Graduate Contour Fashion Show

This evening, I was invited to attend the graduate fashion show of De Montfort University's contour design course. My cousin, currently a lingerie designer herself, had been invited to view the show and I jumped at the offer of attending to help. She was ultimately looking for an assistant to help her start a freelance design company, but was also helping me gain all the contacts that I would need for future work experience and information.

First things first, the lingerie and my personal thoughts. Images are from the official fashion show look book and are taken from that. I have contact details available for all designers so please contact me for any further information:

First to take the runway was Elizabeth (Liz) Richardson, (design pictured left) with her fencing inspired collection. The collection was strong and really fitted together brilliantly, with some iconic pieces that were really allowed to take the centre stage. Also, the outfit pictured, was worn by Sophie Anderton for the runway show.

Secondly, Rhiannon Jones (right) proved a complete contrast to Richardson's collection with a much more dominant and sexual collection, reminiscent of bondage and domination.

Emily-Ann Murray (left) was another of the designers that caught the attention of my cousin and I. Her designs had a very contemporary colour palette, consisting of pale nudes and delicate ivory and cream. The design of the lace pattern as well was something that really struck me as something truly wearable.

Janay Gillick's collection (right) also fascinated me. Her collection building technique was in my opinion second to none, with all six pieces meshing together perfectly, creating a really appealing final look.

Emma Davis (left) greatly impressed my designer cousin who was determined that her main criteria in finding a great assistant designer was the idea of collection building. Emma Davis created a wide variety of outfits with very little, a variety through limitations, which made for a striking final collection.

Annabel Bushe (above right) demonstrated apt knowledge for future and current trends with a collection that would appeal to mass. The collection was neither pretentious nor timid, presenting real wearable garments in a perfect colour palette.

Carley Williamson's collection (left) reminded me of the eccentric, yet extremely exciting and creative work of Jean Charles de Castelbajac. The prints were eye catching and had a real designer feel for them. In particular, her fifth and final piece was a real eye catching, floaty sleeved leotard.


Laura Ramsay (above right) earned herself a huge underline and big tick on my cousin's programme sheet and I watched as she scribbled down thousands of notes about Ramsay's hugely strong collection building process, which in the end presented a wearable, yet fascinating collection.

Finally, the designer that impressed me the most was Samantha Tretton. She had an all round excellent collection, everything from the decision of the colour palette to the final runway styling was perfect. The little touch that made her stand out from the rest of the designers was her quirky styling idea. Each model was styled with a vintage case which they carried in their left arm, all cases were differently sized and shapes from an old battered hat box to a vintage guitar case. The idea was really exciting and interesting and I was really pushing for her during conversations later in the evening.

After the runway show was over, we were invited to a VIP reception afterwards where I had the opportunity to talk to buyers and designers from a whole host of other companies, hoping to get any kind of work experience. I spoke briefly to model Sophie Anderton and managed to gain a contact in Tesco and Nichole de Carle. Probably the most exciting opportunity came from speaking to people from Elle Macpherson and Victoria's Secret who could offer work experience and paid internships all over the world.