Katherine Lichwa; Jessie Coffey, Somerset College
At London’s Truman Brewery, as part of Free Range, Somerset College catwalk show brought together the best of Design Fashion BA (Hons) and Design Fashion Textiles BA (Hons).
Katherine Lichwa opened with a collection entitled ‘The Perception of Time’, a series of dresses constructed from futuristic, translucent fabrics and fitted with light emitting components. In contrast, Jessie Coffey opted for organic subject matter as her inspiration, drawing from marine life to create playful textiles. A-line mini skirts paired with satin bustiers featured metallic, jellyfish appliqués, colourful quilled flowers and textural underwater gardens. Crinkle print maxi dresses and elegant wide leg jumpsuits gave a sophisticated edge.
Susannah Owen; Holly Spencer; Rebecca Stead, Somerset College
Susannah Owen presented a beautifully paired down collection in powdery teal, charcoal, nude and white inspired by London’s architecture and the River Thames. Draped silhouettes, asymmetric lines and floaty chiffons were belted and offset by structured jackets and shoulders.
Holly Spencer layered whitewashed floral prints, with cut away lace and intricate embroideries for her floor-sweeping dresses and funnel neck wool coats. Also worthy of mention was Rebecca Stead’s ‘Victoriously Vintage’ collection. Wartime is a recurring theme in graduate collections, but rarely well executed. Highlights included washed out floral tea dresses suffused with studded leather panels and contours inspired by the construction of WW2 planes.
Emily Hawkins; Hana Schofield; Richard Maynes, Somerset College
Wearable showstoppers and softly structured tailoring came from Emily Hawkins, presented in a palette of pale gold, charcoal and red. Covetable shift and floaty maxi dresses featured graphic cut outs and sculptural shoulders encrusted with diamante droplets.
In antithesis the show drew to a close with stories of decay and darkness. Richard Maynes presented an apocalyptic vision of ‘The Digital Dark Age’, with rag and studded leather dresses, ominous trenchcoats and spiked shoulder details. Hana Schofield’s collection layered fragile and translucent fabrics with hard-edged leather and latex. Key pieces included a crumpled white dress with wired hemline and leather collar piece and a pleated asymmetrical kilt with chunky leather belt and braces.
