the shorts and the apron into a pair of dungarees, worn on top of a thin suit.” Thick working gloves were extended into leather sleeves, teamed up with a pair of matching safety goggles.

But then Jewon was on Fashion Design with Marketing – and as part of the marketing side, he had to figure out his customer profile; a very specific one at that. This turned out to be Chris Raymond: a 32-year-old RCA graduate and furniture designer who’s trying to set up his own company. He cycles around London on his bike and likes hanging out with friends around his place in Crouch End, north London. “It’s just easier to design when you stick to a very specific customer profile – and mine was kind of based on Playmobil country boy with a dog, with some of my own city life ideas thrown in.”

As for his dream job, Jewon’s pretty clear: working for Comme des Garçons. And as a matter of fact, he was lucky enough to intern there last year. “After my interview, I asked the guy who had interviewed me what he did at Comme. Turns out it was Adrian Joffe, Comme des Garçons CEO and Rei Kawakubo’s husband!” Did he also get to meet Rei, the celebrated founder and head of Comme? “Yeah! I even prepared a little speech in case I’d meet her, but she doesn’t want people to act like it’s a big deal. So I just had a casual chat with her.” And the best thing he learnt there? Comme’s cleverness: they know how to make money – without compromising on creativity: “They have a lot of diffusion lines that are cheaper than the signature ones. That way they make a big profit out of those and can keep doing maximum creativity on the signature Comme lines. And they know their markets – Dover Street Market in New York is really different from the one here in London, for instance.”

Videographer: Wonki Baek

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Key words that were overheard among the crowd after last night’s BA Fashion press show: ‘sparkle! sparkle!’, ‘a lot of Galliano…’, ‘- raw beauty!’. A show opened by Matthew Harding, attended by Grayson Perry, accompanied by tropical rain pissing down, and ultimately closed with a moving speech from Jeremy Till announcing the formation of the Louise Wilson Fund. Fashion Design class of 2014, you dazzled the crowd (with all that glitter) and we are proud of everyone who has soldiered on these past few months. From all of the final years to the army of first and second year helpers, tutors and seamstresses- we admire your dedication to each and every garment. We know there were a lot of setbacks, new wrinkles (and a few premature grey hairs), bleeding fingers and hysterics, but IT’S OVER; YOU CAN SLEEP! Or, more realistically… start looking for a job. Here’s a look backstage!

Gracie Wales-Bonner (Fashion Design with Marketing) won the first prize in the L’Oreal competition with her laidback take on Chanel tweed, rope sandals, dark denim with ruffled edges, straw hats, and colorful stones. King of Overlocking, Asai Andrew Ta (Womenswear), won 2^nd place with his mad cowboy boots, and meters of raw, ragged fabrics that moved furiously as models stormed down the runway. Energy was key, and Fiona O’Neill (Womenswear), 3^rd prize winner, put that right into place with bold paintstrokes on sculptural garments (and a wet look we’re able to empathise with, given the dodgy weather).

The rain also seems to have poured into our system, as we can’t put up all images up due to technical failure. Until it’s fixed, you can view them here.

 Grayson Perry

What do you think is the best show soundtrack?

What I like about this show particularly is the variety, because in one minute you can have some hardcore electro and then you get a kind of French chanson tune, then something cheesy – it’s the whole mixture. There once was a disco version of a show tune, it was brilliant. I think the students agonize for three years over their soundtrack. I’m not that fond of the unstructured modern synth-type ones you get, because you get these unstructured modern clothes that come with it; I’m a maximalist.

Are you looking forward to maximalism in this show?

Yeah, I like to be surprised and in one minute you get amazing glamour and sophistication, and the next minute you get a laugh. The mixture makes it such a great event.

Imran Ahmed (BoF)

What are you looking forward to this year?

I’m looking for what I always look for: raw creativity with long-term potential. That’s what I’m most interested in, and what Saint Martins does so well, is that it helps to cultivate the signature voice of a designer. There’s so much copying and referencing and imitating that goes on in the fashion industry; the strongest thing that you can do as a student is to define your specific voice.

Are you a fan of sparkle and glitter?

A little sparkle can never hurt, as long as it’s not for getting attention – it needs to have some aesthetic purpose to it.

What’s your favourite show soundtrack?

Michel Gaubert has been doing these soundtracks for Nicolas Ghesquière at both his first Louis Vuitton collection in Paris and the most recent collection in Monaco – they had the most amazing soundtracks. I think they both had Robyn on them and Kelis.

Alexander Fury (The Independent)

First reaction after the show?

I liked a lot in it. It’s interesting to see young talent at this point, because before [this year] they really formed these designers, I think. It’s interesting, particularly with the formation of the trust for Louise, because I know that Louise was actually talking about Foundation courses a lot, because that’s where you’ll need to get them. It would be interesting to see if many of those designers do go on and develop themselves and either do MA courses or apply for a job and go into the industry.

You saw a lot of ‘fancy’ here, and I thought that it was quite interesting to be able to see people indulge themselves and that there doesn’t have to be a commercial reality to it. I almost feel it’s unfair to judge them as collections, because they’re not really collections – they’re sort of propositions. They’re proposals for the designers that they are going to become. I think it should be looked at like that. It’s the promise of things to come; it’s the promise of different ideas and it remains to be seen whether they will go on and do something under their own name or go and work with other designers; develop textiles, you know. This is the interesting first step. It shouldn’t be the end point, it’s the beginning and that’s what Louise felt as well. They shouldn’t stop here, they should go on, this is their first step into the industry – it shouldn’t be their first leap into the industry.

Text by Jorinde Croese

Photography by Rachel Hardwick

The post Backstage at the Central Saint Martins BA Graduate Fashion Show 2014 appeared first on 1 Granary.

“One of Louise’s famous quotations – or rather, her ‘quotable quotations’ – was something like, “Students can be a real pain, but it’s always a privilege to be amongst youth.” And I’m sure that after this evening’s show, you’ll share that privilege, and you will see the future of fashion burning very brightly again. ” Jeremy Till closed the BA show with these words, before announcing the L’Oreal competition winners, Gracie Wales-Bonner, Asai Andrew Ta and Fiona O’Neill. We have definitely been surprised by the graduates, haven’t you? In case you missed it… we’ve written down some punch-lines and took some more snaps.

Richard Malone

“I’m so fancy” blasts out of the speakers. Big white hats give a witchi-ness to the collection – just in time for Disney’s Maleficent. Nipped-in waists, cropped peplum jackets and shiny fabrics is the drill.

Asai Andrew Ta

Shiny shoes and over-locking genius, with “who fits the shoe…” emphasized by making each shoe different and completely unique. Thigh high, flaming, golden details and florals. It was like Christmas.

Michael Griffin

“Good times” as soundtrack, and good times in the show. A+ for the array of printing, silk and styling. Our favourite; his printed ties.

Queenie Chan


When Crystal Waters’ Gypsy Woman is the show soundtrack you can just lean back and relax. Lilac knits with silver paint, open fold skirts, embellishments on the skirts and coats and elegant floor length dresses.


Ashley Kang


“20 dollars in my pocket,” Ashley’s show-tune resembles what many student are left with after the final collections. We imagine a cute librarian who’s dived into glitter sweaters and runs from book to book in her customized trainers, with a large floral cardigan that nonchalantly hangs off-shoulder whilst she reaches for the top shelf of literature.


Lauren Duncan

We can see Lauren’s tailored monocolour ensembles (green, coral, blue, white) with big pockets at Marni and Carven. Sleeves that widened at the bottom, clean lines, white sandals, corduroy and a sleek neckline: elegance CSM style.

Hui Hui 

If only we could stop talking about the hat sacks… Imagine rolling up in these soft jackets, long sleeved salmon dresses: we would be happy.

Boscono Kong


Sleek, feminine pastels for the luxurious woman who travels – hanging tags as accessories are included. A little flare here and there – revealing some flesh – crop tops and a sheer chunky knit for those who will set off on a cruise soon. Label-suggestion for the collection: ‘post-noughty romanticism’?

Elena Occidente 
Suede in big shapes, outstanding use of red, gold, blue gathered garments. The big white collars added an extra dimension to the good mixes of color.

Chu Xuan

Beat! Black! White! Chu makes a great use of menswear suiting fabrics with pinstripe; Black glass organza, elegant tomboy styling with a dash of blue and great pleating.

Flora Cadzow

Cool girls are back in town: red denim jackets, silk bandanas, boots, a dress with serpents (half transparent on top, we like) and sheer organza with bright stitching which will catch a lot of looks on a hot summer’s day in London’s tube.

Paula Edvall

“Oogum Boogum,” played and the tone was set: laidback, a slightly chilly summer’s day at the beach (white hats, very wide blue trousers), then a fancy dinner party (silks! prints!) We loved the bathing robe-style jacket printed with a stretched out face eating a red fish.

