GFW catwalk show: Manchester Metropolitan University

This was the last show of the day and, despite it being a consistently excellent course, I was surprised to see so many empty seats as I would have thought lots more would want to check it out. Perhaps there is call to start the shows earlier in the day - although am sure that after 18 years GFW know what they are doing!
This was another show, like Nottingham Trent, which has a high degree of professionalism. That said, I felt it had more of the humour that was slightly lacking from NTU.
...design highlights to follow...

GFW catwalk show: Nottingham Trent University

Nottingham Trent University, despite consistently churning out A-grade players, remains resolutely under the radar. Perhaps it is the London-centric attitude of the industry, I don't know, but it seems undeserved; interestingly I had met a 2007 NTU graduate at the Fashion Fusion Awards, whose work (and that of a fellow graduate) was superlative; both had found it difficult to make the step into the capital's fashion industry and had had to return north to make some money and get more experience before giving another try.
This show was show stopper after show stopper. There were no chinks in the armour of this showcase. The only downside to this, that I could see, was that with the professionalism there was no room for playfulness; until fairly recently graduates were criticised for the lack of reality in their design approach, but arguably this is what also makes the heart rise while watching graduate shows. Each collection was fabulous, wearable, tangible, but I would have liked one or two that made a strike out into sillliness, even if just a smattering.
With each graduate so proficient, so slick, I didn't envy any of the selection panel for the show, or for the gala as I would imagine it to be a hard task indeed.
...design highlights to follow...