Graduate Fashion Week

I’m excited about this one. Whilst London Fashion Week is mostly for the well established designer to showcase his or her latest genius, GFW is debatably more exciting. Running since 1991, it holds shows from all the up-and-comingers from 61 universities up and down the country so if you have an eye for it, you’ll be picking out the designers of the future as they saunter down the runway for the first time.

Matthew Williamson, Christopher Bailey and Stella McCartney have all shown at Graduate Fashion Week. River Island have sponsored the event for the last six years. The graduate who is crowned GFW ruler wins £20,000 to kick start their label; some of the key pieces from their collection are also put into the limited edition section of the River Island flagship on Oxford Street. The prestigious Gold award for Womenswear was won by Myrto Stamou last year.

The event aims to promote the talent of BA Graduates and is a progression from the Smirnoff UK Fashion Awards that used to be held annually in the 80’s. The event has had a tough time with sponsorship in the past and at times, it was left to the participating colleges and universities to pay their way forward. Thank God for tuition fees. The Heads overcame the problem by registering the event as an educational charity in 1994.

GFW takes place at Earls Court on the 6th to the 10th of June, click here to see details of ticket prices and dates.