Amie Robertson


Structured black garments, flashes of color and flowers (we overheard somebody whispering “Miu Miu” twice), then a grand surprise: massive hoops underneath skirts with even more embellishments.


Ayaka Sakurai

Sparkle again – a recurring theme. Layering, long trains, unisex, sweet little plastic bags and a sci-fi glitz. If anybody’s planning to make a sci-fi fashion film, don’t forget to give Ayaka a call.

Emma Gillespie

Roy Orbinson’s ‘In Dreams’ plays and reminds immediately of Blue Velvet – and that’s exactly the fabric Emma used so well. Clay, burgundy and navy, draped in different ways, showing a little skin every once in a while and keeping it cool with sneakers.

Hyon Park


When a sweaty runner opens the show on the song ‘love is in the air,’ you win over the crowd. Hyon’s collection was sportswear with flair – big stiff trousers – accompanied by blue, slick hair. Well-constructed garments, sweaty models, bathing robes, spray painted logos on the legs, long gloves and large leather messenger bags. We’re ready to run.


Bruno Zhang

Sexy corduroy – it exists. The models carried staff ID cards, the music was groovy, fabrics were metallic, shapes provocative and colors outstanding. We know the theme for one of our next parties…

Lisandro Olmos

Dramatic suspense in music before models walk out. Metallic silver coat- and jackets, blue suiting, and crinkled leather coat. Styled with batman-like sunglasses – we can actually imagine this would be his ‘undercover’-wear.

Roman Rudolph

Roman, the Golden boy. The collection balances beautifully between McQueen’s 1993 ‘Nihilism’ collection and his 1997 collection for Givenchy. All is gold, shiny and sparkly. The leg details, wooden and metal plates, remind of gladiators; Many strings, a hint of painted organza.

Richard Quinn

Sparkle, sequin, massive dresses, fairytale dresses. Flowers come out of bustiers, flowers are painted on fabrics, and flowers are carried in arms. The shoes are a feast: blue furs, glitters, all are different. The dresses are contrasting themselves – half yellow/half blue stripe: brilliant.


Andrew Sauceda

Denim – massive floppy hats in pink, “California girls” for a very feminine menswear collection that shows skin in J.W. Anderson style – the muscles made it all the more masculine.

Fiona O’Neill

These dresses may very well end up at an exhibition; there is a beautiful balance between art and fashion, with bold brushstrokes and sculptural lines. The pastel-coloured dresses have a slight wet look – not out place with our tropical climate (read: London’s May monsoons).

Daisy Collingridge


It’s a trip back to the craziness of childhood. Blankets wrapped around, pillows attached to fabrics, soft pastels, stuffed toy animals, slippers with pompoms, models on socks, models in bathing robes, models in large embossed canary yellow dresses.

Gracie Wales-Bonner

The music kicked off with such a laidback vibe, we wished for an instant cocktail to sip on whilst seeing the retro vibe collection with sweet-coloured mohair jackets and slouch trousers, dazzling black trousers with stones, flare- and straight leg denim with ruffles at the edges, rope sandals and straw hats. Outstanding casting!

Harry Evans

Harry made us dream about being in Versailles (not with Kanye and Kim) and fooling around with jokers, living inside Alice In Wonderland playing cards and roaming the marble hallways in his structured skirts, tiptoed in little white satin shoes with stones.

Ed Lee

Slouchy, shiny, a beautiful lapel, pinstripe pyjamas, red silks and floral details. He pulled a little J.W. (Anderson) with the sleeveless jacket and made us crave for mornings in the final look: a floor length red silk jacket which we – of course – would love to wear as a dressing gown.

Mascha Rotermund


There were so many exciting fabrics and colors going on in the collection that we’ll give a quick recap: flowers in both wool and plastic, massive skirts, massive pleats. The skirts had little tassels and pieces of wood attached which made sound as the models walked.

Sang Yoon

This is what we have always dreamt of seeing in superhero movies, but have never gotten. A very charming delicacy with a kick-ass strength to it; Many pleats, sculptural arms, heelless Daphne Guinness shoes and a neutral color palette.

Quoi Alexander


An interlacing tribe-vibe with a fancy castanet-click from the shoes, volume and tassels – the color palette (browns, blues, yellows) keep it down-to-‘earth’, contrasting with the high level of skill. We tried to count the exact amount of colors in this intergalactic collection, but ran out of time.

Daniele Toneatti


High belts in tailored judo-style white suits for summer, green sneakers that will walk through Hyde Park and shorts that Marc Jacobs may want to wear: our take on Daniele’s collection. With Trager Delaney in your fan-base, you can’t go wrong.

Charlotte Tydeman


“Loving you” plays and we are back in the garden with Eve – quite literally, as the foamy flesh-colored costumes resemble a female body. There are feathers, roses, glass organza and chiffon. Femininity, elegance: Charlotte, you nailed it.

Angel Chen


If we called anything theatrical during this show, we may have to find a new word for this collection, as it exceeded just that. Oh what a show we got. Use of jute fabrics, foams on shoes (resembles wooden blocks), umbrellas, massive skirts that remind of 2003 Dior – insanity in all the best ways.


Olya Kuryshchuk 

Just in time for the Kimye wedding? Or V&A bridal wear exhibition? Kanye’s ‘Gold digger’ revived the energy in the room and so did the flashing lights – emphasizing the insane amount of stones. A scarification-inspiration leather jacket, ripped jersey, a skirt with dozens of ruffles, a satin bomber, and, to freak out the crowd: an illusionary feather headpiece that made the model’s arms disappear…


Frances Knee


‘Inhaler’ by Foals turns on and the energy transformed yet again. More sparkle and an intense collection. The first model rolls in a wooden trunk with little ornaments. There are massive floating silk trains. The chunky knit beanies have flowers on top, glitter, boxes, many muted colors. There is so much to see – we’d wish for another press show.

Tracey Lewis


Beards! Skirts! Patchwork, cropped jackets with cinched waists (New Look for men) and soft colors. One of the best castings from the show – we even got to enjoy a little tap dance show.


Eleanor McDonald


A minimalist collection Raf Simons could be proud of. Clean shapes, elegant white belts that gather the fabric at the back of the coats, shine, visible buttons and a shade of blue that made us think: Yves Klein? Who is that?

Jackie Hong

The accessories – mainly the very long earrings – were in tune with the sci-fi sky blue wet-look top, and flare trousers that share a Pugh aesthetic. We predict that the red leather walk-in dress will soon hang in somebody’s walk-in wardrobe.

Rahemur Rahman


The good beats continued with an eye on cultural heritage, which got the audience popping their heads up and down. A modern take on traditional Indian dressing, in shiny fabrics with many colors: grey, gold, fuchsia, blue, green and pink: a feast for both eye and ear.


Charlotte Chan


The quietness of Charlotte’s work may have been contrasting with the theatricality of the show she gave. Quilted blue velvet, denim- and chiffon patchworks with greys and pinks, monocles, ruffles, top hats and soft espadrilles.


Kiko Kostadinov 

Though the screaming music may have given a different impression, we found solitude in Kiko’s woven floor-length garments – a meditation and easiness.

Have a look backstage  and find out what Alex Fury thought of the show; Grayson Perry’s take on show soundtracks and what excites Imran Ahmed.

 Photography by Rachel Hardwick and Leo di Cera

The post Central Saint Martins BA Fashion Graduate Show 2014 appeared first on 1 Granary.

Creator of ‘cracked couture,’ and teller of frayed fairytales: the screen printing of Fashion Print graduate Richard Quinn would undoubtedly make it onto the big screens. The young designer – who interned at Dior and Savile Row – talks with us about cringe factors, Daily Mail ‘sack the stylist’ spreads and wanting to go out on a high after a difficult year. We weren’t the only ones who got excited, seeing his gorgeous models strut down the runway – our friends were immediately on board to organize a shoot to showcase these gems.

Very pretty dresses, with frayed raw edges: why?

I wanted the look of everything to be hand painted and drawn on canvas and paper. I was obsessed with getting everything bright (paper) white. My helpers thought I was nuts. I would hold up two or three samples of white I had painted on canvas and they would look at me blankly and I would not get they didn’t see the difference (for the record, Dulux ‘Brilliant White’ is in fact cream). In hindsight, I would’ve thought I was nuts too, but they just weren’t white enough. I wanted things to look quite spontaneous and free, so I decided to have some hems finishes and some frayed. I needed to balance the finishings so it didn’t look sloppy or unintentional. The same with the prints, in fact, balancing precise screen printing with free hand painted flowers on top helped create that contrast. I wanted people to know that all the dresses were canvas and not actual fabric and I had painted them like you would a painting.

