June 17, 2025 |
On Sunday, Graduate Fashion Week 2025 – otherwise known as the world’s largest showcase of BA design talent – opened Day Three with a (global) fashion statement. The GFW International Catwalk saw the London runway transform into a cross-continental collision of style, with 18 design institutions in the mix – Accademia della Moda IUAD (Rome), Shih Chien University (Taipei) and Taylor’s University (Malaysia), amongst many others.
First came Japanese designer Manami Makifuki of Osaka Institute of Design, whose femme cavaliers were swathed in kitschy black, ivory and china blue lace. Flouncy tassets – thigh-grazing armour – met matching tutus, while curved shoulder plates shielded the upper body, completing her coquette-ish suits of armour. My final thoughts? Let’s make knight-wear a thing.
Maison Margiela minimalism was in full effect as Japanese-style tabis stepped out onto the runway, while Liu Yingshan’s gold, skull-like face coverings summoned an unmistakable McQueen sensibility – complete with Sarah Burton-style reversals, high-necked modesty, floor-skimming hems and frothy tiered skirts à la Fall 2012. Her finale closed with a crescendo worthy of Savage Beauty – the landmark McQueen retrospective first shown at the Met in 2011 and later at the V&A in 2015 – but whether it lives up to the house’s legacy? That’s for McQueen’s own Po-Chiech Chiu – GFW International co-judge and Men’s Knitwear and Jersey Design Assistant – to decide.
Munich-based visionary Victor Novotny’s first look meant business. He opened with slick merino suiting, all plunge panels and monochrome precision – but soon, the slow creep of greed erupted. Ruby-hued, self-grown crystals first glinted from a briefcase, then began to bloom across necklines and ruched trousers, mimicking “how desire takes over the body.” Titled Ouroboros, his collection morphed from minimalist restraint to full mineral opera, eventually climaxing in a 12kg crystal mountain finale – three months in the growing, eight in the making. Also regarded as a co-founder of Archive D’Accro, Novotny’s GFW capsule rendered crystal cuffs and a seductive jewellery piece that consumed the model’s hand and forearm. He made these from aluminium potassium sulphate due its visual potential and stability – a big feat for a debut label and a must-have for those who revel in commercially collectable pieces.
Soon after, I spent an hour in the life of a 21st-century fashion designer at CAD for Fashion’s tutorial, Sketch to Showcase at the burgeoning digital hub, where generative AI tech transformed flat fashion drawings into photoreal visuals using newfound software like NewArc V3. Led by founder Erica Horne, the session offered a glimpse at a future where a few simple prompts (mine included “fluffy knit”, “mohair blend” and “three-button closure”) could conjure up a cardigan so convincing it might’ve fooled fashion fanatics into thinking it was Marni mohair. “As a designer, it gives you more time to explore, more options to consider, and most importantly more control over your vision,” says Horne.
By midday, pearlescent oyster shell chemises by Lani Anthoney of Bath Spa were shimmering and chiming down the runway. Following behind, a calf-skimming suede trench was trimmed and vented with the same shells – this time painted gold and made into buttons. The look was styled with a raffia clutch and sandals with thick gold and oyster bangles to match.
Ethan Hopkins’ Fallen Clan, on the other hand, stalked the collective show like an elven march through the marshes. Symbols of Celtic heritage – crosses, harnesses, ritual garb – were fabricated into grassy spun knits made in collaboration with Irish manufacturer Donegal Yarns. The palette leaned into peat, mineral greys and neutral greens (pine needle and khaki). Elsewhere, antlers sprouted from leather rigging, mossy shag trims camouflaged jacket collars and half-tucked pinstripe shirts hinted at menswear imbued with folkloric romance, which won Hopkins first place in the Bath Spa x AUB Catwalk prize competition.
Fast-forward a few runaway brides, cherubic pantaloons and pink wigs later, and the day’s awards ceremonies were in full swing. Anna Drust took home the Sportswear and Leisure Award supported by Gymshark; Leran Li claimed the Creative Pattern Cutting Award; Kayleigh Atkinson won for Fashion Innovation; and Kingston University’s Poppy Pritchard-Booth was awarded for Best Fashion Portfolio.
“Plot twists are the norm,” says Izzy Silvers, founder of Mixed Messaged, summing up the shared sentiment of the Making it in Fashion Media panel at GFW. From intern gigs to street casting, digital pivots to accidental platforms, panellists Chani Ra, Julien Vogel and JD Shadel pulled back the curtain on the beautifully chaotic, anything-but-linear paths that shape careers in fashion journalism, PR and content today. The key takeaway? Tell your story before someone else does, as Vogel put it, “That’s the [unique] currency you have when you go for a job.” Forget the five-year plan – build your world, find your people and prepare to pivot.
The last show saw sports and athleisure resurface – first from Keer Yan who paired a mega jersey hoodie and dress underneath, completely zipped with a thick ribbed waistband in grey slate tones. Sagging was spotted two ways: first via a slack sling bag made of denim offcuts, and second, in dropped trousers worn as looked like conjoined legwarmer jeans.
But it was Winchester’s Jasmine Norbury who closed the day with the most fully realised display: frilly, hyper-femme sportswear built from upcycled football kits, swaggering down the runway in a gender-defiant riff on lad – or rather, lady culture. One standout look was a deconstructed tracksuit in red and white, spliced with corset seams and ruched panels, revealing a diamanté thong emblazoned her brand, Subversion Ldn. The figure-hugging bottoms – courtesy of 2000’s Juicy Couture pattern cuts – featured back pockets embellished with Adidas three-stripe detailing and England club badges. A bag was made from an old boxing jacket, in a rosette idea (her choice of motif), and on the feet were boxing and football boots revamped by Norbury – who, by the way transformed her tutor husband’s kicks into killer heels, turning Look 2 and 3 into total footie-femme fatales. (So, Martine Rose, if you’re in need of some hot grad talent, GFW day three’s Jasmine Norbury is the name to remember.)
Top image: looks by Manami Makifuki of Osaka Institute of Design, photography courtesy of Graduate Fashion Week.
