Amelia’s Magazine | Graduate Fashion Week 2011 Gala Awards Show: The Winners

Graduate Fashion Week Gala show 2011-Rory Longdon
Rory Longdon was a worthy winner of the Graduate Fashion Week 2011 George Gold Award. Okay, order it’s a gold award, order I geddit already.

Just over two weeks ago I was invited to attend the Gala show for the Graduate Fashion Awards. I’ve not been back to the student fashion shows since I graduated 15 years ago (gulp). Back then they were held in the Islington Business Centre and I don’t remember much about them at all – I had already decided that my future did not lie in catwalk shows and so I only had a static stand to show off my printed textiles designs… which I had honed in the knowledge that I would prefer to pursue a career in illustration. Isn’t it funny how the circle turns? I never have been able to get away from fashion… but then again nor have I abandoned illustration. I could never have predicted then just how my life would have panned out in the years since.

Joey and Sam Faiers TOWIE by Munroe Bergdorf
Joey Essex and Sam Faiers from TOWIE. Photo by Munroe Bergdorf.

It’s been a shaky year for the Graduate Fashion Show brand – the sponsorship that was needed for it to continue was finally taken on by George at Asda at the last minute. Select guests were treated like royalty – the cast of TOWIE may not be considered the height of style in most forward thinking fashion circles but they were feted like true celebrities at the Gala show. Myself and Naomi? We couldn’t get past the cordons in the middle of the Earl’s Court conference centre for a drink and a natter with friends beforehand (I tried unhooking the cordon, the security was not very amused). Inside the TOWIE crew primped and preened, basking in the attention. Sound familiar? Exactly the same fiasco for Matt Bramford last year. So instead we tried our luck at the brightly coloured George stand, to no avail, though their PR was happy to give me their spiel, drink in hand. More than one woman was wearing the same dress… but then that’s the dangers of mass fashion for you.

Graduate Fashion Week Gala show 2011-George

Inside the Gala show area notable bodies from the fashion world were relegated to the fifth row, whilst TOWIE agents hogged front row seats. (There was one next to me, I did my research later.) Luckily I was able to snag one at the last minute or there would be no photos here for you. All of this preamble pretty much sums up the atmosphere of the Gala show, which was all about the glitz and the razzmatazz. The mannered presenting from Clothes Show stalwarts Jeff Banks (complete with inappropriate comments) and his cohort Caryn Franklin (for whom I have a very large soft spot) was at times incredibly painful.

Graduate Fashion Week Gala show 2011-Lauren Brown & Sophia Sabados, UCA Epsom
Graduate Fashion Week 2011 review-Lauren Brown & Sophia SabadosGraduate Fashion Week 2011 review-Lauren Brown & Sophia Sabados
I was excited to see Lauren Brown & Sophia Sabados – students from UCA Epsom (where I have lectured) – win the Media and Design Award (presented by Grace Woodward) for their magazine.

A myriad of famous guests (Sophie Ellis-Bexter – new album to promote, the Sugababe Heidi Range, Carole White, she of Premier modelling agency fame) were led onstage to present awards as this year’s crop of excitable graduates whooped and a-hollered. It was nice to hear everyone in such a celebratory mood… but when one of the presenters declared that she hoped all graduates would go into paid jobs straight away I couldn’t help but have a little bit of a snigger.

Graduate Fashion Week Gala show Christina Economou 2011
International Award winner Christina Economou of the Istituto Marangoni, Paris.

Graduate Fashion Week Gala show Dominique Kral 2011Graduate Fashion Week Gala show Dominique Kral 2011
Zandra Rhodes Catwalk Textiles Award winner Dominique Kral of Northbrook College Sussex.

Graduate Fashion Week Gala show Wong Jee Chung 2011Graduate Fashion Week Gala show Wong Jee Chung 2011
Stuart Peters Visionary Knitwear Award winner Won Jee Chung of Nottingham Trent University.