We sense a ‘duality’ (perhaps a very modern identity crisis: wanting best of two garments in one) in your work – what are you hinting at?

The starting point of the collection was things that rip or tear. I never intended to rip the clothes themselves, however to have the print ripping across a black silhouette to eventually end up with a completely covered final look. This then developed into collages of different prints and varying textures to highlight where a section of the garment had been removed/ripped, to expose the underneath layer. This became a bit stale and after a while I got really bored, in fact I was bored because the collection at that time was boring in terms of shape and how I was going to present the idea of ripping.

There are so many different techniques you’ve used in your garments. There are stones, glitter and paint, different kinds of flowers and furs, there’s an interesting use in pattern cutting and dressmaking and you’ve even made an array of gloves and shoes that go perfectly with the clothes!

What part of the process did you love doing/making most?

The point where I had the dress made in canvas and I started to colour them in effectively was the most fun. It really turned into something I could then understand and have control over. If I wanted a huge print on the jacket I would just pin it down and print camouflage across it. I think the only look to be printed before it was sewn up was the blue stripe and red rose shirt dress. The rest were all made in calico and fused and treated like an actual garment then I just painted them.

Which is your favourite look and why?

I think just in terms of a turning point where something actually worked and I was happy with was the shirt dress. A lot of things had gone wrong up until this point and this was the moment where I thought, fuck we just made this in two days I might be able to get a collection done. Granted everything was painted and stuck but it looked good so I couldn’t care less.

What caused you the most trouble?

It’s no secret that I hate to pattern cut. I really just find it a frustrating process as my skill level of pattern cutting is surpassed by my design expectation. The amount of days I said I hated calico I never would’ve thought 95% of my collection would be made in it. It’s one of those things that I just dreaded each day; nothing seemed to work or look how I wanted and I just couldn’t work out how to fix it. All the dresses have corsets and underskirts holding the shape, so even before you make the shell you have to make all the shit that holds the bloody thing out. It’s a nightmare, especially when you have two contrasting sides to a dress, it means you also have to make the underneath corset change! Fucking nightmare.

How did you start the collection?

It’s actually from my second year tailoring project, but interpreted in a completely different way. This is far more elegant. My tailoring was quite trashy to some extent. I started to look at defacing old couture imagery. I ripped lots of L’official photocopies in half to create new dresses. It became a bit of a piss take on couture but then turned into something a lot more interesting and beautiful I think. I wanted it to have integrity in design and print but still be quite different.

What previous ideas have you ditched?

I think my collection has changed a lot. When I say ‘changed,’ it completely changed. It was all black into colour at one point, then sportswear mixed with dresses (my CSM – crazy sportswear moment) and tunics as well, there was a lot. But in fact, it actually resided back to original collages and sketches I did in the early stages of 2014. It’s great that it did keep changing as the end product was worth it, but I just think if I was to do it again I would just go with my gut and just listen to a select few.

Can you walk us through your final year and stages of your collection – especially your last 2 weeks before the show.

The design stages were fine before Christmas, but when it came to pattern cutting in February that’s probably where I lost my marbles for a bit, thankfully I’ve found them now. It became a collection with so many variations and I wanted to explore all of them like everything it became a mess. So I went back to the drawing board and looked at the best designs and had a meeting with the tutors to decide the best way forward. Before this point I wanted to do really intricate embroidery and 10 screen prints but it was really unrealistic. So I stripped it all back but this was actually 2 weeks before the internal show. I would constantly be running to and from the print room for two weeks solid with hardly any sleep to try and get things sewn and painted, it was a living nightmare. But it was just forcing me in a way to do what comes naturally to me. Free hand painting looks spontaneous, purely because it was. It made my natural aesthetic come out and it just got done. I don’t know how or why but somehow in the internal show I had 5 Looks. It was pure adrenaline and to an extent desperation to prove that I could do it and it would get done. It had been a bit of a shit year anyway so I wanted to go out on a high. From the fitting the day before to my family cutting out hundreds of calico flowers and gluing all night to get it done. Then I was told I was in the press show and then a whole new look had to be added. Funnily enough in that week I spent touching up and making changes where it needed to go but left the last look again to the last minute on the Saturday before the show, it seemed like this was the way of getting that adrenaline to just get it done.

Why did you decide that the first look should be the first look? What’s the thought process behind making a running order?

The running order came about as I made them. I always knew I wanted the shirt dress first. Just as I knew it would get the message of the collection across straight away. At the fitting the day before the internal show two dresses were still completely plain, I had no clue what they would look like once I had painted them. I was told it was too late to show toiles, some people didn’t realize the garments already finished started in the same way. I ended up just going for it and a ‘kind of’ running order was made at that point and it actually worked when they were made so I kept it.

What has your work been like in previous years at college – have you gone through radical changes to find your own aesthetic the past four years?

When I was in first year, it was just about experimentation. The final year seems years away and you just do what you like. When I was in first and second year, I just remember if I would shock the tutors or show them something bold or different they would be really happy and you would just push it further. I really developed my print and colour skills then and I think they have stuck. I think in terms of shape it has always changed, which a good thing. I think my previous work still fits my overall intended look but it is still completely different, which I’m happy about.

What did the internships you’ve done teach you that was useful for making your final garment?

In my year out I worked at Dior in Paris and Richard James on Savile Row. Dior really showed me how things work in the industry and had amazing mentors whilst there. The day to day running of the stusios and how the design team work was fantastic. It really showed me how things actually are done. Richard James was a lot of fun. My boss – now close friend – Salma taught me a lot. She always pushed the design forward and made all the projects really interesting. Salma was actually amazing on my final year giving me perspective and giving me great advice, and sometime even help, painting shoes half hour before the show!

Has fashion always been the obvious choice? What influences did you have around you? 

Not really, I came to CSM to do Fine Art or Graphics to be honest. I then got in my head there’s no money in Fine Art so I’ll do Graphics. It was after the Foundation year that I had an internship doing prints for London Fashion Week; I really saw how exciting and actually obtainable becoming a designer can be. My only experience on the CSM foundation of fashion was doing really cringe exercises. It had a real feel of elitism and desperation – a weird mix but I’m sure people would get what I mean. A lot of dramatic people worshiping Susie Bubble: the cringe factor was too much to take. So the break and touch of reality did me well. I applied and got in, so it all worked out for the best.

My dad actually owns a scaffolding company in London, so many days growing up have been spent ‘learning a trade’ on the sites of London. I have learned a lot from the scaffolder’s and their wise words from the ‘university of life’ some better than others. I wouldn’t change it as I know what hard graft is and respect my father no end to see how hard he works for his family. I am one of five and my mother is a health professional. They work extremely hard and I definitely aspire to be like them.

Are you afraid you’ll have to tone down and be more commercial in order to sell in the future?

I think this is a great opportunity to do what ever we want. At points in the year I would get worried and pair everything back down. The tutors would just keep pushing to make it better and bigger and I really see why now. Not that necessarily everything has to be big to be considered good but from my designs they really wanted the strongest line up to come to life. I would love to have my own brand or print studio but it’s early days. Perhaps the MA, but for now I think I’m going to work in a studio to further develop my skills. I think it’s the best option.

Why did you decide to choose the soundtrack you played during the show? Was it a difficult search for you to find the music to accompany the garments or did you have this in mind for a long time?

I wanted to grab peoples attention with the music.  I hate classical or slow music at fashion shows I find it so self indulgent and boring. I wanted it to represent me as a person and give that edge to the collection it needed. It was ‘Move your Body by DJ Madd’. It reminds me of a great friend that put it on my i-pod. When ever I would go to buy paint or something all these tunes would come on he put there and it would remind me of all the funny times. He was a massive part of my life for a long time so even if he didn’t see the collection or turn up for the show he would be part of it in some way or another. It was a toss up between 4 or 5 songs for a long time but this fitted well and had the feel I wanted.

What’s the most hilarious catchphrase somebody has coined about your collection?

‘Cracked Couture’ was probably the nicest by Willie Walters, although I’m sure there have been worse descriptions.

If somebody would decide to make a film that’s based on your collection, what would the narrative be? 

I would probably say a classic story directed by some one like Baz Luhrmann, with a modern quite surreal take on the story. By far his imagery, style and execution is my favorite.

Do you think red carpet events are ready for your dresses?

I think the ones that have contrasting prints but are full dresses could perhaps pass, but the ones that are ripped in half are a bit too far at this point in time. It’s a guaranteed ‘wtf were you thinking’ or ‘sack the stylist’ spread in the Daily Mail, I’m sure of it. Although, I would frame that.

