Zoe (left) and Sara (right) hard at work at TheMuse.tv launch party. Images courtesy of Themuse.tv

Last month, London College of Fashion students lent their creative magic to help launch new fashion website TheMuse.tv, a new fashion community for young women with blogs, videos competitions and more.

LCF students were tasked with helping to set the creative fashion atmosphere, customising T-shirts for the industry, press and VIP guests in attendance at stations with fabrics, paints, sewing machines and more all provided for them.

Sara Arnesén, currently studying BA (Hons) Fashion Design Technology Womenswear, Zoe Sterling BA (Hons) Fashion Design Technology Surface Textiles and Scarlett Giannakou, BA (Hons) Fashion Illustration also showcased their work in glass cabinets at the venue, along with their inspirational sketchbooks.

Scarlett (seated) with guests queuing up to get unique T-shirts. Image courtesy of Themuse.tv

Zoe, currently in her second year, specialising in embroidery said:

It was very exciting to work where there was such a lively atmosphere which was focused around new talent and fashion. Creating something that guests could take away as a memento from the evening, and be able to put in their own wardrobe, was an honour as I haven’t even graduated yet!

Scarlett added:

I wanted to be involved because it looked like an exciting up and coming website with great editors such as the famous blogger Simon Glazin from The Very Simon .G and for fashionistas of all trends. The night was amazing and I was swamped with requests for the t-shirts and illustrations – as well as from  a few famous faces. I enjoyed the fast paced environment and thought it was a great way to network.

Sara, also in her second year of study also added:

I really enjoyed the experience, not only was it a fun event to attend but also a great opportunity to network, meet new people and showcase my work.

LCF student work on display at the launch party. Image courtesy of Themuse.tv

• Have a look at TheMuse.tv launch film to see our students in action

Image from TOMS Eyewear Catalogue

Students on the BA (Hons) Creative Direction for Fashion course are being given the opportunity to design a visually inspiring TOMS window display on one of London’s busiest shopping streets. Two students will be selected by a panel of LCF experts and representatives from TOMS. The winners will each take a two-week slot across both shop front window spaces during the final 4-weeks of the Pop-up shop.

This project celebrates the TOMS pop-up shop, but is also part of their One for One campaign for their new eyewear range. With every pair purchased, TOMS will help give sight to a person in need. As more everyday choices have the power to impact the lives of those around the world, the TOMS movement will continue to grow and evolve.

• Learn more on the TOMS blog
• BA (Hons) Creative Direction for Fashion
• TOMS Eyewear

Left to right; Andrew Hughes form LCF, Nick Robertson from ASOS and George Davies, founder of Next.

Four MA Strategic Fashion Marketing students were announced as the winners of the ‘Brand Britain’ collaboration between London College of Fashion and Retail Week. The winning students, Dorcas Kissi, Shivani Patel, Carolina Lopez Suarez and Lucy Elliott presented concepts that linked iconic British brand Temperley, to the London 2012 Olympics and ‘Brand Britain’. (more…)

BA (Hons) Fashion Design Technology: Womenswear students Katja Gerasimova, Nicola Brindle, Loko Yu will be taking part in The Fashion Capitals of the World Project. The project is a cultural collaboration of fashion design and fashion photography, presented as part of the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival’s Cultural Program, one of Australia’s premier fashion festivals.

The Fashion Capitals of the World Event provides the opportunity to bring together new and emerging designers from the fashion capitals of Europe and Australia in a runway show that gives each designer the chance to tell their story; each narrative informed by a sense of origin and place.

(more…)

The Polish-British Fashion Show took place in February this year presenting work from fashion institutions in Poland and Great Britain. Two LCF graduates Nova Chiu (BA Fashion Design Technology: Fashion Textiles 2011) and Susanna Bettancourt (MA Digital Fashion 2011) represented Great Britain in the fashion show which took place in the Orangery of the Palace Museum in Wilanow. (more…)

A mix of the School of Design and Technology students pieces from:

• Womenswear
• Menswear
• Tailoring
• Contour
• Sportswear
• Accessories
• Jewellery

Featuring street casted models from the 2011 BA catwalk show.