Oh my days… here I am all these years down the line and I’ve yet to figure out how I can make a proper living out of my fashion textiles degree. It’s a lovely sentiment, but it’s just not the reality of the fashion industry. This is a place where only the most dedicated survive… or those with rich/famous parents. Unless you pursue a career in the mass fashion industry. A degree in fashion is now about so much more than just design, and the UK is still the world industry leader for well trained young fashion creatives in all kinds of fashion related disciplines. There was an element of realism in the recommendation to look to industry for jobs, presumably an effort to quash too many unrealistic ‘next McQueen’ expectations. Since I graduated the choice of degrees which train people to work in the fashion industry has multiplied massively. It’s now possible to pursue a plethora of different avenues such as styling and promotion which really weren’t available when I went to university back in the early 90s. All of this corresponds with a massive growth in our insatiable desire to consume mass fashion… do you see a connection? My, how I struggle with this industry at times.

Graduate Fashion Week Gala show Felix Wolodymyr ChablukSmith 2011Graduate Fashion Week Gala show Felix Wolodymyr ChablukSmith 2011
Menswear Award winner Felix Wolodymyr Chabluk Smith of Edinburgh School of Art.

Graduate Fashion Week Gala show Marrisa Owen 2011Graduate Fashion Week Gala show Marrisa Owen 2011
Womenswear Award winner Marrisa Owen of University of Central Lancashire.

Graduate Fashion Week Gala show Rory Longdon 2011Graduate Fashion Week Gala show Rory Longdon 2011
George Gold Award winner Rory Longdon of Nottingham Trent University.

The Gala show awards closed in a huge tumble of gold foil more suited to a crucial key change at a boy band concert. Oh how times have changed. I wish this year’s graduates all the best. More on the winners and other show finalists coming up shortly.

Graduate Fashion Week Gala show 2011-Rory Longdon finale

Categories ,Carole White, ,Caryn Franklin, ,Christina Economou, ,Dominique Kral, ,Edinburgh School of Art, ,Felix Wolodymyr Chabluk Smith, ,Gala Show, ,George at Asda, ,George Gold Award, ,GFW, ,Grace Woodward, ,Graduate Fashion Awards, ,Heidi Range, ,Islington Business Centre, ,Istituto Marangoni, ,Jeff Banks, ,Joey Essex, ,Lauren Brown, ,Mass fashion, ,Media and Design Award, ,Menswear Award, ,Munroe Bergdorf, ,Northbrook College Sussex, ,Nottingham Trent University, ,paris, ,Peters Visionary Knitwear Award, ,Premier, ,Rory Longdon, ,Sam Faiers, ,Sophia Sabados, ,Sophie Ellis-Bexter, ,Sugababes, ,The Clothes Show, ,TOWIE, ,UCA Epsom, ,Womenswear Award, ,Won Jee Chung, ,Wong Jee Chung

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Amelia’s Magazine | Graduate Fashion Week 2012 Gala Awards Ceremony: Part One


Matthew Williamson by Ruth Joyce

Twelve hundred students descend on Earls Court Two for Graduate Fashion Week every year. About a quarter of them get the opportunity to showcase their collections during one of the 16 fashion shows that are held over four days. In a dramatic climax – the Gala Awards show – 10 students are selected to present their work for a second time in the hope of receiving the coveted Gold Award.


All photography by Matt Bramford

So, like the fashion industry itself, chances of making it are pretty slim. 10 incredible collections graced the catwalk in the finale and I honestly couldn’t pick a winner – celebrity judges like Matthew Williamson and Julien Macdonald commented on the incredible standard exhibited of not only those who had been selected as a Gold Award nominee, but every college.


Julien Macdonald by Claire Kearns

Here’s a photographic whistle-stop tour of the awards ceremony:

INTERNATIONAL AWARD


Yvonne Kwok – Amsterdam Fashion Institute


Zhu Liyuanzi – Istituto Marangoni Milan


WINNER: Karen Jessen – ESMOD Berlin, presented by Julien Macdonald, Sara Maino from Vogue Italia & Caroline Burstein from Browns.