Photography: Nikolay Biryukov

Styling: Marina de Magalhaes

Make-up Artist: Marina Keri

Hair: Fumihito Maehara

Assistants: Jessica Roper and Esmé Fenton

Interview by Jorinde Croese

Richard and all of this year’s graduates will be showcasing their work during the Degree Show, which will be on from 18 June – 22 June. If you want to catch a glimpse of more brilliant final collections, there will be sketchbooks, portfolios, garments: basically, forget about all the boring exhibitions at the V&A and Somerset House – Central Saint Martins is the only place you can truly get your kicks.

Wednesday 18 June to Friday 20 June: 12 to 8pm

Saturday 21 June and Sunday 22 June: 12 to 6pm

The post Richard Quinn: Creator of Cracked Couture appeared first on 1 Granary.

Steeped with themes of romanticism to suits reminiscent of Bowie’s Thin White Duke, Ed Lee’s work combines the use of motif with drapery and a colour palette of earthy tones, ballasted with a river of red flowing through. Biblical? Perhaps not, yet this mixture of effeminate and powerful menswear is something to be marvelled at.

Just as brides carry charms for good luck, Ed whisked up his own mascots in the form of ‘something sparkly, something colourful, something soft and something crafty’, (replacing the dower ‘something borrowed, something blue’: about as exciting as old men’s’ underwear). With these guidelines inserted into his designs at the start of his project, Ed Lee was on the brink of promise even in the early stages of creation.

Challenging the aesthetics of menswear has been worked and reworked a hundred times over, without reward. However, it seems that Ed’s success is the prize for working hard, interning and playing nice. After working in Margiela’s atelier in Paris, he quickly learnt to break down the wall of isolation that the language barrier built up. Working straight into 3D work, patterns were dissolved into the ether, and Ed developed the agile style that would go on to influence his final collection. The runway was slicked with billowing skirts enveloping the long dresses; a silhouette reminiscent of Medieval Renaissance, integrated with surface decoration in the style of the Arts and Crafts movement. With such historical references, Ed Lee still manages to create a collection dripping with insurgent ideas; the reputation of CSM’s quest for all things “new” remains intact.

“People get drawn to the designer’s aesthetic when they are looking for internships. While doing it, they should always stay positive and think of the possible achievements,” Ed says. Dead ends or brighter outlooks – internships elevated Ed’s expectations of the industry. Bridging the lines from 90s heroin chic to Ziggy Stardust, Ed Lee’s engineered pieces shine through against more bohemian textiles. They show influences from his time at Margiela, which are distinct, yet personal. “It was very intense but that made me a very independent person, when it comes to working.” he says.

Back in London, anchored by our capital (it must be all that coke in the Thames water, or the artisan hangover from Paris), Lee says he still feels ‘safe and constantly inspired’ eight years on, adding that ‘if it comes to difficult decision making, I always ask my best friend for opinion’. Fashion savvy friends are a must for imminent success.

More of a Stella than Galliano, the young designer professes his work as ‘soft and sleek’. Rejecting the avant-garde by replicating ‘vintage fabrics and modernising it by putting in a more contemporary silhouette’. Strangely enough, with feminine silhouettes like the 90′s halter dress and collaged boob tubes, masculinity oozes through the designs as the contours of the male model’s body shine through – reminding us that however manicured the wearer, this is a menswear show after all.

‘I don’t really have big concepts behind my work…I like clothes that are rich in textures; therefore textiles and fabrication are very important to me’. Ed tells us that his influences emerged from haute couture of the 1920s, focusing on textiles and experimental textures before developing the structure. Designing almost in the reverse, meant that surface decoration was clearly integrated into his final collection rather than ‘plopped on’.

A succession of three to four years at CSM in prep for riotous release into the industry follows a loose regime of practical and design skills. “It is great if someone can produce beautiful sketchbooks but I don’t think it is essential’,  Ed says, noting that over-designed pages never mask a bad concept.

Newly graduated, clutching the most expensive piece of paper he will ever own, Ed Lee is brimming with advice for CSM hopefuls who must ‘stay true to their own aesthetic, concentrate, and manage their time well’. Evidently calming the nerves of trembling first years, making the road to graduation seems within reach. It pays off to be kind as well as astute.

The post Newly Qualified Wunderkind: Ed Lee’s ‘Crafty’ Avenue to Graduation appeared first on 1 Granary.

You don’t frequently see students figuratively ditching their writing course to go and do something completely different, like hands-on styling. However, Lou’ana Carron - who’s going into her second year of Fashion Journalism at Central Saint Martins – does it over and over again. Having styled this year’s White Project shoot (featuring the work of first year fashion design students), she’s now continued to work with this year’s BA and MA graduates, shooting a story with photographer Alexei Izmaylov. With the start of fashion week, don’t take yourselves too seriously, #silly.

Angel Chan

Georgina Mae top | Maria Jahnkoy jumpsuit, Maria Lavigina jacket

Alice Marrone shirt, Woo Seok Jeon glasses | Maria Lavigina

Chin menswear top, Christine Charlebois top (underneath) | Graham Fan collar, Pauline Edvall trousers

Alice Marrone shirt, Angel Chan shorts

Kenji Kawasumi top, Alexei Izmaylov scarf | Georgina Mae top, Christine Charlebois trousers and top (underneath)

Juliette Khamak 

PHOTOGRAPHER ALEXEI IZMAYLOV 
FASHION STYLIST LOU’ANA CARRON
HAIR STYLIST MEGGIE COUSLAND
MAKEUP ARTIST THERESA DAVIES
ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHER ERIC MOUROUX
ASSISTANT STYLIST CLARISSA CHAREUN

The post HASHTAG SILLY appeared first on 1 Granary.

“I love vintage Versace. Donnatella tries to revive the eighties, when Gianni had great concepts, but it seems misplaced, it’s not new or fresh. When I now think about a Versace woman, I would see her as quite unintelligent, without anything to do, really.” Krystina Kozhoma sits opposite me on a white chair next to ditto coloured oriental lilies, sun shining on her elegant features. Her black bralet, flared pink skirt, and metallic black, embellished leather sandals make her look as if she has walked straight out of a Balenciaga ad; ready to watch Wimbledon with G&T’s.

Her mannerisms –the way she walks and talks- subtly hints of sexiness, and her BA graduate collection was an incarnation of just that: keeping it hot when showing off the right pieces of flesh, and making it bad-ass with rows of rough metal rings. “It just comes naturally. Whatever I do, it’s always sexy. I just think there’s nothing bad about being sexual as long as you don’t look like a streetwalker.” These dresses aren’t about trashiness, but more like mixing couture with embellishment. The garments aren’t necessarily conceptual, she says. “Obviously the skintight dresses are about a close connection with the body; showing the contours of the female body. If it was just skintight dresses, it would probably look really slutty, but the metal elements make it edgy, you know? It makes it less provocative, less sexual.”

Tell me a bit about your final collection.

My research started with taxidermy and a lot of samples were based on substituting animal skin and fur with knitwear. Lisa Black’s taxidermy deer with metallic spine, a mix of nature and something man-made, intrigued me and I immediately visualized mixing lycra with metal. My inspiration is mostly based on fine art, but I also had some really gross stuff in my research, like people doing operations. It also included a lot of S&M, tight laces, which you can see back in my work. My initial idea was to make the shape of a corset, so I did placements with metal to emphasize the lines of the breasts. In the future I’d like to make pieces that are more wearable, maybe not as short; less metal pieces so you don’t suffer when you walk [laughs].

Do you have a muse?

I like classical women. To me, Brigitte Bardot was the most beautiful woman alive and Audrey Hepburn had this amazing grace, aristocratic features and a wise, confident face.  I’m not sure if my dresses actually fit her. When you think about dressing someone, it’s completely different to what you’re actually making.

Especially when choosing muses that aren’t contemporary…

Rooney Mara, the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, was actually one of my main inspirations. Her sexuality isn’t right in your face, but in the movie she’s got such a bad-ass attitude, strength, piercings. I watched the movie while making the collection, which really inspired me to go on. I’ve got a folder with her images. I wanted her to be my model.

What changes did you go through at Saint Martins?

In the first two years, you mainly make samples, you design and draw. When you make a garment, it doesn’t have to be perfectly finished. Accordingly, I would never be able to construct a proper garment and reach a certain level of perfection. Especially my internship year has made me a perfectionist in finishing garments. With my final collection, none of the dresses are 100% what I expected: the calculations aren’t always right and you’ve only got 8 weeks to finish the whole collection. At a point you realize there is no time to keep remaking all the garments when a small detail isn’t quite right. You just gotta go with the flow.

 Has CSM shaped you as an artist/person?

You don’t learn from tutors, you learn from each other. You see brilliant people around you, and it’s very competitive so you continuously think: ‘wow she’s got mind-blowing ideas, next project I will be better’. You really want to push yourself to your limits.

