University Of Westminster Wraps 2023/24 Academic Year With Strong Graduate Shows

On June 14 and 18, University of Westminster staged two graduate runway shows presenting a series of strong looks at the industrial Ambika P3 space located at the university’s Marylebone campus. Named one of London’s greatest fashion schools, Westminster says the shows form a crucial part in breeding the next generation of talents and providing students with a platform to present their work to industry professionals, potential employers, and the media.

One of the four fashion capitals most known for embracing an array of diversities in culture and aesthetics — demure and polished coexisting in harmony with the bold and grunge — the fashion scene in London is not dissimilar in spirit to Spice Girl’s “Wannabe” music video that came out in 1996. Synonymous with the talent emerging from its schools, the city offers an eco-system for some of the biggest names and figureheads in the international landscape.

Counting S.S.Daley, Ashley Williams, Paolo Carzana, and Priya Ahluwalia, amongst others, as notable alumni, Westminster was founded in 1838 with a mission to educate the working people of London, and now helps students from over 169 nationalities reach their potential with a unique teaching style that’s practical and relevant yet contemporary.

Celebrating individualism and technical excellence, the B.A. Graduate Show features original collections of over 100 styled looks from 22 students, showing a range of concepts and competencies from working with 3D printing and embroidery to exquisit tailoring and theatrical graphics. “The variety and breadth of the collections shown today is testament to the calibre and dedication of the students and the staff team who support them.” says Course Director Rosie Wallin.

With many fashion schools opting out of graduate shows, Westminster says it will continue to assign resources in supporting of the University’s annual event. Andrew Groves, Professor at Westminster and Director of the Westminster Menswear Archive, says of all the ways that it’s possible to present fashion, a runway show is best way to “communicate a designer’s vision, on the body in front of a live audience”, and also “the quickest way for a consensus to be formed by the audience, and for that to then be transmitted to the wider world.”

“For the school, it showcases the talent and creativity of our students, reinforcing our reputation as a leading institution for fashion education.” Groves adds.

Students from the M.A. Menswear course demonstrated concrete knowledge in fabrics and design with elements inspired by a wide spectrum — from sports and utility to dressed-down formal wear — delivered in a host of unique silhouettes and prints.

In answering how the curriculum and style of teaching have evolved over the past years, Groves speaks of how the establishment of the Westminster Menswear Archive in 2016 enabled object-based research as a design methodology within the school. “This has allowed students to study the cut, construction, and materiality of over 2000 garments to inform their own work,” Groves explains, and adds that by analyzing and critiquing the work of other designers, students will be able to develop a deeper understanding of their own aesthetic and approach.

Frequently used by the industry’s big names such as Gucci, C.P. Company, Dunhill, Supreme, and Bottega Veneta, Groves says the archive also provides students with “an invaluable networking opportunity to get a first foot in the door.”

To an untrained eye, a fashion graduate thesis in the form of a wearable creation may seem too whimsical and far-removed from reality. So in teaching fashion — one that often combine history with the vast unknown that could be inspired by everything — how does one encourage individual creativity and expansive imagination whilst instilling the importance of wearability and commercial adapability?

“I often tell students that they have made clothes, but have they made fashion?” says Groves, and notes that the graduation show is the moment when this particular point can be assessed. “However creative a designer is on a runway, to be successful, their designs need to merge the desire of fashion with the reality of clothing. Steven Stokey-Daley, who I taught at Westminster, understood this fine balance, which is why he not only won the LVMH Prize but also has a thriving business.”