The first Topman Design collection for SS 13 on 15th June 2012.

This collection consisted of a Californian summer look of clashing colours incorporated into the designs such as the vibrant pink, orange and blues. The theme was called 'East Coast meets West Coast,' the contrast between American meets British style and casual with formalwear. The silhouettes were traditional tailoring shapes, with a splash of vibrant graphic prints, contrasting colour and a mix of different fabrications. There were lots of layering within the garments. The collection had an overall Californian slash British skater aesthetic look with the skateboards on the backpacks, the graphic printed t-shirts, casual shorts with the casual knitted sweaters and printed jackets. 

Pictures from style.com

MFW: Burberry Prorsum SS 13 Review

The Mens Burberry Prorsum SS 13 show in Milan yesterday opened up with Birdy's cover song 'Terrible Love' played as the show's soundtrack music. The collection showcased a series of British tailoring suits and bold cocoon shaped jackets. Blue, lilac and fuschia metallic fabrications were included in the trench coats, shirts and trousers. The prints were included in the shirts, trench coats and the bomber jackets featuring geometric patterns were subtle and smart. There was colour blocking of orange and yellow together in one bomber jacket, paired with a waistcoat with a shirt and tie. The outfits were accessorised with metallic coloured bags and sunglasses. Socks with sandals was a key feature with tailored trousers and shirts. Overall the collection had  the traditional British aesthetic with the smart trench coats with the casual wear, there were lots of layering and the bright metallic fabrications stood out in the collection. 

Pictures found from style.com

Ravensbourne Gala 2012: Review

A review from this year's Ravensbourne's fashion graduate show.

First off opening the graduate show was a collection by Victoria Butcher. A neutral colour palette, the garment shapes were very contemporary, with versatile silhouettes. It had a very couture feel, such as the large fur garments - which I thought was the highlight of the collection. Combined with the beautifully intricate laser cutting tops and trousers, there were accessories of knitwear included such as the gloves, the hats and the luxurious chunky scarves. There was a instrumental strongs of guitar rhythm played in the background, which I thought gave an overall subtle mood of the collection for an Autumn Winter season. 

 

This collection is by Lucy Webster, definitely one of my favourites. Her collection was called 'Pink Wet Dreams' and I really like her concept behind her work. It was about the cross reference between naivety and innocence, the obsessions of girls and characters. The silhouettes are oversized and have a masculine look, such as the jackets and trench coats. There is a fun colour palette of pinks and peaches, the floral lace textiles, which were layered with the waterproof fabrics. I liked how the floral prints were translucent in the designs.  The footwear were customised Vans with fringes on the heel. There was a stunning leather jacket. It was made with a combination of leather and the waterproof material which had a floral print and there was an interesting masculine silhouette shape on the back of the jacket. The song in the background was Crush by Garbage. 

Lucy was the winner of the Womenswear Award. Visit her website. 

Pictures above are photographed by Caz Goldswick and Sofia Sallons. Featured on the Ravensbourne website.

This collection is by Alice Fayle and the title of her concept was "I can't go back yesterday, because I was a different person then." I really liked her collection, I thought it was beautiful and subtle. The piano instrument in the background enhances the subtleness of the garments. The fabrics were sumptuous chiffon, silk and organza. Her print designs were hand drawn illustrations of animals. The silhouettes were soft and delicate, lots of layering of chiffon. There was a headpiece and a delicate plum knitted cardigan. The last outfit was a large veil covering the model's face, which was the perfect piece to finish the collection. Pictures are from her website.

RAVENSBOURNE2012 LIVE: Gala Fashion Show from Ravensbourne2012 on Vimeo.

Ravensbourne Fashion Graduate Show 2012

The Ravensbourne Fashion Graduate Show kicked off on 14th June. I helped out with dressing backstage. I had my first taster of dressing. I was meant to help out last year but I didn't, so this year I wanted to help out and get an experience of what it is like dressing for a show. Dressing was a very stressful 9 hours! I understood that you have to be very fast and get these models dressed in approximately 5 seconds, 1 second if that is possible! It was absolutely chaotic backstage. I was dressing the womens side, but got automatically shoved into the mens section. Well that was awkward. I found it harder to dress the mens because they have a lot of fastenings and bottoms which all take time but still need to be fast. With dressing the womens section, it's much quicker I'd say. But anyway, it was a good experience to see what it was like behind the scenes of a show.

Getting ready for the catwalk set up!

Guests and visitors arriving at Ravensbourne.

Taking some sneaky photos of student's final collections.

Materials and embellishments.

This is a model I helped to dress in this beautiful dress (right) she was very tall and really lovely. 

These are pictures of models waiting in the line up before going on the catwalk.

Love the bold shoulders with the floral prints.