Graduate Fashion Week- Middlesex University Press Show

A week today I had the valuable opportunity to dress backstage at the Middlesex University press show. This was the second of Middlesex's graduate shows, the first showcased all of the work by this years graduates which lasted a whole hour, and it was all incredible. A panel of four judges decided who would go through to the press show; Matthew Josephs- Stylist and fashion director at Wonderland Magazine, Kim Howells- fashion director at Hunger, Keko Hainswheeler- Middlesex alumni, fashion designer and creative consultant at Diesel and Kiko Simoes Gaspar- Marketing and Communications at Vivienne Westwood. I don't know how they decided! 

The university has attracted a very generous amount of press from the show; being featured on Idol magazine as one of the three stand out schools of GFW also on Dazed Magazine, Wonderland, Vogue  and Vogue Italia, which goes to show that fashion does not only revolve around CSM and LCM. Bring on MDX!

Dressing backstage is one of the most valuable experiences an aspiring designer can have, it is entirely different from watching a fashion show, you get to see first hand the work that goes on behind it. Effectively when you're watching a fashion show you are only seeing the aesthetics, when dressing you see how they work as garments; the amount of layers of clothing that is used for one look, how detailed they are, the hand stitching, embroidered labels, the weight, the feel, and what the models think of them. You get to speak to the designers, see their view on the collection and what inspired them.

 We all get assigned a model and a rail of clothes to dress and do line-ups to see how they will look and if any adjustments need to be made.  After the dress rehersals, the models go for their hair and makeup, I have dressed at three shows and from what I have observed, it goes like this; the dressers will be there all day, and the hair and make-up turns up a little later, I never know when the models turn up, they're just there, you know they're models cause well, they're beautifull. Then the hair and makeup will have all the room, chairs, and food, and we always wonder if we're allowed any food... the clothes will be kept all in one place with everyone else, and there's usually an area reserved for sewing and alterations. I was dressing four looks by Jessica Brown, Nuno Lopes de Oliveira, Sian Alexandra Hadnum and Sarah Kate Holmes. The first look by Jessica consisted of a multicoloured knitted onesie with a hooded, crocheted jumper over the top, woven through this was crim which gives it a colurful and futuristic look. The second look by Nuno was layered and completely gold consisting of leggings, shorts, a vest, and a top which was beaded by hand across the top and down the sleeves, I liked that the whole collection was in gold, and stayed true to his glamorous aesthetic. Sian's collection was very oversized, with bold text and print, the look consisted of a large silver bomber jacket, a turtle neck which was unbelievably soft inside and trousers, all of the looks had masks made out of cut up tights, which the models curly hair poked out of the top . Sarah's look was the easiest to put on, I like the soft colours and the imagery, embroidered barcodes, shopping baskets as accessories and hospital gas masks with dollars inside.

It is very surreal how all of that hard work, three years of preperation is finishes in the space of a couple of minutes.

Some photos, unfortuantely whilst dressing it's difficult to get some great photos, as the show is on but here's a few:

Clothes on the rail

My model Reece wearing Jessica Brown design

Lining up. Jessica Brown designs

Jessica Brown 

Sonia Gill Desgins

Georgia Green Textiles

Close-up Georgia Green Textiles 

Lining up for the final walk