Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) is celebrating another successful Graduate Fashion Week with five awards for its undergraduates from the BA (Hons) Fashion and BA (Hons) Fashion Branding and Communication courses.
The 32nd Graduate Fashion Week (GFW) at The Old Truman Brewery in East London ran from 10–13 June, providing the largest platform in the world for BA fashion talent. Students from across the UK showcased their final-year collections across 26 different fashion disciplines including design, creative direction, marketing, communication, photography, illustration and all aspects of the contemporary fashion industry.
El Crehan, Course Leader and Senior Lecture for BA (Hons) Fashion, says, “For our students, Graduate Fashion Week is the culmination of three years of study. It’s a huge event in every way, with portfolios and project work displayed on our stand, competitions, interviews with industry, and, of course, the catwalk show. They’re presenting their ideas to industry, the media, and the wider world, the opportunities here are very real, and very exciting.
“11 of our fashion students were showcasing their collections on this year’s GFW catwalk, and we’re all very proud of them. Emily Lanham was awarded ‘Best in Show’ by the judges on the day for her menswear collection inspired by bedding. She was particularly interested in the interaction between the body and bedding, offering an abstract form of comfort and security, in times of uncertainty spanning the globe. Emily was also shortlisted for the Graduate Fashion Foundation Creative Pattern Cutting Award.”
This year’s catwalk show opened with an impressive digital fashion showcase made collaboratively by BA (Hons) Fashion students Emma Andrews and Alex Matheson. The film showed a virtual reality showroom inspired by our iconic CRAB Drawing Studio, designed by alumnus Sir Peter Cook, and included digital garments from a majority of the graduating class of 2024.
Both students were shortlisted for the Digital Fashion Award, which was later won by Emma Andrews who presented the work alongside her refreshing take on inclusive fashion which caters for the plus-size menswear market, which is massively underrepresented in the current fashion landscape.
Holly Evans won the prestigious Fashion Illustration Award for communicating her collection design concepts through her exceptional illustrations, while Nicole Singleton won the Next Trend Forecasting Award, which focuses on exciting and innovative approach to concept generation to inform designs.
BA (Hons) Fashion Branding and Communication's Brandon Bolland scooped the Fashion Styling and Creative Direction Award for his portfolio of five editorial stories addressing a wide variety of issues and narratives while communicating effectively through the evaluation of the needs of the client.
Corinna Budnarowska, Course Leader and Senior Lecturer on BA (Hons) Fashion Branding and Communication at AUB, said, “This was one of our best years yet in terms of awards shortlisted, and talent showcased. We’re all thrilled with the achievements of our brilliant students, who all received such positive feedback on their innovative projects, and several have been approached with collaborative industry opportunities to kickstart their careers.”
GFW 2024 hosted a series of talks and masterclasses, including topics such as how to start a viral fashion brand, understanding generative AI, what fashion recruiters are looking for, and how graduates can turn their ideas into reality. In a first for this year, AUB presented its MA Digital Fashion Innovation at The Masters Hub.
Elena added, “We’re thrilled with this year’s GFW, It’s the perfect way to celebrate the successes of our students, watch their confidence soar and see them launch into their careers and next chapters which we will be watching with interest!”
Find out more about studying BA (Hons) Fashion and BA (Hons) Fashion Branding and Communication at AUB.
