Graduate Fashion: silk hoodies and shades of grey win the day for Chloe

 
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14 June 2012

A budding designer who combined luxury with a sporty feel was the toast of Graduate Fashion Week when she won collection of the year.

Chloe Jones was awarded the prize of £20,000 by a starry panel of judges that included Burberry’s Chief Officer Christopher Bailey and Daphne Guinness. Among the other famous faces who took to the stage at the gala at Earls Court was eco fashion campaigner Livia Firth and model Daisy Lowe.

Jones caught their eye with a collection of flowing diaphanous dresses which were cut from grey silk. Some came printed with oversized floral motifs, others were teamed with layers of grey cotton. In this collection, which had a luxurious sporty feel, hooded sweatshirts were transformed into elegant capes while panels of jersey featured on gowns.

Jones, a student at Bath Spa University, beat stiff competition from Central Lancashire student Claire Acton whose collection of hair-clip dresses and fringed leather waistcoats was among the most polished and playful on the catwalk.

Riona Horrox from Edinburgh College of Art provided another highlight. Her collection of gangster-inspired baggy-jeans, oversized puffa jackets and dip-dyed fur won her the menswear award.

While graduate collections are known for being more wacky than they are wearable, this was an evening in which Britain’s fashion students proved that they have what it takes to carve a successful career in the cut throat world of fashion.

“I am genuinely amazed by the quality and creativity on offer here tonight” said Fiona Lambert, a judge and brand director at George at Asda which sponsors the event. “I feel strongly about supporting the talent of tomorrow. This is such a great time for Graduate Fashion Week”.

Lambert was joined in praising the budding new designers by Christopher Bailey, a former Graduate Fashion Week winner, who said he was “forever astounded” by the work which comes out of the UK’s colleges.

Now in its twenty-first year, Graduate Fashion Week is considered a vital event on the capital’s fashion calendar. Over the past four days some 1,000 students from 49 colleges and universities across the UK have showcased their work, culminating in the finale at Earls Court.

The gala kicked off a momentous week for the British fashion industry which is gearing up for London’s first ever “men’s only fashion week”.

Over the next three days, some 50 UK based menswear designers will showcase their spring/summer collections for 2013 at venues across the city. In previous years the capital’s menswear designers have had their collections “shoe horned” twice a year into the final day of London Fashion Week.

The menswear showcase, officially titled London Collections: Men, will be launched by The Prince of Wales who hosts at a reception at St James Palace this evening.

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