Graduate Fashion Week is in its 28th year and continues to bring the latest innovative and exciting emerging talent to the world’s attention, showcasing the fashion innovators of tomorrow with the four-day event in London (2nd-5th June 2019.) This year’s campaign kicked off with the annual photoshoot where a selection of graduate designs are submitted for final selection by a renowned photographer and stylist. The final entries were shot under the creative direction of illustrious fashion photographer Erika Astrid and reputable stylist Jennifer Mertens, with 12 final year students from courses showcasing at Graduate Fashion Week, being invited down to assist in the professional shoot at The Old Truman Brewery in London.
The students’ designs who were selected to debut in the photoshoot showed a range of diverse influences and unique styles, some focusing heavily on ethically sourced materials, using sustainable methods and recycled pieces to create eco-conscious designs, while others focused on unique methods of design such as laser-etched wood detailing. The designs include aspiring designers from British GFW member universities Kingston University, Nottingham Trent University, University of East London, Edinburgh College of Art and Leeds Arts University. Accademia Costume & Moda, Italy, was the international school to have a student selected for the shoot and included in the campaign.
A highlight of this year’s campaign has been the inclusion of final year students in the photoshoot. From shooting behind the scenes videos, hair and makeup, and styling. The final year students involved on the day relished the opportunity to network, build their portfolios and work closely with respected professionals such as Erika Astrid, Jennifer Mertens and hair stylist Sky Cribbs-Jackson. In addition to the students being involved from start to finish on the day, 7 influencers and 2 professional models, including In The Frow’s Victoria Magrath, Style and Stylus’ Rashpal Amrit and The Evening Standard’s Chloe Street were invited to come together to show their support for the Talent of Tomorrow and be photographed in the garments selected by the teams on the day.
