The Liner, The Clutch and The Wardrobe

Yesterday saw the beginning of Graduate Fashion Week at London's Earls Court 2, and every fashionista worth their Manolo's was there to feast their eyes on a wealth of eclectic designs from the UK's freshest fashion talent.

Kicking off the week of shows were collections by students from The University of Central Lancashire. There were jumpsuits, bubble hems and floaty sheers a plenty, as well as a glamourous hybrid of sports and evening wear from Lucy Crook, which featured flirty ruffelled dresses in bright neon fabrics with a sporty stripe detail. The stand out collection from the Lancashire show, was by Maria Manfredi, who created beautifully cut dresses and jump suits in this season's essential nautical stripes.

Sharing the bill for the second show of the day were Northbrook College and The Arts Institute at Bournemouth. While the overall standard didn't seem as high as that of Central Lancashire, there were some really strong collections on show.

Most notably from Bournemouth was Natalie Conroy, who developed the ombre trend by splashing inky blue stains onto white sheer layers. She also dyed silk in multiple colours to give an inky marbled effect.

My favourite collection from Northbrook was by Rebecca Reeves, who combined masculine and feminine styles from the forties, by teaming a vintage style tea dress with a leather flying jacket, and an oversized men's dinner jacket with sexily feminine stockings and suspenders.

After the first two shows, the standard set was high. Watch this space and I will I keep you posted on shows for the rest of the week.




Image Kirsten Borst - Source.