Fashion designers of the future were given the opportunity to present their work during the University of Westminster BA‘s annual runway show, part of London Fashion Week, Friday evening (February 14th, 2020).

The show, held at the spacious Ambika P3 in central London, marks the third time the university has shown on the LFW schedule, thanks in part to Professor Andrew Groves‘ radical rethink as to how fashion education should be taught and delivered, resulting in the Westminster course being aligned with the international fashion calendar.

“I am excited that we are once again showing our students collections at London Fashion Week.” Professor Groves said in a statement ahead of the show. “Following on from our debut at LFW last year, we are pleased to announce that we will be showing all our graduates A/W20 collections together with their S/S21 precollections in Paris at Espace Commines.”

“This will allow those that wish to build their own brands to develop early relationships with international buyers and stockists prior to their graduation in June.”

Throughout their time studying at the Westminster University BA, students are academically challenged, pushed creativity, guided and mentored to reach their full potential, by some of the best tutors and professors the city of London has to offer.

As well as in-house training, taking on various industry placements and dedicating time to the development of their own portfolios of work, all designers who showcased their work on Friday evening have interned for some of the world’s best designers including A-Cold-Wall*, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Balmain, Burberry, Christopher Kane, Erdem, Givenchy, JW Anderson, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Mulberry, Richard Quinn, Roksanda and Tom Ford… to name but a few!

To be given a platform to participate within an industry you’ve dreamed your whole life of being a part of, must for sure be a pretty daunting prospect.

To present at London Fashion Week as an undergraduate is not only an incredible opportunity, but an incredible honour also – but with that opportunity and honour, surely comes a great deal of pressure and expectation to deliver.

However with the promise of showcasing their work to a diverse and varied audience made up of editors, buyers, industry professionals and fashion insiders, and taking into account the potential of possibility and hope that brings, the graduates of 2020 certainly channelled all of their energies into their craft, creating some of the most artistic, creative, forward-thinking, trend pushing designs we have seen on the catwalk so far this season.

We here at Fuzzable want to say a BIG congratulations to you all!

Meet The Designers…

Brandon Choi

Choi explores the process of toiling, exposing the beauty of raw, unfinished works-in-progress. The collection juxtaposes tailored forms with draped volumes and utilising calico with taffeta and crinoline, evoking thoughts of memory, and mourning; and an appreciation for the overlooked sensibilities of the human touch in a digitalised society.

Internships: Viktor & Rolf Couture, Aganovich, Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood

Vane Bon

The proposed female of Bon’s debut collection offers a sartorial interpretation of power and fetishism inspired by the heroines of retro-futurist films. Ultra-feminine silhouettes converge with sharp tailoring, while volume is mixed with structure; luxurious fabrications contrast with hi-tech materials to create a fusion of glamour and sportswear.

Internships: Thom Browne, Kiko Kostadinov, Mary Katrantzou, Charlotte Knowles

Tumisola Ladega

Ladega’s collection explores the question ‘At what point does a girl become a woman, and can she be both? Inspired by the oversized, hip hop sportswear of 90s youth culture, combined with the conservative tailoring of the 80s, the collection explores exaggerated silhouettes, unusual fabric combinations and construction collage. 

Internships: Burberry, David Koma, Ralph & Russo

Hannah Sosna

For A/W20 Sosna is inspired by the birth of colour television, and the introduction of test cards, referenced throughout the collection with the use of bold, colourful geometric prints. Silhouettes are inspired by the sharp modern menswear of the time; outerwear garments are constructed with proportion, materiality and volume in mind.

Internships: Jordan Luca, Norse Projects

Fennuala Butterfield 

Low-budget horror and porn movies of the 1970s, and their obsession with nuns, inspires a collection contrasting purity and innocence versus repressed sexuality. Severe, restrained outwear is juxtaposed against voluminous draping to create striking silhouettes. Virgin cotton contrasts with PVC in blushing pinks and reds offsetting the clean white undertones.

Internships: Balmain, Simone Rocha, H&M

POLS.