Before crit you always think “IF I HAD ONE MORE DAY”. It’s always that ‘one day more’. It teaches you how to manage time; you can organize your working process easier. Saint Martins changed my mind and ideas, it made me more confident in my toiles as well; all these crits are like judging day: you stand in front of all these people with your work shaking in your hands…

CSM final year students go through lots of all-nighters…

Normally, it’s going to bed at 3 and waking up at 8, going back to business. The worst thing is waking up in the morning knowing it’s the same shit, different day. It’s hard. You’ve got to have a strong willpower. There’s only one thought on repeat in your mind: “I’ve got to finish this, I have a deadline”. You don’t care about sleep, something inside drives you; it’s like running a marathon and there is a dog behind you. You can’t stop. If you stop it will eat you. You want to be able to look back and think, ‘yes I didn’t waste my time: this was worth it.’

Do you think your placement year has given you a new approach to your final collection?

You take something for yourself from all internships and in most final collections you can find elements of the designers your classmates work for. Obviously, I learned a great deal about working with lycra when I worked with Mark Fast, and Balmain taught me a lot about hardware. When you see their work on the catwalk, you’re left clueless how they put the things together. The mystery unravels when you see past collections, all the samples, how they use metal and embellishment in their designs.

The spirit of this femme fatale is alive in her clothes and make you want to shroud yourself  in a little something sexy, screaming fuck you to the conventional ways of the fashion world, for there is no way these dresses won’t raise a feeling of punk.

Photography: Nikolay Biryukov

MUA: Marina Keri

Styling: Olya Kuryshchuk

Model: Nadia Araújo @Select 

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What did your tutors say when you first presented your ideas for the final collection?

The first line up was a bit of a wake up call to me. The collection changed significantly after that. Got bigger, brighter and less boring. The tutors mostly said make it bigger, bigger (and better).

Did your collection start from something small, like a bathing robe, and were you then advised to ‘go large’?

No, my initial drawings were always big, but for some reason it took me the whole year to translate that scale into real life. The collection was based on photographs I took of flying quilts, so the first designs were based on billowed, thrown shapes. These shapes were too hollow, so I added more and more fullness, until they were the size of a quilt.

It looks like you had a lot of fun, making the collection; did you? What did you enjoy doing most?

In hindsight it was fun. When else do you get to make things everyday? What did I enjoy the most? Quilting. I love quilting.

 How much do you appreciate your bed?

Who doesn’t appreciate their bed? But contrary to the bed theme, I don’t spend much time in it.

 Are you a morning or a night person?

I have tried to be a morning person; like getting up and going for an early morning jog before work, but no, I am definitely a night person.

 What were your childhood dreams?

Running in the Olympics

 What is your favourite Disney movie?

Fantasia.

 What were your first thoughts, when you had to start thinking about making accessories?

I have made toys since I can remember, so I wanted to get one in there. There have been various friendly monsters but Greville (the monster) is my favorite.

The draping and construction of the garments looks pretty complicated. What kind of techniques did you use?

I probably shouldn’t admit to this, but I didn’t really have patterns. All 6 looks were made up as I went along. There was some planning; I had tried and tested the construction technique… The trouble with quilting, is that it completely changes the characteristic of the fabric. I struggled to find any fabric that was suitable to toile in. In the end I made the shapes in wadding, then backed the wadding with the lining fabric before draping the outer fabric on the top. Then I pinned all the layers together in a cozy sandwich, before finally quilting the whole darn thing.

Who do you look up to?

Rosie Swale Pope. She ran around the world pulling a trailer with everything she needed. It took her five years. But she ran around the whole world. Anyone with that much determination is worth looking up to.

 

Why did you decide to make these garments? 

Hmm, there wasn’t a decision moment, it just happens really. I always hoped that I would have a nice organized list and drawings of what I was going to make, but I didn’t, so I just made them.

What were your references?

My main reference was the children’s book ‘Were the Wild things are’ written by Maurice Sendak.

What was your dissertation about?

Surfing.

What has been the biggest challenge for you this year?

Designing and making my sisters wedding dress (it wasn’t quilted!)

Growing up, who has been your biggest influence?

The most obvious influence is my mum. She is fabulous. She also makes quilts, dyes fabric, silk paints scarfs, wall papers, decorates cakes, makes costumes, upholsters chairs; If you ask her to make the kitchen table from a tree she could probably do it. I have learnt how to sew from her, but more importantly, how to think practically.

How different is the end product from what you originally set out to design?

Your imagination is always far more accomplished at creating awesome things; but that’s in your head. I guess my real world version isn’t a bad effort.

Where did you intern?

At Louis Vuitton, the men’s leather goods, as well as a wedding dress designer, Anna Schimmel in New Zealand. A brilliant contrast.

What’s the next step?

Make monsters.

Unless anyone needs anything quilted?

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The Central Saint Martins graduate shows will happen in less than one month… What are the final year BA Fashion Design students working on? What fabrics are they using for their collections, which will be unveiled on the runway on the 3rd of June? What do their workspaces look like? And what are the new kids on the block creating, who are just finishing their first year at CSM? 1st year BA Graphic Design student Ollie Vanes grabbed his camera and set out to explore and document the fashion design studios.

Tosh Bung – 1st year BA Fashion

Rozalina Burkova – final year Fashion Design with Marketing

Markus Wernitznig – final year Womenswear

Gilda Balass – 1st year Knitwear

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As the only German pursuing his bachelor degree in ‘Textile and Fashion’ at The Hague’s Royal Academy of Art (KABK), Fabian Bredt presented his graduate collection in fluent Dutch. He spoke with no accent, and the Dutch throat-like “g” came out of his mouth, as if he was born with it. No one would have thought that Bredt hails from Darmstadt, Germany — a picturesque city just outside Frankfurt am Main. The question of identity has always been a curious thing for the 26-year old menswear designer as he unravels “Identity 3.0” for his graduate collection. “This generation is still figuring out their collective identity by taking on various identities. We have to form a new youth movement that is not only based purely on shallow aesthetics, but questions where we are heading with our society. It should question the rapid changes of our times and use its opportunities in the best possible manner.”

“My work focuses on a concept as clear as it gets – there’s no fantasy. We live in a time where collective consciousness has dictated us into multiple identities. You need to deconstruct society to understand my work thoroughly.”

Fabian Bredt’s collection discussed the role of the Internet in democratising fashion through our constant attachment to Facebook while redefining our relationship with the industry one step at a time. Inspired by smartphone apps by, for example Nike or Adidas, we live in an age where one can customise his/her own design and have it delivered within weeks. This vision was executed through imprinting CMYK colors on his garments, visible mostly in his sought-after pixelated sweaters. “In the 70s, 80s, or 90s, we had to associate ourselves with one specific group, but now we can be someone else every two seconds. I want to visualise this idea in Identity 3.0. For example, the Bomber jacket has such a significant background in pop culture — it’s everyone’s coming-of-age moment to have one. Hence, I experimented with existing materials and played with its size — it’s a bit like meta-fashion where one is referencing oneself.” Bredt’s innovative approach proves that his design works in two synchronised ways: An evolutionary vision would not have taken place without revolutionary techniques. It was no surprise that his graduate collection was nominated for the “Department Award,” earning “Identity 3.0” to open KABK’s annual fashion show last June. Instead of the mandatory 10 outfits, his had three times more –  and it was sensational. “I put the models on three rows in a systematic way where each look, colour, and material would complement one another. I even played music from Cisco Systems’s default hold music. There were the classical codes and the concept of pluralism was also there.”

His thesis, “Sharing is Caring,” was also as victorious as it was nominated for the department’s best. It paid homage to Larry Tesler, the inventor of the copy-paste function on computers. “I think he should become a new saint for modern day pop culture because this invention helped everyone. He should get the credit that he deserves. To simplify things, my work could be described as relatable, humble and utilitarian.” As a result, Bredt emphasises the prospect of mass production in the fashion industry: “The democratisation of self expression and the quickness in which we can create artistic work should reflect and provide the tools to share the message to our audience. The core of this (youth) movement should be a profound belief in innovation in the widest possible way.”

His tenure at Craig Green and Matthew Miller in London last year taught him the functionalities of factories, and even enlightened him on the deconstruction of mass production in menswear — or in his own words, “how one hustles one’s way into the fashion industry.” At the same time, the curriculum at KABK had widened his perspective on his craftsmanship and visions: “I always focus on one clear thing. I want people to see the obviousness of my work, and of course the obviousness of fashion.”

Bredt’s versatility came from his dedicated vision of multiple identities. Thus, the future is as clear as it gets for Fabian Bredt as he hopes for a residency at the Rijks Academy in the near future or even, starting his own label with the birth of “Identity 4.0”

 Words by Kevin Holička

All images courtesy of Fabian Bredt.

