It is not often we can get a peek at the future. Fashion moves so fast these days as to make any trends quickly redundant. At the Raffles graduation show held in Waterloo overnight, we saw the future of design that ironically had its eye cast back to the sixties and seventies as a recurring theme, opening with some psychedelic prints in a competition partnered by Woolmark. The doors of The Commune opened at 6pm sharp to an excited crowd, eager to take in the displays, champagne and glorious feast put out, before rushing on the front row seats of the catwalk. Raffles College is renowned for spitting out some of the biggest names of Australian fashion and tonight’s showcase was just as promising. These are just some of the young guns to look out for!
Rebekah De Jong‘s debut had some strong openers. The sharp graphic digital prints in orange and blue were the highlight, offering up a punch of colour and an acute sense of self that depicted a modern and edgy designer. The opening midi dress with long sleeves and a sheer mesh panel down the centre-front delved into streetwear, whilst the follow up jumpsuit with flared black pants, and printed blouse with heavy rope details bordered a more sophisticated design territory.
De Jong’s theme of “natural occurrences” is inspired by stories that have impacted the designer, but it is unclear exactly what those stories entail. Drawn to the colours in nature, the artist has appropriated them into a more modern palette with sharp geometric forms. One sheer net maxi over pants was an example of the designers minimalist interests, simple in form and cut well on the body, its something I could see heading straight to the red carpet on the likes of Cate Blanchett. If De Jong can commit to that minimalistic approach and master the use of colour, than we could have a very striking designer here.
Lilly James opened with a crowd pleaser: a very strong female form in a halter two – piece and trailing overcoat. Here is a collection that managed to maintain its identity the whole way through, and still secure nuances of design through its use of texture and materials. The designer immigrated from Africa at a young age, leaving behind one of her biggest influences in her grandmother. Before she left, her grandmother’s own profession as an interior designer had left an indelible mark on the young girl. Lily watched as she would make traditional African crafts using only the finest Lapa (African Materials). That spirit of colour synonymous in African design is presented here in more earthen tones mixing almost upholstery-like fabric against panels of faux fur. It was a sophisticated collection that could be marketed to a wide age group, from its elegant lounge wear to it’s more playful resort pieces.
Jasmine Gollan was a standout on the night. Her pieces move almost aerodynamically down the runway, and deserved to be seen in motion. Very feminine and very accessible; albeit, sometimes very sheer. Gollan has a deft hand for manipulating light fabric into volume, incorporating peekaboo shoulders, sheer overlays and bell sleeves against gathered ruffles in a sweet palate of white, grey and dusty nudes. The inspiration for the collection is very niche and well thought out. It comes from the Utopic creations of The Paper Architects (Brodsky and Utkin) and Gollan references one of their quotes as an outline for her aesthetic mission,
“a window into a fantastical world somewhere between dream and reality, where memories of the past and vision of the future collide.”
Whilst the ethereal qualities of the fabric may carry out the execution of this vision, it is the substance through structure, which grounds them into something wearable.
Another designer to look out for is Patrick Udommongkol. Patrick has collaborated with artist Thomas Skurrin to provide the texture and colour in his muted but effective prints. The toned down quality of his work comes from his interest in Brutalist Architecture, a movement which favoured strong raw materials over decorative forms. One of the most successful looks of the night was his two-piece layered ruffled skirt under a cropped top with oversized sleeves. The look was modern, edgy, youthful – everything you want to see from a young designer. His jumpsuit with harness and bell bottom flares was also a strong moment. However, the collection could have benefited from more colour and variance in silhouettes. Even though his inspiration restricts the use of colour, often Brutalist buildings will feature in their lobbies bright modern and sculptural works of art that Patrick could have utilised to take this collection to the next level.
Where Patrick lacked colour, Haya Muhammad supplied it. The designers collection is a modern day ode to Ossie Clark’s designs from the swinging sixties; replete with bright hues, fun florals and maxi length volume. Haya’s inspiration came from a mash up of East and West in a positive display of culture, reflecting her own Northern Pakistani and Australian origins. The colours were a success, her use of print is very intuitive and would certainly make for a strong signature and brand-building exercise. We will no doubt see more of Haya Muhammad in the future!
Student work is often notoriously egregious; but, let’s not forget this is merely the launch pad for their voice, and not necessarily representative of the designer they will be when they enter the market. In contrast, the designers at this years show are already quite polished, for better or worse there was a serious lack of the Avant-garde. The graduation show is perhaps the last place of creative freedom for the designers, who are unfettered by commercial realities and industry demands, so it is interesting to see most designers thinking ahead at this stage; perhaps that is the underlying message of this years Disrupt theme. Showcases like these should be celebrated for its nuances of design either extreme or subtle in its forward thinking, for we may just come upon the next big thing.
If you attended the show or have thoughts on the designers included in this showcase we’d love to hear from you below!