Inspired by a photograph by Philip-Lorca diCorcia, the debut collection from POLS references the curious and eclectic array of men on a busy New York street. The collection explores a variety of archetypes of menswear to create juxtapositions of contemporary menswear. The everyday is transformed into new, unexpected outcomes. 

Internships: Tom Ford, Matthew Miller, Tommy Hilfiger 

Marina Patalano

Patalano’s debut collection, ‘The Complete Tales of Women and Others as Subaltern Natives’, invites the viewer into a universe that follows a radical heroine and her female counterparts. Awkward, exaggerated silhouettes, mixed with loud prints and inflatable accessories, bring together the worlds of national costume and mid-century design. 

Internships: Mimi Wade, Richard Malone, Peter Pilotto, Walter Van Beirendonck, Trois Quarts

Steven Stokey-Daley

For A/W20 Stokey-Daley explores themes of homosociality and the romantic portrayals of British public-school cultures, as portrayed in the classic films ‘Brideshead Revisited’ & ‘Maurice’. Rich outerwear and crisp-cut trousers are layered beneath knitted sleepwear and adorned with fanciful, frivolous hats inspired by regatta boat racing traditions.

Internships: Tom Ford, Alexander McQueen

Karolina Brown

A collection of romanticism, inspired by the extravagant masquerade balls of the 19th century. A chaotic combination of colour, embellishment, print and fabrication creates a dreamlike world of sparkling and shimmer, blurring the lines between garment clarity and obscuration. 

Internships: Roberta Einer, Alexander McQueen, Marc Jacobs

Jonty K Mellmann

For A/W20 Mellmann presents the Countryside Rave Art Project – inspired by a fictional subculture within which the styles, symbols and sounds of crusty ravers melt together with the characters of the British countryside in an acid-fuelled frenzy. Tweed meets terrorcore; acid techno meets argyle. 

Internships: Cottweiler, Nasir Mazhar, HANGER inc, Walter Van Beirendonck

CJ Tuke

Inspired by his sister Amber, his childhood idol, Tuke’s debut collection ‘Edward Street’ is an exploration into childhood obsessions and youthful naivety. Recognisable garment references give the collection a twisted familiarity, printed beach towels and school parachutes are mixed with heavy wools and airbrushed leathers to create garments tinged with nostalgia.

Internships: Richard Quinn, Maison Margiela, Balenciaga

Jakub Nowacki

Nowacki’s A/W20 collection, No Thorns in the Stone Age, is a contemporary response to the primal ways of life presented by people of many tribes. Nowacki’s primal creative urges sees him create a collection that is draped onto models by hand translating his initial 2D concepts into 3D sculptures that engage with the body. 

Internships: Nasir Mazhar

Dominic Huckbody

Huckbody’s collection for A/W20 is a eulogy to the friction between intimacy and autonomy. ‘Safe in the Hands of Love’, explores through references to naturalistic and idealistic classical sculpture while taking an indulgent view on estranged images of intimacy, with delicate burn out knit, heavy washed denim, and pristinely tailored suiting.

Internships: Givenchy, Martine Rose, JW Anderson, Wales Bonner

University of Westminster BA

BA Fashion Design at the University of Westminster has developed an outstanding international reputation for producing highly talented and original fashion designers.

Westminster alumni include London Fashion Week designers Robyn Lynch, Priya Ahluwalia, Liam Hodges, Roberta Einer, Katie Ann McGuigan and Ashley Williams; as well as Christopher Bailey, Vivienne Westwood and Stuart Vevers. Other recent graduates from the course are working in the design studios of international fashion houses including Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Lanvin, Alexander McQueen, Balmain, Smythson, JW Anderson, Stone Island, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Kenzo, Carven, and Loewe.

BA Fashion Design is the only undergraduate course to show on the official London Fashion Week schedule.

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Are you interested in fashion design? Tell us which looks you enjoyed most from the University of Westminster BA’s fashion show, part of London Fashion Week over on Twitter @Fuzzable now!