Photography by Luka Karssenberg.

Video by Machteld Rullens

The post FABIAN BREDT: BRINGING DEMOCRACY TO FASHION, ONE BOMBER JACKET AT A TIME appeared first on 1 Granary.

Korean-born, Canada-raised BA Fashion graduate Catherine Whang studied the aesthetics of Amish adolescence for her final collection — that is, Amish adolescence gone drinking in Las Vegas. A skilled illustrator, she produces beautiful fashion-related drawings and portraits, while investigating the boundaries of textile technology.

Catherine Whang was born in Korea, but moved to Canada with her family at an early age. She was studying design when her tutor recommended her to apply to Central Saint Martins in London, but in fact, she was already familiar with the institution, as she used to collect interviews of fashion students around the world from various magazines. “Students from CSM talked so highly about the course and school,” she tells us over e-mail. “I felt like it was the right thing to do.”

She commenced on BA Fashion Design with Marketing, as she was keen to know more about the business-side alongside the design process. “I thought it would be beneficial in the future when you are setting up your own label,” she says; “also, the fact that the class size is smaller really interested me.” She mentions her tutors Heather Sproat, Rosemary Wallin, Jan Bigg-Withers and Paul Whitaker as essential in her training, as well as important visiting talks from the likes of Imran Amed (BoF) and Johnny Coca (then Céline, now Mulberry), who gave their trusted opinions from within the industry.

“I wanted to develop textiles that were inspired by the cityscapes of Vegas and experiment with traditional Amish clothes to come up with new silhouettes.”

“There’s no limit in developing technological textiles.”

There was one moment that triggered Catherine to develop her Amish-themed collection, entitled Rumspringa. Since her relocation to Canada, she had always been intrigued in their lifestyle, and one particular article caught her attention and remained in her memory for a very long time. It came again to her attention as she was thinking about her degree project, so she decided to begin a thorough investigation into the secretive culture. “I started to watch documentaries and films about Amish culture,” she explains, emphasising how one particularl film provided a source for her design. “It was called ‘Electrick Children,’ and was about an Amish girl escaping to Vegas to avoid an arranged marriage. I loved the contrast between her plain costumes and the bright lights and neon signs of Vegas. I wanted to develop textiles that were inspired by the cityscapes of Vegas and experiment with traditional Amish clothes to come up with new silhouettes,” she says. Her garments express a form of an amalgamated American-dream, part melancholic religious freedom, part hedonistic capitalist dystopia. She translated the familiar typography of Vegas signs to her own textiles while collaborating with an Italian fashion company. “I learned different techniques that can be used, and that there’s no limit in developing technological textiles,” she says.

Overall, technology plays an important role in the oeuvre of Catherine Whang. “It opens up so many possibilities,” she argues, as she tells us about her 2nd year textiles and tailoring projects. “I did researches about different technological textiles, and it was fascinating to read about inventions like an antibacterial fibre containing silver ions that kills harmful germs; nano-coated textiles that require less frequent and lower temperature washing, etc. So I wanted to make fabrics that are quite technological but also visually interesting, with a texture.” As a contrast to the traditional historicism of Amish culture, she juxtaposes the ultra-modern with futuristic materiality.

Along with her fashion design work, Catherine is an eager fashion illustrator and makes exhibition-worthy drawings, completely separate from her garments. Her style is concise, neat and rich in character. She draws mostly women, but feels that her illustrations of men move more freely and are slightly more inattentive compared to her female counterparts. But while she doesn’t consider design and illustration as two separate practices, she does approach them differently: “When I’m designing I draw very quickly because it is part of a design development process and you are just jotting down the ideas,” she explains. “Whereas when I’m doing illustrations I tend to relax more and just enjoy, not thinking about anything else other than trying to draw the figures in time.” Life-drawing models enable her to more closely capture details of the garments. “Every now and then I try to draw my friends in some of the garments that I made,” she adds.

Initially, Catherine Whang is celebrating graduation with a well-deserved holiday with her family. “Eventually, when I have enough experience, I would love to set my own label,” she reveals: “but at the moment, I would like to learn more!”

Words by Jeppe Ugelvig

All design and styling by Catherine Whang

All photography by Sophie Evans

Studio photoshoot: hair and make up by Naomi Serene

Location photoshoot: Hair by Roger Cho, make-up by Martina Lattanzi, make-up assistant Christina Frusi

Models : Florence @ Established, Kate @ M+P, Rebeca @ Established

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Lee Bodkin originates from Glasgow, Scotland, from where he pursued his creative ambitions until reaching the guilded halls of Central Saint Martins. He developed his graduate collection through careful research on the social implications of drug addiction, reflected in his hoarding-style textiles that investigate the cyclic nature of many addicts. Taking such a contentious theme as a starting point for a fashion collection raises issues — important ones, which Lee carefully reflected on as he developed his garments.

The path of Lee is far from typical of the average CSM undergraduate: after leaving school at 17 in Glasgow, he was accepted onto a one-year portfolio preparation course at Cardonald, a local college in his home town, which allowed him to “dabble in a variety of subjects like fine art and sculpture, as well as fashion design,” he explains, tracing his educational path. He subsequently pursued a vocational degree similar to BTEC at the same college, which focused on manufacturing. “I only found out about Central Saint Martins in my last year at college, when we were applying to art schools,” he says. “In the end, CSM was the only art school to accept me, so I think it was just luck, really.”

For his final collection, he presented a curious womenswear collection of layered textiles in earthy tones with a particular aesthetic reminiscent of hoarding – flickering, compiling, or beautiful bricolage. He developed his characteristic textiles during his final year while researching addiction and the lifestyles of those dealing with substance abuse. But as he digged deeper into his socially contested research, he came to realise the politics of research and appropriation. “The more in-depth I got into this topic, I realised that I would have to express this serious issue without exploiting anyone who is dealing with these problems on a daily basis. I decided to try and represent this in a more abstract way.” He represented the circular lifestyle of those dealing with addictions through a series of repeated textiles, consisting of entrapped paper and scrap fabric underneath each of the tapes. The garments seem to function both as a shelter and as a document of accumulated experiences, yet importantly raise themselves above exploitation and appropriation of images of poverty.

Lee Bodkin has shown an impressive eye for renegotiating the female silhouette, as well as presenting compelling abstractions from actual social research. He plans to develop his practice even further as he embarks on the MA course of the same school, “and try not to worry so much about what happens afterwards,” he tells us. “Hopefully someone will give me a job though!”

Words by Jeppe Ugelvig

All images courtesy of Lee Bodkin and 1 Granary

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Since childhood, Central Saint Martins graduate Tingzhi Liu, originally from Singapore, has loved dressing up. She mixes personal memories and fashion-historical research as she constructs voluptuous gowns in an explosion of textiles and prints. It was quad biking in the Moroccan desert with friends from the Dior studio in Paris that led to the formation of Liu’s romantic, desert glamour; constructing an image while balancing color, proportion and size. We spoke to Liu about life after college.

Back in her native Singapore, fashion didn’t always seem like a realistic educational route. While her peers were already deep into standard degrees in law, business and engineering, Tingzhi dreamt of studying at the prestigious Central Saint Martins. However, “studying anything non-academic, let alone at CSM just seemed so far away and out of reach,” she recalls as we talk with her. “I had this idea that the designers you saw in Vogue were from some faraway planet.” Overwhelmed by the idea of a pure fashion programme, she applied for Fashion Merchandising at London College of Fashion, which seemed like “a good compromise between something creative and academic,” but when a CSM representative came to Singapore to hold interviews for the college’s foundation course, she took the opportunity to challenge herself. “I worked for 3 months to build up a portfolio, went for the interview and got accepted. I tried both Textiles and Fashion on the Foundation pathway and it felt really natural; one thing led to another,” she says.

“It’s always about constructing an image, about trying to find a balance between colour, proportion, the size of the prints and the length of the dress.”

“One lesson I took away from Dior was definitely the importance of working smart rather than just working hard.”

Placed in the fashion print pathway, she enjoyed the extreme level of independence that characterises the BA Fashion Design programme at Central Saint Martins. “You see your tutors for maybe 30 minutes each week and then the rest of the week is completely self structured,” she explains. “This environment really suited me, as I really enjoy designing, sketching and draping for hours before showing it to someone.” Her oeuvre began to take shape during her placement year, when she got the incredible opportunity to do an internship at Dior’s gilded halls in Paris. “At Dior, we got to do everything;” she says, with her work ranging from tailoring and embroidery to print and helping out in the fittings with Raf. “One lesson I took away from Dior was definitely the importance of working smart rather than just working hard.”