• Read more about the 2011 street casting
• Apply for 2012 street casting

Shoot Credits

• ‘WhichCraft’ Photo shoot August 2011
• Photography: James Finnigan and Tim Hill
• Creative Direction: Rob Phillips
• Organiser: Gillian J Evans
• Beauty: Kayoko Kishi and Oonah Anderson
• On Location: Fleet, UK. With thanks to the Finnigan Family

BSc Cosmetic Science students have used beeswax harvested from the hives on the sixth floor roof garden at John Prince’s Street to formulate a lip balm.

After a theory session where students learnt about the components of bees wax and how it mixes with other ingredients, students started a practical session, removing the beeswax from the hives during the last harvest and combining it with Shea butter and Lanolin oil to make the lip balm.

The BSc Cosmetic Science course has now been extended to an integrated MSc level allowing students the option to take study further to Master of Science level.

• View course information

L-R: Presenter Gemma Cairney, Monica Welburn, Max Hailwood and Nick Smith at the BBC 1Xtra studios. Image courtesy of BBC 1Xtra

To mark the first day of London Fashion Week, BBC Radio 1Xtra continued their regular fashion coverage by hosting a live discussion on the Gemma Cairney afternoon show, with a host of fashion experts including accessories designer Fred Butler, Fashion blogger and model Bip Ling, stylist Leanne Soki Mak and of course, London College of Fashion students!

Students Monica Welburn, Max Hailwood and Nick Smith, all studying BA (Hons) Fashion Journalism at LCF, were invited to be part of the fashion panel joining Gemma to discuss trends, London Fashion Week in general, and also take part in her so OTM (Of The Moment) feature.

Second year student Monica, whose blog The Elgin Avenue recently won the Marie Claire Blog Award for best fashion blog said of the experience:

Nerve wracking as it can be on live radio I absolutely LOVED it! We are so lucky at LCF to be supported in our pursuits in to the real-life fashion industry, being on Radio 1Xtra was a ton of fun and it was great to be able to chat London Fashion Week and trends with Gemma Cairney who, like us, clearly loves to fly the flag for the British fashion industry. What a great opportunity – one of many amongst the media World for LCF students!

Nick, Monica and Max in the Radio 1Xtra green room before going live on the Gemma Cairney show. Image taken from Monica's blog The Elgin Avenue

• See the overview of the whole show here
• Read more about BA (Hons) Fashion Journalism
• Visit Monica’s award winning blog The Elgin Avenue

Jena.Theo AW12 on the Catwalk at London Fashion Week

This London Fashion week saw a host of esteemed LCF alumni debuting or returning to showcase their collections to the international fashion elite.

Design duo Jena.Theo, A.K.A Jenny Holmes and Dimitris Theocharidis showed, their Autumn/Winter 2012/13 collection ‘Heavy Metal’ on the first day of London Fashion Week.

• Read the British Vogue show report

Nova Chiu, having won the coveted collection of the Year at the 2011 LCF BA runway show, was immediately picked up by Vauxhall Fashion Scout for their ONES TO WATCH. Nova’s show marked her debut on the catwalk since her graduate collection.

• Read what Rachel Oku of Creative Idle thought of the collection
• Read an exclusive interview with Nova on Pop Magazine’s blog

Autumn/ Winter 2012 by Nova Chiu. Image courtesy of Vauxhall Fashion Scout

Menswear graduate and recipient of the British Fashion Council NEWGEN sponsorship, J.W. Anderson showcased his womenswear collection which he debuted in 2010, and his menswear collection as part of the Menswear day.

• Read the interview ‘Meet Mr Anderson’ profiling one of London’s young rising stars by Rebecca Gonsalves in the Independent

Fellow menswear graduate James Long, who showcased his womenswear collection as part of Fashion East, also showed on Menswear day and live streamed his show from the BFC Live website.

• Read the Dazed Digital show report and images

Ada Zanditon, a graduate from BA (Hons) Fashion Design Technology – Womenswear presented her AW 12/13 collection ‘Simia Mineralis’ as part of the Digital Schedule at the BFC Screening Room at Somerset House, whilst also showcasing her ready to wear collection at the Estethica exhibition, the British Fashion Council’s ethical initiative.

