The Most Ambitious RCA Graduate Fashion Show to Date
The Royal College of Art last night presented its most ambitious Fashion Show to date. Graduating Menswear, Womenswear, Knitwear, Footwear and Accessories students showcased their work in an abandoned hotel on the northern edge of Hyde Park, marking the first time in nearly 20 years that the Fashion Show has been staged away from the College’s Kensington campus.
The Averard Hotel was the setting for this temporary relocation, an empty nineteenth-century mansion house of dilapidated luxury – echoing history in terms of style and taste – poised for its next reinvention. An apt setting for the presentation of the 40 young designer’s work, which too is highly individual, layered with past, present and speculative futures awaiting their launch.
Each student presented one look that was choreographed to offer a vivid glimpse into each individual’s creative world. The choreography, by Joe Moran, skilfully spanned the building and was carefully timed to create continuous motion, resulting in a beautifully complex moving whole with the models’ distinct pathways crossing strategically through halls, rooms and stairs.
This year’s Fashion Show and Showroom coincides with London Collection Mens to offer the best possible exposure for graduating students. Alongside their presentations at the College show, two graduating Menswear students Per Götesson and Luke Stevens are showcasing their work with Fashion East. Both Per and Luke are inspired by pushing boundaries and finding the innovative in the everyday. Luke has established a new form of critical fashion design practice that challenges the dominance of the existing seasonal based model.
Per Götesson has been announced as the latest addition to Fashion East / Topman’s MAN, joining fellow RCA alumna Fengchen Wang. After graduating from her MA last summer, Fengcen Wang is tipped as one of London’s most exciting new designers and has been nominated for this year's LVMH Prize. Her first collection Love and Life was shown as part of Vfiles during NYFW spring/summer 16, while her second collection, I AM A MAN, was presented as part of MADE Fashion Week at Milk Studios.
In another first, Menswear students Elsa Ellies and Miles Dunphy are the first to present their Master’s collection as a collective: ONEBYME. Each garment in their collection is crafted from one piece of cloth, which breaks all the rules of conventional pattern cutting while remaining respectful of old-school tailoring principles through the careful consideration of garment details and construction.
Throughout their time at the RCA the graduating students have been encouraged by Zowie Broach (Head of Fashion) to be brave and bold about carving their own identities. In preparation to enter a continually transforming industry, the students have been given the confidence to adapt whilst staying true to themselves. Alongside being influenced by personal experience, their work combines traditional tailorship and craft techniques with references from across art, philosophy and politics.
Strong links to industry are a core part of the fashion programmes at the RCA. Alongside students’ individual works, the garments from this year’s collaboration with Brioni will be exhibited in the Showroom. This is the tenth year that RCA Menswear students have collaborated with Brioni’s master tailors to develop pieces that demonstrate an adventurous approach to tailoring combined with traditional and intricate craftsmanship. Prizes were awarded by Ben Cobb (Editor-in-Chief AnOther Man), Stephen Doig, (Men’s Style Editor, The Telegraph), and Richard Johnson (Commercial Director, Matches) to Rhiannon Wakefield – Brioni’s overall winner, Dan He – Brioni’s Innovation award and Per Hanson – Brioni’s Tailoring award.
Visitors will be able to admire the 40 graduating students’ work in close detail over the weekend at the Showroom on 11 and 12 June. Avant Hard will launch the Showroom on 9 June and will entail an evening of live events where students will expand perspectives of their final collections through performances and screenings. These collaborations across sound, dance and film express the singular attitudes of students and their work.
ENDS
For further information or images please contact Bethany Bull, RCA Press Office on t: +44 (0) 20 7590 4114, e: [email protected], or [email protected]
Notes to Editors
Location: The Averard Hotel,
10-11 Lancaster Gate, W2 3LH (nearest tube, Lancaster Gate)
Avant Hard (invite only): Friday 10 June,
17.30 – 19.30
Showroom:Â Saturday
11 and Sunday 12 June, 10.00 – 18.00
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RCA Fashion 2016, notable awards:
Prix de Public Hyères Festival
2016: Amanda Svart (Womenswear, 2016)
Levi’s X Arts Thread Design
Challenge: Ryan Houlton (Womenswear, 2016)
IFF: Overall winner – Jessica
Mcgrady (Womenswear, 2016), runners-up – Elsa Ellies (Menswear, 2016) &
Miles Dunphy (Menswear, 2016) for their economic design
Adidas: Ting Ting Zhang (Womeswear,
2017), Arnar Jonsson (Menswear, 2017)
ITS: 10 RCA students are
finalists in the 2016 competition, winners will be announced 16 July 2016
Brioni: Overall winner – Rhiannon
Wakefield (Menswear, 2017), Innovation – Dan He (Menswear, 2017), Tailoring – Per
Hanson (Menswear, 2017).
The Royal College of Art is
the world’s leading university of art and design, placed at Number One in the
2015 and 2016 QS World University Rankings. Specialising in teaching and
research, the RCA offers the degrees of MA, MRes, MPhil, and PhD across the
disciplines of applied art, fine art, design, communications and humanities.
There are over 1,500 Master’s and doctoral students and more than 1,000 professionals
interacting with them – including scholars, art and design practitioners, along
with specialists, advisers and distinguished visitors.
Graduating RCA Fashion
students, 2016:
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