Fashion Show poised to inspire

Inspiration comes from the most unlikely of places in this year’s Edinburgh College of Art Fashion Show.

Hidden Tuscan archways, comic book heroes, macabre fairy tales and even 1980s pop icon Kate Bush have influenced the next generation of designers.

Their work is on show from 23 to 25 May at the University’s Playfair Library, the first time the Old College space has played host to the event.

Best ever show

Nine catwalk shows will be held in what is one of Scotland’s biggest fashion events. Each dramatic multimedia performance will feature outfits from students studying fashion, performance costume, and textiles.

Three shows will take place each day: 3pm, 6.30pm, 8.30pm. The 3pm show is for school pupils.

We are looking forward to showcasing the exceptional range of work designed and produced by this year’s graduating cohort in the magnificent Playfair Library. The staff and students have been working extremely hard to ensure that our inaugural show at the University will be our best ever.

The show is proud to welcome back Scotland’s leading independent investment manager Baillie Gifford as the main sponsor.

Fashion

In fashion the highlight is the collections of the 17 graduating students. The outfits include a diverse range of designs whose inspiration includes everything from skinhead fashion to the Baroque architecture of Dumfries House in Ayrshire.

One outfit visually represents the sound wave of the music that will accompany it down the catwalk.

Five of the graduating students have been accepted to study at the Royal College of Art, a record for one ECA class.

One student, Louise Bennetts, is one of only four finalists recently nominated for the prestigious British Fashion Council Nicole Fahri Award.

Performance costume

The work of 14 graduating students will be the centrepiece of the performance costume strand.

Their stunning outfits have been inspired by the likes of Neil Gaiman’s ghoulish The Graveyard Book, Angela Carter’s macabre fairy tale, The Bloody Chamber, Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love and a crumbling London estate.

One chainmail outfit has been made from 25,000 safety pins.

We have a fantastic year of graduating students. We hope audiences will be delighted and mesmerised by their stunning costume designs on display this year highlighting their versatility, creativity, passion and dedication.

Textiles

The three graduating textiles students have collaborated with both the fashion and performance costume strands.

The spectacular results include an outfit that turns the knitting process inside out, an evening gown redolent of 1940s film noir, and prints that echo the designs of Indian jewellery.

Diversity in fashion

As well as the graduating collections, the fashion show will unveil several other student projects.

All Walks Beyond the Catwalk: Fashion and the Muse tasked second year fashion students to reimagine the diverse representations of men and women through fashion design.

Stage two performance costume students have created large scale puppets, including a giant elephant, while stage three students designed outfits for a production of Noel Coward’s 1930s play The Vortex.

Platform for success

The fashion department is the only one in Scotland to show on the catwalk at the annual Graduate Fashion Week in London.

Former students have been employed by Prada, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Gucci, Diesel, Sonia Rykiel Paris and many others. Performance costume graduates now work in film, TV and theatre across the world, including designing outfits for HBO's Game of Thrones.

Graduates include Holly Fulton, Young Designer of the Year Awards at the Scottish Fashion Awards, and Stewart Parvin, designer of Zara Phillips’ wedding dress and official couturier to the Queen.

Event details