GFW 25: Bath Spa
June 12, 2016 • Emerging Designers • Fashion • Fashion Design • Graduate Fashion Week
This is the second year we've had the opportunity to cover the graduate shows for Bath Spa University and they just get better every year. Bath Spa does sports inspired attire extremely well. They also have a knack for opulent, hand-crafted detailing. I had the pleasure of being joined in the front row by an established British-based designer, Angelika Chilikova, the artist behind Clon8.
Abby Johnson
Abby's collection was a juxtoposition of feminine lace and crystal with football stripes and high ribbed necks. This was an exploration of the diversity with which Abby grew up in multicultural Birmingham.
Charlotte Spiers
Charlotte's collection was a very feminine interpretation of sportswear. The nude fabrics were surprisingly striking when they came down the runway.
Magdalena Czarniecka
Magdalena was inspired by her fascination of the relationship between cloth and the body as it relates to movement. She managed this by using a wide variety of fabrics, from neoprene and bonded wool to PVC and crepe. The collection had a bit of an origami feel with amazing pleating.
Ella Mash
Ella's collection was inspired by the cultural traditions of her gyspy heritage, celebrating the beauty in being an outcast and the vulnerability through being exposed.
Not only were the silhouettes, fabrics and monochrome colour palette right up our alley, we loved that Sarah took a stand and made a statement with her collection. She challenges people to think about the overconsumption rates and their impact on people and our planet, and she allows them to look good doing it.
Madeleine O'Bryen
Madeleine's collection was a modern look at 1970's professional attire.
Holly Nott
Angelika says that Holly's collection was her favourite of the show. She, like me, likes everything black so you can see why this was a hit. These were very strong silhouettes with a very delicate fabric.
Georgia Dashfield
Georgia calls this collection "Military Lace" and you can see why. The collection revolved around the vintage flight jacket and the pink comes from her exploration of Japanese Kamikaze pilots, who would decorate their planes in the colour of the cherry blossom.
Sophie Muschamp
Sophie's collection was her take on Italian minimalist elegance. Carefully placed darts and piped seams added the right amount of visual interest in these simple designs.
Niamh Stowe
This collection was an absolute favourite. Like black, all white collections can be difficult to make interesting, and what Niamh did was superb. The laser cut leather looked like lace and the new twist on a tailored riding jacket were a study on modern femininity.
Delphi Wright
Delphi describes this collection as inspired by the fusion of Japanese Tobi Shokunin construction workers and the working class man from South London. The Japanese inspiration can be seen in the silhouettes and the British in the overall aesthetic.
Alice Bayliss
Alice's collection was very sports luxe with inspiration, she says, from a National Geographic documentary of the crystal caves of Mexico, which you can see in the prints.
Hayley Webber
This collection was inspired by exotic birds, from the bird motif throughout and the lavish embellishments, inspired by the birds' eyes. The silhouettes and overall style were a modern iteration of the great 1960's fashion trends.
#IStandWithUkraine
Taking time away matters
Our 2020 Black Friday [Weekend]
#beHUMAN - It's Time for a Change
F#ck COVID-19
Agender Fashion
Graduate Fashion Week