Day Two at Graduate Fashion Week saw a fashion extravaganza as Northbrook College and Arts University College Bournemouth presented their graduate collections in a back to back showing. A fantastic array of menswear, womenswear and even childrenswear took to the runway and skills such as knitting, fabric manipulation, prints and draping were shown off, leaving TheStyleColumn very excited about the future of fashion.

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Northbrook College

Hope Scrivener

A love of tailoring lead graduate Scrivener to produce a menswear collection that took inspiration from Ancient Iran to create exotic, lightly embellished pieces in earth tones.

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Jo Sexton

Neon yellow juxtaposed with monochrome prints defined Sexton’s collection. Sharp cigarette pants, shredded knits and prints which were inspired by Sexton’s travels around the world made for a vibrant final collection.

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Apryl Pinckney

Emphasising the female form with corsets in burgundy leather, embellished details and structured fabrics showed Pinckney’s love for Victorian-esque clothing. The influences came from Japan and Romany gypsies created a collection that had a distinctly 70s vibe with floral printed flared trousers, lace details and delicate, gold headpieces.

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Robyn Balnaves

Balnaves took her name quite literally and found herself immersed in the world of the ‘robin’ and birds for her final collection. Delicate grey prints that mimicked the feathers of a bird draped from wing-like capes and open-backed, jersey jumpsuits. Balnaves injected colour into the collection with birds of paradise coloured prints on skin-tight, maxi dresses, scoop neck tops and fine jersey, turtle necks.

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Liz Breare

Menswear in a palette of burgundy and earth tones was presented by Breare. The concept of the collection played with the idea of the degeneration of eyesight and the deconstruction of tailoring which saw Breare produce garments with a Georgian gentleman feel.

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Heena Mulji

Mulji’s fascination with couture was evident in her luxe-gothic collection. Glittering fabric peeped from printed, draped dresses, flowed in chiffon from a structured top paired with liquid silver, cigarette pants and a ball gown shimmering with sequins and an oversized peplum brought the collection to a dramatic close.

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Emma Scott

Pastel tailoring embodied the minimalist style of Emma Scott. 1940s shapes such as full skirts and cowl necks were prominent in the collection as well as naturally textured prints which gave an extra element of interest to the pieces.

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Josh O’Sullivan

O’Sullivan’s collection was inspired by the idea of humans becoming inanimate objects – by turning menswear into art his garments were made to conceal the identity of the wearer. A military palette of army green, navy and a muted red check were used for kilts, jumpsuits and lined an oversized, flowing cape. Models were styled with full face, knitted balaclavas and bobble hats which further emphasised the idea of concealment.

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Joanne Scarratt

Contemporary print designs were presented by Scarratt. Taking inspiration from nature, an evident influence from the beauty of beetles was presented through intricate prints and cuts in a palette of sand, navy and black.

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Bleu Pearce

A relaxed collection in a palette of mustard, cream and navy was shown by Pearce. The soft tailoring was teamed with chunky knits and Pearce’s interest in North African culture became apparent through shapes such as longline tunics teamed with trousers and striped prints.

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Sacha Kreeger

Religious iconography provided the imagery for Kreeger’s print based collection. Translated into numerous pieces, pictures of religious figures were kaleidoscopically manipulated to create dazzling patterns.

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Arts University Collge Bournemouth

Ellis Currie – Patterns of Pairs

Pleated and fringed dresses in an ocean infused palette of deep sea blues and sandy beiges were presented by Currie. Details such as sea rope-like knitwear which entwined it’s way around model’s necks and torsos continued the theme as did the flowing, tie-dye maxi skirts and dresses.

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Lorena Rosado Jeffery – Inside

Deconstructed menswear ranging from oversized, peach knit jumpers to grey scale, two-tone shirts to cut-out detail trousers were presented by Jeffery as part of the ‘Inside’ collection.

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Sophia Rice – Face of Another

A futuristic atmosphere took over the catwalk for Rice’s ‘Face of Another’ presentation. Cropped trousers, clutch bags and shift dresses came in mint silks and were contrasted with steel grey, silk overlays, cropped jacket shimmering with silver foil detail and mint and grey skull caps.

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Rebecca Weerasekera – Infinity

Models stalked the runway carrying or wearing oversized cross pendants in a collection which placed jersey fabrics in vibrant orange, midnight black and stone grey with hooded capes and dresses, slimfit trousers and maxi dresses with intricate fringing detail on the runway. ‘Infinity’ was a strange but exciting hybrid of sportswear and gothic elegance.

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Robbie Devonald – Dunamies

Disproportionate silhouettes were presented by menswear designer, Devonald for the ‘Dunamies’ collection. Drop-crotch trousers billowed from the hips, cropped leggings were teamed with oversized snoods and layering of monochrome jersey pieces was prominent.

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Lucie Brett Moore – Seindedum

The ‘Seindedum’ collection exuded casual elegance through beautiful watercolour prints on flowing silk long-sleeve tops and midi dresses. The modern cuts of city shorts and an asymmetric trench coat made for an entirely wearable collection that would not be out of place in a fashion conscious woman’s wardrobe today.

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Heather Sheppard – I’m Ginger and I’m Freaky

Skin-tight, printed dresses contrasted with coloured hosiery made for a streamline silhouette on the runway. It seemed aquatics were a popular theme this season as a ‘creatures of the deep’ type cape finished the collection, embellished with iridescent foils and coloured fabric pieces on a sand bed base.

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Polly Walters – Old Salt

Walters’ collection was a wonderfully relaxed affair that seemed to fit right in to menswear today  – the chunky knits were easily wearable while pieces such as the racer front dungarees, shirt and jumper combo and waxed apron gave of an air of something that can only be described as, ‘luxe fisherman chic’.

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Holly Bhakar – Project Aquarius

Bright colours, clashing prints and relaxed styling were the key words for Bhakar’s ‘Project Aquarius’ collection. Prints ranged from organic neutral tones to shimmering dresses that were brought to life with foils and embellishments. Especially beautiful were the opening jackets – black fabric placed against copper foils had an entrancing effect on the runway.

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Shauni Paulley – Little Ganesha

Paulley’s ‘Little Ganesha’ collection has to be one of the highlights of the AUCB show. As tiny models took to the runway in Paulley’s exquisite childrenswear which was brightly coloured, some pieces embellished with sequins or beautifully patterned and sure to make any little girl’s eyes light up.

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Harry Smith – Renaissance Ritual

A collection which focused on layering, Smith’s ‘Renaissance Ritual’ presented an array of well-crafted knitted garments. The standout piece was the longline, open knit jumper in a gradient of grey to blue. Smith also played with proportion, using slimfit tops or leggings and positioning them against chunky knits.

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Ke Li – GEN Y

There seemed to be a sense of anarchy about this collection as models stomped in mismatched Doc Marten boots down the catwalk. Red was a predominant colour, teamed with military green, black and splashed across light blue and white stripes on oversized dresses and knitwear; it became clear the red was a symbol of power. A ‘Made in China’ flag swooped across the runway to close the collection and the show , Li seemed to be making a proud statement of her heritage rather than hiding the ‘Made in China’ message in tiny letters which is so common on products today.

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Word by Anita Sheth

Photography by Jack Grange