Along Central Saint Martins’ lofty corridor, old students including Matty Bovan, Charles Jeffrey and Michael Halpern took their seats next to fashion editors and tutors to catch the graduate collections of MA Fashion’s Class of 2022.
Under huge, hanging clumps of fabric offcuts, a mighty 32 individual collections marched out down the figure of eight catwalk (which saw a few inevitable missed turns) as the weird, wacky and wonderful came forth.
James Walsh opened the show with moulded garments including a meme-worthy purple aeroplane mini dress complete with spinning propeller, before everything from leather corset jackets, doughnut ring ball gowns of sequins and football shirts and “Freudian slip” print silk dresses appeared.
Together, this year group said the future of fashion is about multi-functionality, making everyone look fabulous regardless of size, gender, race or age, and was ultimately a lesson in making a statement.
Want to see for yourself? All the collections are on show at the Lethaby Gallery, at the front of the campus, until March 2.
Here are the six top names to know.
Leanne Kim
Cool-girl, cut out jersey jumpsuits and an inventive reinterpretation of the puffer coat as intricate constructed jackets, quilt arm warmers and a statement belt, defined Leanne Kim’s womenswear offering. “I have really enjoyed exploring parachuting and gravity orientated sport research,” she says.
It has prompted her to incorporate sky diving inspired buckles, and focus on multi-functionality. “Taken directly from parachuting, I have used nylon fabric in a variety of textile techniques to create the volume but keep garments lightweight, and then layer it on top of tight bodywear pieces,” she continues. “The colour story to the collection is vivid and energising, reflecting the sun rays on glistening nylon in the sky.” Jump in!
Pip Paz-Howlett
Pip Paz-Howlett made sure everyone was paying attention from his very first look – a crochet jockstrap with thick elastic waistband. It set the tone for a collection that mixed pop print skirts with micro crop tops, super long sleeve denim jackets with trippy headscarves, and even a hand-bag (yes, that is a bag in the shape of hand).
“Taking inspiration from the music of Patrick Cowley and gay adult movies from the Seventies and Eighties, this collection takes a psychedelic and saturated trip from the dance-floor to the bedroom floor through tides of man,” the Textiles for Fashion graduate says.
“The collection’s cuts are inspired by the haste of undressing and the tease of accentuation.” This looks like vintage porn magazine prints, and a boiling pot of fabrics making up the six looks “from dead-stock denim, high shine nylons, organic cotton, bamboo jerseys and sculpted wet silicone,” he says.
Juntae Kim
Juntae Kim’s vision of unisex dressing looks to the past, with corset-cum-doublet jackets in denim, leather and satins. Altogether, though, his six look are completely futuristic in feel. “Getting an idea from the past and juxtaposing it on the modern type of garment is the most important part of my collection,” he says of his styles paired with slashed denim berets by milliner of the moment James Pink Studio, and matching distressed cowboy boots.
“Before starting my new collection, I just go to the library to look through various historical books and archives, then try to find old garment’s draft patterns and try to understand how the costume was dressed on the body in the past.” Next, he says, one step remains. “To modernise it in silhouettes and shapes for the present.”
Steve O Smith
For Steve O Smith, garments have become his canvas. The focus has been transposing his warped illustrations onto clothes which came in unexpected silhouettes – from huge, rotund denim overcoats through to asymmetric hem jackets with blown up Bicorne hats. His drawings have been supersized, cut out on fabric and appliquéd on top.
“There was an absurdity to the idea of making my own drawings from caricatures of fashion, and then making those drawings as fashions, which resonated with me,” he says. “It occurred to me that clothes are really just about the body underneath them, so I started drawing the body back on top of them. There’s a shrunken black jacket in the collection with a six-pack and pecs drawn onto it which is my favourite piece because, why not?”
Charlie Constantinou
Think you’ve seen every variety of quilt coat known to man? Think again. Menswear graduate Charlie Constantinou has spent his years on MA Fashion developing a new quilt which he has crafted into teal gilets, puffer boots and oversized duffle bags. “It is constructed from a shrunken quilting which can stretch back out to fit the person wearing it. Essentially, this quilting can grow to fit anyone,” he says.
These have been paired with hand dyed thermos parkas, knitted leg warmers and adjustable nylon trousers. “It is inspired by extreme weather conditions, adaptability and function. Being able to adapt from hot to cold, or from one environment to another. Allowing a garment to serve more than a singular purpose.”
Edward Mendoza
Edward Mendoza had already dressed Bridgerton stars Nicola Coughlan and Goldaro Sheuvel in his fun loving, cartoon embellished designs before presenting his graduate collection. This time, it was all menswear, which came on bigger models in electric colours, cartoon knits and faux fur trousers. “I found it therapeutic to finally make plus sized clothes that fit me and really understand how my designs feel to wear,” he says. The designer modelled in his own show.
“My collection is a bright ray of sunshine, with punchy colours. It’s joyous, has bold shapes and is very textured with fake fur and heavily printed.” Do not be fooled into thinking it is just for smiles sake; his research has been complex. “I was inspired by erotic pre-Columbian sculptures, by 90’s baggy JNCO jeans and the LA dance party scene, as well as colonial garments from the 1700s and subverting them with prints inspired by indigenous imagery from Peru and the Caribbean.”
