The joys of online streaming, what was about to unfold in front of me, a glance at the latest trend, a moment of fashion history in the making? Need it be mentioned, that the likes of the supremely talented Alexandra McQueen and John Galliano have all strolled successfully out of the Central Saint Martin’s Ma course. And quiet fittingly, starting the show was a tribute to the late McQueen himself, passionately setting the scene, his voice echoed around the darkly lit tent as he recounted his St Martin’s journey.
Setting the standard for the evening, you could see the pressure that the class of 2010 had to cope with. Though, recently St Martins has been developing its very own trade mark styles, and this season was no exception – judging by the 22 collections on Professor Louise Wilson's runway. As blue strobe lighting twirled around the catwalk and ‘Friendly Fires’ slick tune of ‘Photobooth’ hit the speakers, the show began with great aplomb. Barefaced models, perched on over sized Lady Gaga style platforms strolled down the runway totally composed - albeit with one or two stumbles and the odd lost shoe.
But by no means of the imagination, was the odd stumble to repress the forward thinking dress sense. Highly sculptured 3D forms morphed with knit wear to jersey, matte fabrics collided with crisp, clean lines and laser cut edges. Stitching became reminiscent to Balenciaga (Spring 09), whilst the tubular, clinched waists, thanks to Anja Mlakar certainly balanced out the extravagant hip and shoulder proportions.
Then, on the opposite end or the graduate spectrum, moving away from the body con look, came A-line tunic tops - confronting bold jagged lines, multi-layered wovens and highly textured knits. There was something to suit every ones taste. However there was nothing remotely simple about the futuristic range of collections. Each garment (surely, up to Professor Wilsons standards) brought an uplifting sense of freshness to the runway.
On the night Jackie Lee, (joint Harrods prize winner with Lilly Heine) – presented the most prominent slightly grungy work wear collection, with a mix of clean lines, skirts over trousers and perfectly presented lapels. So, minimalistic that even the shape of the cuffs and collars became a dominate feature. Whilst the top L’Oreal Professionnel award went to Rok Hwang, who’s stunning collection of bold and graphic star studded, maxi length dresses were all certainly show stoppers. Set to quiet literally propel him in to a fashion star.
Moving away from the shorter, sexier silhouettes of the previous Central St Martins shows, this year’s graduates pushed sophisticated styles that their elders would be proud of. In fact, the enormous over the top, structured T-shirt shapes by Tze Goh and the elegant pom-pom dresses by Shao-Yen Chen, will surely never be forgotten, particularly by the hundreds watching online.
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