There is always a kind of “buzz” at these graduation fashion shows. There are always industry people tucked away waiting to see if something a little magic might happen. Karen Walker, Kate Sylvester and Zambesi all started small…
Whitecliffe Fashion Show
26 November 2011
There is always a kind of “buzz” at these sorts of events. Although mostly filled with friends, families and supporters of the many people showing their collections, there are also industry people tucked away in the front row waiting to see if something a little magic might happen.
We often forget that the labels we have come to know and love like Karen Walker, Kate Sylvester and of course Zambesi all started small. Karen Walker used to sell at the markets. Kate Sylvester had a great t-shirt range called Sister (amongst other things). World just opened a small shop in High St many years ago – and filled it with things they loved, and things that both they and their friends made.
At Whitecliffe this year Francis Hooper and his daughter Pebbles were front row to see if anything they liked would materialise. Murray Bevan was the compere for the evening. With 2nd, 3rd and 4th years showing this is traditionally a very long evening. They even had break halfway through which we thought was a great idea. Even better, there was a bar on hand. But I digress…
This year there were 36 students showing their collections. Overall we were very surprised at the strength of the 2nd year students considering what a short time they had been studying, and though we agreed with some of the prize-winners, we had some differing opinions with some of the others. We have decided to give you our thoughts on the ones we thought stood out.
Out of the second year students we loved Kido Deng’s “Jama’at”. A very strong collection inspired by Shirin Neshat’s video installation “Soliloquy,” and most certainly by our own Zambesi I would imagine, as well as by Rick Owens (his three outfits were styled with Rick Owens boots). We loved the first outfit out with the leather top and long back shorts. Lots of silk and a black palette made it very deconstructed – but with just the right amount of tailoring. We found it very cohesive and accomplished for one just starting out and we will be very interested to see what he does in the next two years at Whitecliffe.
Again for a second year, Kama Scretching’s “Sequoyah” was a confident piece of work. We are always pleased to see designers using colour so well, and Kama’s use of orange, yellow and brown was inspired by her own Native American heritage. We loved the use of patterns especially in the pretty, flirty skirt. We felt that this could translate well into commercially made clothes – it had a Ruby-esque feel about it.
Special mention in the second years must go to Gemma White for "Dandy Boy" – always a mark of good tailoring if you have great pants – and she did. In year three we like Trish Peng’s ”Interior Motives” – again – a great pair of pants with checked detailing on them, and again, a commercial collection.
We then went on to the four years, who are doing their Masters. They get to show 5 or 6 models and are expected to show a collection that quantifies them as a designer. Our only comment about the styling over all would have been for there to have been a bit more variation in the shoes and styling – but maybe that is a reflection of budget constraints as we imagine putting a show together must be an overwhelming experience and some handled it better than others. Overall there was a high standard but there were five designers that stood out to us.
Yun Do’s "Twists" was simply gorgeous. It came out quietly and the models moved gently down the runway in their hand dyed muslin clothing. The clothes were all knotted and twisted together as the collection was inspired by traditional Korean clothing and folk painting techniques of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The clothes were dyed using minerals and plants and obviously had a very organic look to them.
Sally Huang’s "Soul" collection had an origami-esque quality to it with strong solid shapes made in bright Chinese inspired fabrics – but with a softness to them. The collection was inspired by the Chinese traditional arts, in particular the Peking Opera. The styling was just perfect with white painted faces – which still managed to look delicate and feminine.
Ben Paul’s “After the Afterlife” had the simplest of palettes; black and white. And, sticking with a theme he used last year, the silhouettes where also simple and slick. It was tight and commercial and we could see that translating into any streetwear label at present. We would have liked to have seen the styling from the lookbook come through to the catwalk though.
We loved Madeleine Harman’s "Bones". The collection was conceived from an in-depth look into the intricacies of the human body. As people set about customising their flesh,"Bones" pares back to the fundamentals underneath. The collection is just that – pared back – with the colour palette of white, flesh and caramel. We loved all of it – the styling, and the hair particularly. We loved the big camel coat – but the standout piece for us was the flesh coloured fitted jersey dress with the delicate hand stitched picture of the heart and lungs. We are sorry that she didn’t use this concept on more of her clothing – it was just stunning.
Jessica Grubisa was quite simply the standout for us. Not just because her collection, "Rags to Riches", was eye-poppingly dazzling (it was as if she had gone completely mad with a be-dazzling gun) but it was the cleverness of it. Though glitter, tinsel and fake jewels were the obvious things, so too were the simple lines of the clothes, the mix of fabrics – chambray with jewels, linen suiting, chambray with linen suiting – and the knitted tinsel (which is what it looked like to us) – all the while remaining cohesive.
I spoke to one of her models, Imogene Watt, after the show and she told me the clothes were very “empowering” to wear; that they were very strong. We would have to agree.
The Jeffrey Campbell glitter boots were perfect, as where the accessories that she produced to go with it all. Jessica Grubisa’s bags and belts just added to the overall effect. This is something we were surprised that we didn’t see more off – the same with the photography and styling.
Jessica teamed up with M.A.C to stunning effect – with glitter smashed lips and hair – making it a complete show in its own right and it could have been at Fashion Week this year and stood proudly along side other designers showing there. We were very surprised that she didn’t get the supreme award, and we did see a few people who know about these sorts of things look quite surprised when her name was called for runner up and not the winner. She is very talented, and should go show her portfolio to WORLD right now – it might just be a perfect fit.
By Anya Brighouse
18 December 2011
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