However, besides getting valuable and eye-opening insight into the functionalities of a big couture brand, it was the development of several strong friendships while working in the studio that helped shape Tingzhi’s work as she was entering into her second year. After finishing her internship, she decided to go quad biking with her new friends in the deserts of Morocco. Dressed in amazing garments from Dior, Dries van Noten and Balmain that they had acquired super cheaply from sample sales, the girls went riding through the desert, getting sandy and dirty in the dunes under the North African sun. “It was quite a funny sight, like a scene from some low-budget adventure film,” she laughs, “four girls on dirt bikes dressed in sequins and shorts in the desert!”

“I had this idea of a really glamorous but tough girl travelling all over the world, alone on her bike, and returning with all these amazing carpet textiles draped all over her.”

As remnants of this hazy memory, the graduate collection of Tingzhi Liu picks up on these symbols of glamour, roughness and what she calls “the feeling of freedom, spontaneity and energy I felt then.” In her garments, elements of classic multi-layered couture dresses of the ‘50s clash with rough biker jackets in dark leather, creating a hedonistic, super powerful and larger-than-life kind of vibe. They ooze glamour through their humorous bricolage of idiosyncratic jewellery, integrated North African rugs, DIY-accessories (like rope) and nostalgic, romantically embroidered biker boots. “For me it’s always about constructing an image,” she explains. “About trying to find a balance between colour, proportion, the size of the prints and the length of the dress; the use of plain leather vs. fringe and printed fabric etc. It does sound like a lot! But it makes sense to me when I’m designing.”

Behind this vivid source of inspiration, it is clear that Tingzhi is a skilful researcher and re-negotiator of images. As she dusted off any sand leftovers in the studios of CSM, Tingzhi looked at Irving Penn’s images of 1950s Dior dresses while developing the silhouettes of her garments. “That tied in with my idea of using multiple layers and textures of carpet fabrics, prints and materials,” she explains. Similarly, she integrated rough ropes to break up her dresses after finding an image of a rug seller in Morocco. “It’s a really key image in my whole collection and all the draping work developed from it. I had this idea of a really glamorous but tough girl travelling all over the world, alone on her bike, and returning with all these amazing carpet textiles draped all over her.” Such an image speaks to itself, and indeed translated as her voluptuous gowns walked the runway at this year’s graduate show.

As I ask about the future, Tingzhi seems positive and open to ideas. She’s already creating some textiles for her friend’s new brand in Singapore, and overall the idea of starting her own brand doesn’t seem impossible. Still, she is aware of the general tendency of CSM alumni and how important it is to battle racism within the industry. “If you look at the school’s alumni, there are so many great names — but few are from Asia, even though in UAL there are so many talented Asian students. It’s getting better already with designers like Masha Ma and Yifang Wan, but still there’s a lot of room for growth. I’d really like to change that,” she concludes.

Words by Jeppe Ugelvig

All garments by Tingzhi Liu

All collection photos by Caroline Kan and 1 Granary

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Transitioning to Central Saint Martin’s BA Fashion Print was not particularly violent to Wataru Tominaga. Originally from Japan, he had previously studied in two different design schools, and finds that every school had a different approach and strength. “I feel that CSM Fashion has no criteria for teaching fashion design, so basically students are encouraged to do anything they want,” he tells me, rather controversially (suggesting that the secret of the world’s best fashion education is no education at all): “That is really different from other schools.”

Opening the lookbook of Wataru Tominaga can best be described as a colour-explosion. He insistingly mix patterns, shapes, primary and secondary colours all at once: through his menswear, oversized black/yellow-checkered pants are not rarely paired with a bright green shirt with white finishing, and topped with a blue-collared cropped jumper in grey and printed in white and yellow stripes (yet, it’s that intense). Strangely enough, it works, and seem very sophisticated – he has an almost painterly approach to his medium, and actually usually takes more interest in fine art. “I feel the difference between art and fashion is not about an actual work or object itself, but it is how we see them in the different contextualized system,” he says. “So what I want to create is a combined system in which people can perceive various meanings from various types of works.”

Wataru’s hyper-saturated universe comes from a long-time interest in colours, as well as a previous education in printed textiles. However, as he himself points out, it’s difficult to successfully combine many colours and shapes in one look, so until his final year, Wataru had shied away from going all out in print, patterns, and graphics.

As an additional move towards maximalism, Wataru applies his loud textiles onto distorted menswear silhouettes, manipulating with volume and shape in the garments, reminiscent of early Japanese avant-garde. “Layering has always been a useful method to make an optical effect, and to make different styles easily,” he says. He began experimenting with shape and layering after using the elasticated printed fabric, and indeed, it looks as if elastic bands have been used to, unexpectedly, define waists or create exaggerated fits.

Insisting on having fashion-historical references in his graduate collection, Wataru began sourcing images from the most colourful decades in recent years. Fashion of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s gave us the bright multi-coloured skiwear, the embrace of neon, the patterned knits – and it is between these references, with an added contemporary feel, that the universe of Wataru Tominaga exists. It is celebratory and ironic while presenting a new approach to the use and play with colour in contemporary menswear.

He constructed his textiles using elastic tapes to gather and manipulate the fabric, and applied it with a kind of film for textiles. In his garments, the graphic and the hand-made are negotiated, unified in an energetic amalgamation of colours, styles and expressions. “I always liked things or objects which have contradiction in them, so I always like graphical ornaments but with handmade textures,” he says of his textiles.

In his placement year, Wataru had the honour of interning for John Galliano in Paris, right before his re-entry into fashion via Margiela. Here, Wataru would spend his time researching historical menswear in museums, which was then used for later collections as references. “Spending time with John was funny and a memorable time for me,” tells me. “I think how Galliano is trying to design for Margiela is interesting, because it is a completely different aesthetic.”

Central to Wataru’s work is craftsmanship, and he hopes to establish a space for artists and designers who are working with a similar emphasis on quality and value. “I feel that craftsmanship is racking in artistic practice now, so I want to make a kind of space where people can share their practices.”

Words by Jeppe Ugelvig

All images courtesy of Wataru Tominaga

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Nathan Moy is easily recognised for his incredibly fashionable exterior. He helped making an outfit for Beyonce while interning at Alexander Wang, and for his graduate collection, he presented a procession of industrialised sea-nymphs, seeking to bridge the gap between business and pleasure. We spoke to Nathan about life by the sea, luxury/hoarding dichotomies and white favoritism in the international fashion industry.

Nathan was born in Chicago, but grew up in Hong Kong, only to return to the States for boarding school during high school years. From an early age, he was passionate about drawing and illustration, and when discovering fashion aged 16, he returned to Hong Kong to do a more suitable art program to work on his portfolio. He was finally admitted at Central Saint Martin’s foundation course, and later, Fashion Design with Marketing.

Besides the sewn garment, Nathan particularly loves expressing himself through photography, “particularly with film since I lean more towards the low fidelity side on the aesthetic spectrum,” he comments. “But my favorite creative expression is any form of illustration, even digital; sadly I don’t get much time these days to just sit and draw.”

Nathan’s graduate collection took coastal life as a starting point, and his girls can best be described as a kind of aestheticised, industrialised mermaid stranded on the beach in 2015, caught and adorned in the waste products of industrial fishing. For his initial research, he gathered historical images of English and Guernsey fishermen in their work attire, amalgamating it with references to Hawaiian traditional clothing as well as ‘50s surfing culture, seeking “to bridge the gap between business and pleasure,” he explains.

“I had this idea of a girl with hoarding tendencies who traveled by a fishing-trawler ship to Hawaii in the fifties, nicking bikinis and sarongs on the beach, getting locked-in at a nightclub so she yanks down the chandeliers and fashions them into clothing, and scurries off with her island remnants from shore back to ship.”

“When traveling along the southeastern English coast of Dungeness, and interviewing fishermen who worked on trawlers, I was captivated by the way they layered their workwear, like those inspired by Henry Freeman’s cork vests worn over pea coats and oilskins.” The idea of outerwear layered underneath accessories or clothing traditionally considered as undergarments features throughout the collection, with hints to Pacific tropicalist prints and traditional tropes of leisure here and there. As such, his collection evokes the rough naval culture simultaneously with the transatlantic tropes of vacation, without being ‘historical’ as such: “To me, it was always more important to re-contextualize historical garments and construct an atmosphere with varied references,” he says. “I was drawn to the irony, and having a narrative, along with the off-beat-ness of wearing bras over knits and outerwear.  I had this idea of a girl with hoarding tendencies who traveled by a fishing-trawler ship to Hawaii in the fifties, nicking bikinis and sarongs on the beach, getting locked-in at a nightclub so she yanks down the chandeliers and fashions them into clothing, and scurries off with her island remnants from shore back to ship.” Get it?

