Fashion Show: Royal College of Art Fashion Show
The Royal College of Art signalled the start of the student fashion season yesterday with its annual graduate fashion show. Thirty-five postgraduates got their chance to showcase their final collections which culminated in a eye-popping and imaginative catwalk presentation incorporating every fabric and form of material you can think of. Nothing was exempt. The futuristic theme ran distinctly through every collection with students predicting that one day we may be forced to use other materials such as rubber and plastic to clothe ourselves. Men in particular will be forced to either toughen up with oversized hoodies or smarten up with sharp angular tailoring.
In Peter Smith’s future, he forsees that men’s fashion will be influenced by the digital era. Pixelated colours was the concept behind his patchwork collection constructed mostly of parachute material. His collection consisted of baggy sportswear, hoods and jumpsuits resembling bight orange chemical suits. Hai Yan Wang’s collection took an opposite approach with sharp tailoring infused with an alternative Victorian world like something out of The League of Extrodinary Gentlemen. My favourite piece has to be the white contemporary coat tails.
Much of the show symbolised the strength of masculinity via heightened shoulders. Some collections featured almost footballer style shoulder protection and body armour. Hwan Heo’s centered around this concept using leather, zips and combat boots. The craftsmanship of his one-piece leather jumpsuit (above, left) was definitely worth the wait.
Hans Christian Madsen took streetwear to a whole new level with his knitwear for men. He employed experimental knit in different shades of grey to fuse everyday clothes with new and imaginative pieces. His collection also featured long chunky knits and thick bulging scarves.