• Read what ethical blog Ecouterre thought of the presentation and see show images

Baartmans & Siegel AW12 at Vauxhall Fashion Scout. Image courtesy of Alina Negoita, Vauxhall Fashion Scout

Baartmans &Siegel, after being selected as ONES TO WATCH by Vauxhall Fashion Scout last year, design duo Wouter Baartmans and Amber Siegel – who met whilst studying menswear at both MA and BA level at London College of Fashion – showed on Menswear Day as part of Vauxhall Fashion Scout.

• Read the Amelia’s Magazine show report with original illustrations

Joseph Turvey, having only graduated this year and showing his collection a mere 3 weeks ago at the LCF MA_12 catwalk show, debuted at London Fashion Week as part of Vauxhall Fashion Scout.

• Read what Fashion 156 made of his London Fashion Week debut

Asger Juel Larson, was the last LCF designer to showcase on Menswear day at London Fashion Week. Asger, who came through the ranks at LCF having studied both at BA level and MA level and was heralded as a ‘ONE TO WATCH’ for AW11, who is showed on the catwalk in a collaboration with designer T.Lipop.

• Read the Fashion 156 report and images

Charlotte Simpson being interviewed by Jessica Bumpus from British Vogue at the Vauxhall Fashion Scout Exhibition. Image Courtesy of Rowan Papier, Vauxhall Fashion Scout

Up and coming designers Jennifer Morris (MA Fashion Design Technology Womenswear 2011), Charlotte Simpson (MA_12 graduate from MA Fashion Design Technology Womenswear), Christina Hamilton (MA_12 graduate from MA Fashion Artefact) and Lucia Liu (BA Fashion Design Technology Womenswear 2011), were all featured designers at the Vauxhall Fashion Scout Exhibition which ran throughout London Fashion Week.

• Read the exhibition highlights on the Vauxhall Fashion Scout Daily Blog

The Exhibition at London Fashion Week – which is a carefully curated selection of 120 emerging and established accessories, jewellery and ready-to-wear designer brands -played host to an unprecedented number of ONES TO WATCH from LCF, including footwear designers Camilla Skovgaard, Kat Maconie and Joanne Stoker, all graduates from footwear courses at Cordwainers at London College of Fashion. Joining the footwear stars was accessories designer Kate Sheridan, and ethical lingerie designer Charini Suriyage, who showed as part of the Esthetica exhibition.

Fannie Schiavoni, who studied for a Diploma in Production Tailoring (now available as  foundation degree) before going onto BA (Hons) Fashion Design Technology Womenswear will showed her collection to international buyers having already gained notoriety winning the BFC NEWGEN sponsorship.  Also showcasing his collection at the BFC exhibition was Omar Kashoura, who graduated from London College of Fashion’s BA (Hons) Fashion Design Technology course in 2004 with first class honours.

Film still from Fanny & Jessy's fashion film, 'Kings', directed by Danny Sangra

Fanny & Jessy, who graduated in 2009 presented their collection as part of the Digital schedule this year under the new Fash/On Film initiative, with their fashion film ‘Kings’ being screen at the Canon cinema space.

• Watch the full length fashion film on Fanny & Jessy’s blog

All in all it was a fantastic London Fashion Week for LCF alumni, with a definite buzz about these young designers showcasing their work – we can’t wait to see what the future holds for these rising stars with very bright futures ahead of them.

Joseph Turvey's collection on the catwalk at the MA show. Image: Chris Moore / Catwalking.com

London Fashion Week officially begins today and is a highlight of the international fashion calendar. This season promises to be another stand out year for LCF’s incredibly talented alumni who are debuting or returning to showcase their collections to the fashion elite.

Here we bring you a roundup of the freshest LCF talent breaking into the fashion industry at London Fashion Week February 2012, including MA_12 designers who showed a matter of weeks ago in the beautiful surroundings of the V&A and Victoria House who have already been snapped up to showcase their graduate collections.

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