The new Kanye West Extension by Siri Johansen
The RCA students took the stage this Graduate fashion week in front of an expectant crowd who knew, as ever, they were in for a treat. This year however was a little bit special. The Royal College’s Fashion department is celebrating its 60th year and while trends come and go in the fickle world of fashion the RCA has remained constant, churning out style talent decade after decade, reinforcing London’s worldwide reputation as a breeding ground for innovative, contemporary design.
Choosing to stand apart from Graduate week the ‘event’ over at Earls Court, the RCA’s SHOW remains a highlight on the fashion calendar, always the feeling that the next big thing, up and coming, one to watch…would unleash their breakthrough collection here. From Ossie Clark to Phillip Treacy, Christopher Bailey, Hamish Morrow, Nathan Jenden to our new generation including Erdem, Georgina Goodman, Aitour Throup and Wilmont of Aminakawilmont. The Race was on to slap a ‘YOU’RE NEXT!’ sticker on a 2008 grad.
With 26 designers showing there were plenty to choose from and none disappointed. The quality was, as expected, incredibly high. Crucially, The RCA fosters not only the creativity and individuality of its students, but the idea of fashion design as craft, the technical basics of actually constructing a garment, the skill itself which often gets lost amongst the more frivolous aspects of the industry. That being said there was no lack of whizz n’ bang when it came to the show itself. Designers rarely shy away from showing off but it was this balance between high technique and the desire to push their carefully honed vision that made for an impressively self-assured effort from all those involved.
SUPERSWEET Picks
Abbie Shaw
Pink can often be dangerous ground but Abbie made it look simple, avoiding any Barbara Cartland complications by mixing various shades of berry and baby pink with soft greys in shift dresses, straight skirts and 50s inspired cropped trousers. Wools were combined with Perspex accessories in a completely wearable collection, the odd quirky touch thrown in here and there for good measure. Playing with shape and silhouette, most notably in a striking box-hip dress, Abbie wanted to create “clean, sharp lines” with a “cartoon-esque” feel. Job beautifully done.
Lisa Hjelm
Lisa looked to the future for her collection, specifically performance fabrics incorporating all manner of technical/scientific wizardry. However it was the fabrics as opposed to sportswear itself that inspired this collection, thankfully not a tracksuit in sight, the slick, streamlined outfits a perfect match for these athletic materials. Fitted ‘addicted to love dresses’ looked surprisingly comfortable, the black and white geometric pattern that made several appearances was the star of the show.
Patricia Kwok
Women’s Accessories with the practical, no frills structure usually associated with menswear, Patricia’s collection skilfully melded glamour with hard edged functionality. Backpacks, holster style pouches, holdalls and courier bags, predominantly in black (gold fixtures here and there) their workings made feature-straps and buckles were displayed proudly. A collection which offered a welcome alternative to girly ‘it bags’ requiring a hedge fund and shot putters arm to carry.
Jenny Hortlund
Knitwear with a fetish twist, Jenny had Bettie Paige and 60s pin-ups in mind when constructing her technically brilliant garments. Stiff top pieces, corset like in structure were combined with soft layered skirts that hit above the knee. The fantastic heavyweight but duvet soft black swing coat had a Cruella de Vi drama about it minus the dead puppies. The open-faced balaclava made an appearance more futuristic snood than 80s terrorist. Plenty of emphasis on the hips made for some interesting, almost Elizabethan style shapes.
Rachel Messenger
Rachel’s Made in England offerings were for the shaved head n’ bovver boots boy who isn’t afraid to wear pink. Alongside some wearable knits, the gingham and acid washed remained as did the requisite skinhead button downs and slim leg trousers. Colour however took the whole collection from menacing to playful. Reds, deep yellows, baby blue and multicoloured candy stripes made for a hard to miss, bad boy gone styler collection.
Sara Li Ratcliffe
Colourful man bags, fun but never frivolous, Sara shaped leather in ways that didn’t seem possible. Her Globe bag was brilliantly quirky and her backpacks, some shell like and solid, others unstructured and loose, were immediate winners.
Jonathan Penn
Voluminous polar bear coats were at the ice cold heart of Jonathan’s collection. Based on a dramatic hooded fur featured in 1967 cult classic ‘Who killed teddy bear’ these enveloping white creations were paired with monochrome striped tights to great effect. Eskimo eccentric. Hollywood fur mitts and arm pieces added retro glamour and a cool femininity.
Siri Johansen
Hats off to Siri whose exceptional collection captured a very London sense of directional, casual dressing. Offbeat but familiar in places this was all about hip-hop proportions and distortion of standard pieces. Textures seemed three dimensional but on closer inspection were Trompe l’oeil inspired prints, technically brilliant trickery that also managed to simply look great. All over ‘fake’ Herringbone, slouchy denim, cocoon like knits and an extraordinary rust brown knee length jumper with ‘simulated’ cable print…an impressive collection that pushed disguise and camouflage to new levels.
Katie Eary
Last in the running order but certainly not least, Katie’s collection provided the out and out drama of the show. This was Military gone unashamedly glam, The Royal Horse guards regiment for Fancy boys. Plumes, helmets, dress coats, chinstraps and furs, the structures were there but theatrically transformed with , Swarovski crystals, high-shine gold, tiger print and blinding disco trousers. For all this flamboyancy the collection managed to retain that aggressive stomp associated with militaria, dazzling but dangerous.
SHOW 2008 also featured:
Léa Carreno, Liam Jackson, Lillia Yip, Laura Elford, Stephanie Whelan, Murat Kuscu, Gudrun Klöpsch, Lisa Uhlenbrock, Eva Nip, Debbie Fletcher, Adrian Sommerauer, David Hopwood, Pamela Leung, Iacopo Calamandrei, Timothy Lee, Heikki Salonen and Liz Borglin.
Words: Lena Dystant
Photography: RCA