ozon july issue | drop it like it's hot

Among the judges in Graduate Fashion Week are Matthew Williamson, Giles Deacon and Lorraine Candy (Editor in Chief, Elle Magazine) while the lucky winner gets away with 20.000GBP and two years of mentoring. From the 50 universities that participate, around 22 present catwalk shows.

In every show there can be up to 15 contestants or more.

Approximately, 350 collections in 3 days. That means getting OD on fashion. Oversized men’s bags, a model wiggling round a studded inflated ring, attached to the bodysuit she was wearing, floral jumpsuits, exaggerated shoulders and children’s toys as hats. Enough! This year drama is passé and the biggest trend becomes reality. Outrageous designs. believing that to be on the top you have to be over the top, seemed altogether a bit superficial and vacant of any meaning. On the other hand, collections that were simultaneously simple and complicated with a lot of hard work on the patterns, the garments and the cuttings, were more in pace with the gloom and doom of the economic crisis. Myrto Stamou’s (RCA Rochester University) winning collection, “Phantasmagoria”, seemed to be the natural choice. “ A collection one can actually picture in Bond Street.” as the judges commented on it.

Myrto Stamou won the River Island Gold Award along with the Womenswear award with a subtle collection that, in her own words, “tried to be creative and wearable at the same time.”

A juxtaposition of ethereal draped silk jersey and handcrafted leather. Surrealism, eroticism, Ancient Greece and futuristic warriors. Simply divine.

The Gala show at the closing of fashion week, presented by Claudia Schiffer, was all about the importance of supporting new talents. The creative industries in the UK represent the 8% of GDP (gross domestic product) therefore it is crucial for the fashion industry to promote the work of young people, offer them paid internships and become their sponsors. That has been said, in fashion there is no place for number two, never mind number 350. Therefore I cannot but wonder what was the use of all those endless shows, which actually, lowered the standards making it much harder to spot the collections that were really worthy it. It is such a shame but after being bombarded for 3 days with so many new faces and cutting edge tendencies, the truth is I can only remember Myrto’s name. www.gfw.org.uk Text: Δανάη Δραγωνέα Danai Dragonea