Graduate Fashion Foundation is excited to announce it will be returning this February to London Fashion Week in the British Fashion Council’s Positive Fashion Exhibition with the second season of the ‘GFW Presents’ stand from Friday 14th – Sunday 16th February 2020. GFW Presents will showcase the work of four talented Graduate Fashion Week 2019 alumni, who’s collections were part of the Best of GFW Top 28 Collection show.
GFW Presents has been designed by Graduate Fashion Foundation to; help graduates launch their brand to a global audience, give them access to develop relationships with renowned global stores and publications, begin building a network of future contacts, be a part of a fashion week which is fully embracing emerging brands who are making a positive change in the industry and spotlighting them to a global audience.
The GFW Presents graduates are part of the fashion innovators and emerging businesses who get to tell their story within the exhibition and demonstrate how they are working to change industry’s practices by educating and inspiring audiences on the positive changes within the industry. The GFW Presents stand will allow the emerging designers to showcase their graduate catwalk collections and portfolios, plus by being present at the event themselves, the graduates will be able to benefit from the variety of key audience members who attend. Across the three days of London Fashion Week the GFW Presents graduates will reach over 5,000 visitors, including a domestic and international audience of press, buyers and industry professionals from over 45 countries.
The GFW Presents…Emerging Graduate Designer Are:
Yen Wong – Graduate of Brighton University
Yen Wong is originally from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Her womenswear practice draws inspiration from her love of craft, exploring elements & techniques from couture & tailoring, as well as her fascination of heritage & culture. Yen plays heavily with irony, using humour to playfully discuss matters of womanhood. Her collection, SUNNY SIDE UP! focusses on the combination of intricate techniques mixed with a hint of kitsch. The collection has a playful tone, exploring the perfect 1950s woman & the social pressures placed upon women, leading to a manic episode. Using classic couture silhouettes from that time period as inspiration, Yen also touches upon her own personal heritage, juxtaposing elements from her Malaysian- Chinese background alongside the heavily westernised perspective of the 50s woman. Yen’s collection features handwoven tweed made from upcycled decorations, ribbons, upcycled polypropylene bags, lurex and bouclé yarns. Print is also significant in the collection, designing digitally printed textiles from objects of Yen’s childhood.
Leo John Caligan – Graduate of School of Fashion at Manchester Metropolitan University Leo John Caligan is a Fashion & Textile Designer from Manchester, offering alternative androgynous designs by exploring the westernisation and domestication of the Philippines though traditional crafts alongside modern hand rendered textiles and graphic silhouettes. Creating unique prints and embroidery, Leo’s work has a heavy influence of his filipino heritage combined with his upbringing as an Asian immigrant in UK. ‘Las Sala De Filipinas’ researches the evolution of the Filipino culture. Investigating the interiors and exteriors of post-Spanish colony houses. Leo used furniture to influence the silhouettes for his designs with creative pattern cutting based on sofa covers, combined with military wear and the national costumes of the Philippines. Leo use a mixture of natural materials, delving into old and damaged upholstery leather that would end up in landfills, combined with abaca (banana fibre) and piña (pineapple fibre) which are handwoven materials traditionally used to make the national costume of the Philippines.
Africa Hernandez Martinez – Graduate of University of Creative Arts Epsom
Africa Hernandez, a womenswear designer born & raised in Spain is interested in preserving traditional crafts & colourful customs as part of cultural heritage, as well as moving them forward into the modern world. With an interest in learning from other cultures, she wanted to share the pagan festivities and traditions of Spain with other communities through her work to embrace and experience ‘Otherness’. Her design philosophy reflects her research into sustainable practices, including sourcing second-hand fabrics, along with textile developments based on the reinterpretation and manipulation of ancient techniques. The collections upcycled fabrics are sourced from car boot sales around Spain and her family home, where she found vintage brocade tablecloths, duvet covers and bed throws. Materials include Piñatex, a sustainable replacement for leather made from the leaves of pineapples. Some of the craft techniques are aimed at small handmade production run by women in her neighborhood to help them improve their low income due to their rural location.
Sarah Thompson – Graduate of Sheffield Hallam University
“The country habit has me by the heart.” Vita sackville west. The rural north east is who I owe my creativity too, the community around me, the rolling hills, the freedom of thought and naïve ways. As a young designer, I can’t wait for a future of travel, learning and being inspired by cultures, but forever my roots and my beginnings will carry me through. My collection explores the relationship the British farming community have to their clothing; the value they place upon practical attire and attachments they gain. Growing up within the remote north Yorkshire moors, clothing focused on practicality, durability, and the ability to mend. Longevity often becoming sentimental towards particular pieces. This cycle of deconstruction and mending came an has helped formed by signature design aesthetic, that this collection has explored. Through family remnant clothing, I have been able to deconstruct, mend and reform into new pieces. Applying surgical techniques to unwind each piece and create something new. Raising awareness of this technique, to establish a silhouette that celebrates incisions & scars that have years of history, love and wear. I want to make build the relationships back between garment and owner.
Located at The Store X, 180 Strand, London Fashion Week will be the first of the four global Fashion Week’s to embrace inclusivity, opening the doors to both trade and the public to join a celebration of fashion’s creativity, community and diversity. GFW Presents will be showcasing exciting graduates who sit within the BFC’s Positive Fashion initiative; designed to champion industry best practice led by three Positive Fashion pillars: Sustainability, Equality & Diversity, Craftsmanship & Community. The Positive Fashion exhibition will be the place for guests to discover new brands and immersive experiences that explore the most compelling stories around sustainability, craftmanship and ethics.
Graduate Fashion Week is the largest platform in the world for new BA fashion talent, highlighting the freshest upcoming stars in design, creative direction, marketing, communication, photography, illustration and all aspects of the modern business of fashion. The annual event, held from Sunday 31st May – Wednesday 3rd June 2020, attracts 30,000 guests, features 22 catwalk shows and multiple exhibition stands, alongside a packed schedule of live talks and workshops from leading names in the fashion and retail industry. Each year the event attracts a wide array of top Industry professionals & recruiters from UK and abroad who use this opportunity to spot the best new talent under one roof, interview on the spot as well as offer exciting graduate opportunities.
Outside of the annual exhibition in June, the charity aims to continue promoting graduate’s work and with that increase employment opportunities and enterprise, in UK and abroad.
Hilary Alexander OBE, President of Graduate Fashion Week, said: “Graduate Fashion Foundation is excited to be able to showcase four new and exceptional GFW2019 collections in the Positive Fashion exhibition, which is to be one of the highlights at this season’s London Fashion Week. GFW Presents now in its second season is a marvellous opportunity to demonstrate the vital role of sustainability and considered design in UK fashion education and is a fantastic occasion for the Graduate Fashion Foundation charity to continue the work that we do supporting the future of the fashion industry.