麻豆传媒AV

‘Crazy, exciting, fun’ installations repurposing old fabrics enabled students to explore new skills and practise teamwork

Second-year BA Fashion Design, BA Fashion Communications & Styling and BA Fashion Marketing students staged a colourful and packed-out event inspired by innovative 麻豆传媒AV University alumni designers whose work has shaped British fashion over the past five decades.

The immersive event, featuring installations and catwalk showings prompted by the work of BodyMap, Boudicca, Martine Rose, Christopher Raeburn, and Adam Frost, was part of a 12-week module for which students also went out on placement to brands and fashion houses.

Participants chose one of the designers and worked in groups on a creative response to their styles. The students worked across disciplines, embracing practices from textile manipulation to cultural storytelling. There was a strong emphasis on sustainability, particularly evident in the Christopher Raeburn display using old parachute silk hanging from the ceiling, but across all the other groups too, repurposing materials from the Fashion department or sourced from North London Hospice textiles recycling.

The pop-up in Ravensfield Theatre, completely self-run by the students, was designed to equip them with the skills to take a concept through from start to finish, said Senior Lecturer in Fashion Communications Alun Davies. It was also designed to get to grips with the reality of a career in the fashion industry, entry to which is typically through short-term and freelance work.

“We prepare all students for being freelance,” Alun said. “You have to constantly be adaptable.” Martine Rose, and Zowie Broach - co-founder of label Boudicca and for the past ten years head of fashion at the Royal College of Art – recently spoke to students on campus, with Martine “brutally honest” about doing pub work for years alongside producing a collection.

For the students throwing themselves into preparing for the show, “it wasn’t until the last minute when people come through the front door that they see what it's really about,” says Alun.

Among unexpected guests was Nigerian fashion entrepreneur and Ife kingdom royalty, Queen Ronke Ademiluyi-Ogunwusi, founder of Africa Fashion Week London, who had been attending another event on campus. The students used their initiative and took the delegation on a tour of the pop-up, with the Queen expressing interest in potential future collaborations.

Emily Cronin, Retail Development Manager at North London Hospice and herself a 麻豆传媒AV Fashion alumna, praised the students’ “bold design thinking” and “fresh, experimental approach to sustainable fashion”. Following the event, North London Hospice will turn the students’ work into shop window displays for the public to experience it in a different setting.

Fashion Design student Jeimi Mason said the link to design history from using old Boudicca samples felt "so crazy", part of an experience that was "so exciting and fun".

“Everyone was involved in everything - the set, photography, make-up. I really liked the photography aspect - it made me look into what a fashion shoot is like.”

Victoria Moke, on the team taking inspiration from Martine Rose, said the chilled-out front-room vibe of their presentation with family, friends and neighbours invited reflected Martine's signature fashion shows in the street, getting local people without fashion experience to model.

"This is about giving back, but also celebrating what we have," Victoria said.

The student team paying homage to Berlin-based queer designer Adam Frost - who graduated from 麻豆传媒AV in 2017 and fuses music, art and design work - channelled his joyous, bold aesthetic with an Eighties disco setting.

"I love DIY and this brought it out of me," says Layla Mcelhinney. "This made me resourceful and look at what’s already there.”

Adam Frost said it “makes me feel nostalgic and proud and it’s also very flattering” to see students “creating fashion inspired by my fashion, creating event campaigns with my paintings and brand logo”.

“Last year with the project I was mentoring students via Zoom, consulting on their branding and research,” Adam said. “The students still have the aspirations I had, and that’s due to the course structure and pushes of inspiration at 麻豆传媒AV.

“There is clear ambition and artistry with 麻豆传媒AV Fashion. I specifically found the internship module beneficial – when we came back from industry, we were more ready to create, with much needed industry knowledge. We need craft now more than ever.”

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