February 15, 2019 |
25 graduate designers. 25 perspectives. 25 different visions of the future. The final, graduate show of the Central Saint Martins MA Fashion programme is always a true spectacle. A fine selection of the year’s graduates come together to present what they’ve been working on for the past couple of years, all in the form of 10 (or so) looks. A tough scenario – having to showcase all of your creative vision as part of this group show. Or so you’d think. But Class of 2019 made it look nothing but easy.
Each totally different from the other, the main consensus was creative diversity. As Stavros Karelis said in his speech just before announcing the winners of the yearly L’Oréal Prize of Creativity (this year the Machine-A founder had the honours of picking the laureates) – it was a very important moment for these 25 creatives. The community in the spotlight is the one that keeps pushing us further. They are the McQueens and Kanes of the future, and seeing their baby steps was absolutely inspiring.
Kareis picked Goom Heo & Sheryn Akiki for the win, celebrating each of their totally different aesthetics. Goom Heo presented a collection of menswear that flirted with humour in a way men’s fashion rarely does. Plastic groin guards implemented in the garments and thigh-high mohair socks completed the looks which were all about questioning the form of a male body. Despite being totally different in terms of style, Sheryn Akiki did something quite similar in womenswear. Her distressed sexiness formed in a cut-and-paste sort off way, serving slashed looks of women on their way to conquer the world – dishevelled hair and all. A pink power suit stood out, something we’ll most definitely be shopping for at Machine-A in the months to come.
Photographs by Jason-Lloyd Evans.