His choice of fabrics similarly negotiate the dichotomies of seaside life, as he recontextualizes traditionally ‘poor’ materials, like recycled plastics and tarpaulin, by treating them as luxurious textiles. “I backed it with fusing, but you had to be very careful in bonding it by hand by section as the heat would shrink the plastic regardless, causing the fusing to bubble,” he explains. “Yet too much heat will entirely melt it, not enough heat would not bond it together. It was quite frustrating as the fusing kept peeling off!” The industrially-made plastics were headache-inducing to say the least, but as the materiality of work- and leisurewear merges, the ‘functionality’ of functional clothing is mocked, and perhaps rendered pointless.

“ I think total gender neutrality is boring. It’s fun to have those gender archetypes and pull away from them, and through design, mock them. Men in bra-esque clothing seemed so wrong but felt so right.”

Amidst his strong conceptualism, Nathan shows a clear savvy for the functionalities of the fashion industry. He interned at J.W. Anderson during the making of the SS14 collection at a time when the company was experiencing fast expansion, being picked up by LVMH while Jonathan Anderson was appointed as the creative director at Loewe. “You got to witness a smaller mid-size firm’s transition through funding, opening of other departments, affording better machines and materials,” he explains. Quite differently, with his stint at Alexander Wang he encountered a full-formed large-scale company, working on the main RTW women’s line. “The atmosphere was always positive,” he recalls. “What I took from this internship was knowing how to make edited design decisions, but the most impressive part of working at Wang was always the last two weeks before the show; the design team would work intensely with stylist Karl Templer and construct an image and mood with the many pieces we made, including footwear and accessories, and suddenly a distinctive look manifests itself, seemingly out of thin air.”

Nathan Moy’s casting for both shoot and show saw the insertion of male models in a womenswear universe. Gender is similarly articulated in his designs: the bra as a classically gendered sexual trope was referenced through Hawaiian coconut bras, while others types were embedded within shirts as over- or undergarments. “I suppose I consider myself quite genderless,” Nathan speaks of himself, “but I think total gender neutrality is boring. It’s fun to have those gender archetypes and pull away from them, and through design, mock them. Men in bra-esque clothing seemed so wrong but felt so right.”

He never got to see his male models working his women’s lingerie, however, as the backstage monitor was broken on the day of the show. “When it was over, my models and I did a little luau dance on the bridge, it only seemed appropriate we kept it authentic,” he adds jokingly. Since his graduation, he’s enjoyed a great deal of exposure, lending garments to publications like British Vogue and i-D, as well as making custom pieces for celebrities, performers and private clients. Open to ideas, Nathan is determined to pave his way through a predominately white fashion industry: “Although I acknowledge the racism and favoritism within this industry, I am optimistic that there is room for a new wave of Asian or international designer growth,” he concludes.

Words by Jeppe Ugelvig

All images courtesy of Nathan Moy
Campaign photography by Ryan Skelton
Models: Maarten, India, Sean, Eleanor, Sasha, and Leila. 

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As a part of the first batch coming out of Central Saint Martins’ King’s Cross campus, the charismatic Daniel W. Fletcher designed a menswear collection that discussed the recent development of London’s Peckham area, incorporating elements of British heritage clothing with contemporary streetwear to critique the socio-economical conflict of the area. He was hospitalised because of pre-show stress, but still presented a beautifully tailored collection with incorporated fur finishes – to the great pleasure of his 88 year-old grandmother, as well as much of the fashion industry.

Growing up in Chester, a small city in the North-West of England, Daniel W. Fletcher was always interested in fashion, but didn’t feel convinced that it was a career he could actually pursue. After going to Australia for a year and nearly starting drama school, he finally took the decision to begin Art Foundation at Kingston University. “By this time I was much more focussed and knew that I wanted to pursue fashion,” he remembers, “CSM was the only place I wanted to study.”

And so he enrolled to the BA Menswear pathway as the first batch at the new King’s Cross campus. “There was quite a lot of negativity from people who didn’t want to leave the history of Charing Cross Road behind,” Daniel explains, “but for us it felt like a new generation, and that this building was ours. I was lucky to be in a really talented class who all supported each other.” As a class, they would meet at Granary Square but not spend much time together outside of it, and Daniel was working part-time at Victoria Beckham and Burberry throughout his degree. “I think when you are together so much already and are all focused on the same thing, everyone needed a bit of space outside of school,” he says; much needed, his weekends and work helped him escape from the intensity of CSM, and think about something else as he was interacting with different people.

“I liked the challenge of menswear; there are a lot of rules and boundaries, and I enjoy trying to find ways of bending these but also choosing which to follow”

It was at Foundation that Daniel decided to pursue menswear, after having tried to design for both sexes. “I liked the challenge of menswear; there are a lot of rules and boundaries, and I enjoy trying to find ways of bending these but also choosing which to follow, in order to come up with ideas that are new but that still have relevance to real clothes and that men will actually want to wear,” he explains. This idea of negotiating (and sometimes breaking) the rules of traditional menswear permeates the oeuvre of Daniel, which mixes contemporary streetwear and classic tailoring elegantly. Fragments of traditional British heritage clothing and the typical basic football t-shirt are paired and worn with a minimal fur collar biker jacket. His looks are fresh and always slightly askew; applying lux shaved mink collars to basic polo shirts, raw edges on fur-striped leather jackets; asymmetrically-cut coats – in other words, it makes for great outerwear for the contemporary urban individual. His incorporation of fur was made possible via a collaboration with Scandinavian fur producer, Saga Fur, who also recently sponsored CSM Jewellery graduate Felicia Swartling for her collection.

Daniel’s graduate collection is an homage to his adopted London home, Peckham in South London. Like many others, Daniel came to Peckham as a student because of its affordability and creative atmosphere, but over the course of a few years, he witnessed a huge change of the area, as gentrification kicked in and transformed it to a suddenly ‘cool’ neighborhood for London’s ever-craving middle-class. “What I found interesting was the mix of cultures and styles that could be seen in Peckham as a result of this gentrification, both in terms of the businesses that were opening up and the people who were living there,” Daniel explains. As such, Daniel’s menswear appears as the ‘fashion of gentrification’, but always maintains a slight disturbance or off-ness to the contemporary elegance that such an aesthetic promises. His ‘Peckham Pony Club’ appliqué on suitcase accessories functions as a commentary to highlight the issues of damaging re-development schemes, displacement of long-term residents and businesses. “It’s a tongue-in-cheek fictional society taking a satirical look at some of the new residents of Peckham who are less concerned about retaining the history of one of the most culturally diverse neighbourhoods in London.”

“Kim Jones and Lucas Ossendrijver are incredibly inspiring and give a lot of freedom and responsibility to their teams; as an intern I was amazed to have things that I designed and ideas I came up with developed and produced.“

Daniel’s owes his collection’s mature cohesion and attention to detail to his internships at menswear powerhouses Lanvin and Louis Vuitton. “I designed a lot of pockets on placement year!” he explains, as he describes his time there. “Kim Jones and Lucas Ossendrijver are incredibly inspiring and give a lot of freedom and responsibility to their teams; as an intern I was amazed to have things that I designed and ideas I came up with developed and produced. Although Lanvin and Louis Vuitton are both luxury French houses, they are very different companies. Lanvin is very hands-on, making samples, whereas Vuitton was much more digital and about drawing. But what I found in both was that there was a lot of creative freedom.”

Leading up to show day of his graduate collection, Daniel Fletcher’s worked himself so hard physically and mentally that he ended up in hospital for the five days before press show. This didn’t stop him from sewing on buttons from the hospital bed however, and he was luckily discharged the night before so he could rush home and do all the styling. Although his dramatic hospitalisation meant that he had to take it somewhat easy during show day, he recalls it as being absolutely perfect: “My 88 year old grandmother was able to come to the internal show which I was really pleased about. She’s an amazing woman and has given me so much support so I was really happy to be able to take her up to studio afterwards and show her where I’ve spent the last 4 years; she’s got her eye on one of the bomber jackets!” he adds.

Daniel Fletcher is “taking things as they come” after graduation, but he has enjoyed an overwhelmingly positive response, and was last week featured on Business of Fashion as a part of their The Spotlight series. He is contemplating a capsule collection that could be produced and stocked to enable him to start his own brand, but still wants to pursue a role inside an established company. “I still feel like I’ve got a lot to learn,” he reflects. “So if I could take on a role within a company which would allow me to develop my own work, that would be my dream scenario.”

Words by Jeppe Ugelvig
All images courtesy of Daniel W. Fletcher

Peckham editorial:
Photography: Natalie Hepworth
Model: Danny Hewitt @AMCK
Design: Benji Roebuck

Lookbook:
Photographer: Mark Shearwood
Model: Nathan Fry @ AMCK

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