STUART PETERS KNITWEAR AWARD


Emma Walsh – Nottingham Trent University


Jousianne ProppManchester Metropolitan University


Caitlin Charles Jones – Kingston University


Judges Ruth Chapman from Matches, Erica Peters from Stuart Peters and knitwear designer Mark Fast couldn’t decide, so Caitlin and Jousianne both scooped the award!

ZANDRA RHODES TEXTILES AWARD


Daisy Lowe by Ruth Joyce


Amelia Smith – Northumbria University


Dae-Byn Lee – Nottingham Trent University


Roz Lamkin – Manchester Metropolitan University


WINNER: Xiaoping HuangUCLAN, presented by Daisy Lowe and Mary Katrantzou

BARCLAYS NEW BUSINESS AWARD


Holly Reid – UCLAN, presented by Tabitha Somerset-Webb (Project D) and Michelle Mone OBE

FASHION INNOVATION AWARD


Ami Collins – UCLAN, presented by Lorraine Candy of ELLE magazine and designer David Koma

MEDIA & DESIGN AWARD


Kerrie Donelly – UCA Epsom, presented by Fashion Editor-at-Large Melanie Rickey and ID magazine‘s Jefferson Hack (swoon)

STAND DESIGN AWARD


Edinburgh College of Art, presented by designer Fred Butler and Harvey NicholsYuri Nakamura

GEORGE BEST OF BRITISH AWARD


Susanna Yi – University of East London, presented by TV presenter Caroline Flack and ASDA fashion director Fiona Lambert

GEORGE CHILDRENSWEAR AWARD


Harriet Simons – Colchester, presented by singer Louise Redknapp and Fiona Lambert

MULBERRY ACCESSORIES AWARD


Laura Smallwood – Kingston University, presented by Mulberry‘s Tori Campbell

ETHICAL AWARD


Sarah Murphy, Northumbria – presented by stylist Jocelyn Whipple and film producer/eco hero Livia Firth

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD


Legendary catwalk photographer Chris Moore, presented by designer Jeff Banks

Part Two, featuring the major players and the menswear, womenswear and Gold Award winners, coming soon…!

Categories ,accessories, ,Amelia Smith, ,Ami Collins, ,Amsterdam Fashion Institute, ,ASDA, ,Awards, ,Caitlin Charles Jones, ,Caroline Flack, ,Caryn Franklin, ,Catwalking.com, ,Ceremony, ,Childrenswear, ,Chris Moore, ,Claire Kearns, ,Colchester, ,Dae-Byn Lee, ,daisy lowe, ,David Koma, ,Earls Court Two, ,Eco Age, ,Elle, ,Emma Walsh, ,Erica Peters, ,ESMOD Berlin, ,Essex, ,fashion, ,Fiona Lambert, ,Fred Butler, ,Gala, ,George, ,Gold Award, ,Graduate Fashion Week, ,Harvey Nichols, ,Holly Reid, ,ID Magazine, ,international, ,Istituto Marangoni Milan, ,Jeff Banks, ,Jefferson Hack, ,Jousianne Propp, ,Julien McDonald, ,Karen Jesson, ,Kerrie Donnelly, ,Kingston University London, ,knitwear, ,Laura Smallwood, ,Lifetime Achievement, ,Livia Firth, ,Lorraine Candy, ,Louise Redknapp, ,Manchester Metropolitan University, ,Mark Fast, ,Mary Katrantzou, ,matches, ,Matt Bramford, ,Matthew Williamson, ,Melanie Rickey, ,menswear, ,Michelle Mone OBE, ,Mulberry, ,New Business, ,Northumbria University, ,Nottingham Trent University, ,Project D, ,Roz Lamkin, ,Ruth Chapman, ,Ruth Joyce, ,show, ,Stuart Peters, ,Susanna Yi, ,Tabitha Somerset-Webb, ,Tori Campbell, ,UCA Epsom, ,UCLan, ,UEL, ,Womenswear, ,Xiaoping Huang, ,Yuri Nakamura, ,Yvonne Kwok, ,Zhu Liyuanzi

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