You’d think the prospect of having to live up to past alumni the likes of Christopher Bailey, Julien Macdonald and Erdem Moralioglu would be enough to leave any RCA fashion student quaking in their boots, but the final collections from the 36 graduating younglings showed no sign of creative fatigue. Rather, a confident and focused student crew ruled the runway at yesterday’s show, with the idea of strong power ladies emerging in womenswear and new directional cuts explored in menswear.
’The students this year are really diverse, they’re all so very different’, says the college’s Head of Fashion professor Wendy Dagworthy. ’Coming down the runway is every fabric from bold industrial materials like rubber, to softer silks and fluid draping.’ Dagworthy hones in on Sayaka Kamakura’s collection - a skillful application of strong drapey shapes in a floor-sweeping cloud of black, orange and white and Nicola Morgan, whose superb jersey dresses again had ’that dynamic powerful feeling’ in the way they created a new drape structure over the body. While Ruth Green’s knitwear pieces nicely rounded off this feeling of new dynamism.
Over in menswear, there was further experimentation with materials, with students like Fah Chakshuvej subverting the notion of traditional fabrics with modern cutting techniques.
Off the runway, fashion writer Iain R Webb curated a rousing exhibition of designs by established and emerging RCA graduate greats, with loaned items from fashion alumni such as Bailey, Macdonald, Katie Eary, Boudicca and Zara Gorman, displayed, as Webb describes, ’with an intentional art school vibe’. Here’s hoping this is only the start and plenty more similar shows led by Webb’s discerning eye and laid-back ’pop-up’ style are in the pipeline.
Also unmissable, was RCA’s fourth collaboration with Brioni, which once again saw the work of first year menswear students who had brilliantly designed some rather lovely contemporary men’s tailored coats, and the return of the Esprit RCA Ltd Edition capsule collection, that combined the work of three womenswear graduating students.
Royal College of Art graduate fashion show 2011

Womenswear: Abnit Nijjar
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Millinery: Alexandra Gold
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Womenswear: Amelie Marciasini
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Accessories: Anna Schwamborn
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Womenswear: Anna Smit
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Womenswear: April Schmitz
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Womenswear: Hannah Buswell
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Womenswear: Hao Feng Li
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Womenswear: Helen Turner
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Womenswear: Itziar Vaquer
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Womenswear: Kate Pritchard
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Womenswear: Katie Hildebrand
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Womenswear: Maria Kamper
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Womenswear: Nicola Morgan
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Millinery: Paul Stafford
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Womenswear: Philipp Schueller
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Womenswear: Ruth Green
Green won the Loro Piana award for best knitwear student
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Womenswear: Sarah Seaton-Burridge
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Womenswear: Saskia Schijen
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Womenswear: Sayaka Kamakura
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Womenswear: Victoria Hil
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Menswear: Aleksandra Domanevskaya
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Menswear: Bennet Loveday
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Menswear: Calum Harvey
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Menswear: Cherie Newing
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Menswear: Emily Jane Murray
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Menswear: Fah Chakshuvej
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Menswear: Hannah Taylor
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Menswear: Josefine Jarzombek
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Menswear: Samuel Membery
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Menswear: Sol Ahn
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Menswear: Stefan Orschel-Read
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Menswear: Yejon Park
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Pictured here, the work of RCA graduate alumni, Sibling, in an exhibition curated by Iain R Webb
Phtography: Iain R Webb

Left to right: Katie Eary, James Long, Tomoko Yamanaka for Cabinet
Webb wanted to keep the exhibition format as simple as possible due to the range of disparate, different designers on show
Phtography: Iain R Webb

Left to right: Christopher Bailey for Burberry, Erdem
The curator used materials that were available at the college, and fashioned the exhibition signage with black gaffer tape...
Phtography: Iain R Webb

Left to right: Peter Copping for Nina Ricci, Holly Fulton
... stencilling the names of designers on paper, and used Stockman mannequins from the school’s studios
Phtography: Iain R Webb

Matthew Miller
Phtography: Iain R Webb

Left to right: Eudon Choi, Julien Macdonald
Photography: Iain R Webb

Left to right: Neil Barrett, Carolyn Massey
Phtography: Iain R Webb

Left to right: Soren Bach, Noel Stewart
Phtography: Iain R Webb

Foreground: Aitor Throup
Phtography: Iain R Webb

Left to right: Mason Jung, Peter Copping for Nina Ricci, Holly Fulton
Phtography: Iain R Webb

Left to right: Zara Gorman, Neil Barrett
Phtography: Iain R Webb

Alexander James for Brioni
James was the winner of this year’s competition set by the collaboration between RCA and Brioni
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Alexander Lamb for Brioni
Runner up Lamb was given the ’tailoring’ commendation
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Hiroaki Kanai for Brioni
Runner up Kaiani’s piece was given the ’creativity’ award
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Tariq Mahmoud for Brioni
Runner up Kaiani’s piece was given the ’creativity’ award
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Benedicte Holmboe for Brioni
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Asim Khan for Brioni
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Ichiro Suzuki for Brioni
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Peter Bailey for Brioni
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Rebecca Neary for Brioni
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Tom Crisp for Brioni
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Alex Mullins for Brioni
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Zac Marshal for Brioni
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Amelie Marciasini for Esprit
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Katie Hildebrand for Esprit
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin

Victoria Hill for Esprit
© Royal College of Art / Photography: Dominic Tschudin