The Class of 2014: Lingerie & Sportswear Show

Before I went on holiday I introduced you to Collective 205, a group of 20 BA Fashion Contour students and 6 BA Fashion Sportswear students from London College of Fashion who have got together to stage their own exhibition of their graduate collections. Tonight, I popped along to the preview and was extremely impressed with the work on show. Every single one of the designers showing this week has spent a great deal of time and effort putting together their graduate collections, so it’s very exciting to be able to see the results. Upon arrival, we were greeted with smiles, drinks and given a lookbook before being invited to peruse a selection of beautifully printed images, carefully designed and handmade garments, plus a fantastic array of models showing off the collections in all their glory. Understandably, it was a very busy evening!

From Pippa Davidson‘s minimalist capsule collection, Amber Humphrey‘s feminine lace creations and the cleverly crafted silk prints used in Bronte Phelps‘ luxury lingerie, through to Isabella Imam‘s beautifully sleek and stylish yoga brand ELLA YUJ and Signe Hjort Christensen‘s effortlessly grown up sport leisure collection Sunday Street, there was much to suit the sort of woman who shops at Selfridges for her lingerie and sportswear. It wasn’t all luxury womenswear though, and I was rather taken with Min Jun Kim‘s Carnival Night collection of sportswear for playing football in the dark! I snapped a photo of his rather lovely model, which you can find over on Twitter.

The collections which grabbed my attention and would not let go were designed by Hala Zubari and Zoë Greening. Hala has “designed an active underwear collection that focuses on pole fitness. The brand Glamazons focuses on underwear specifically tailored to the sport for maximum comfort and visual appearance” – the print, fabrics, designs and stylish imagery definitely flagged this as a brand to watch! My other favourite was Zoë Greening‘s candy coloured retro styled graduate collection. I love the photographs of her garments, but seeing them up close was even better as the cut and finish was as beautiful as her stunning cat print fabric. She also had some stylish pieces on display that were a collaboration with Faye Van Andel for the LCF BA14 catwalk show – this is one very talented lady!

There is a lot more on offer at the exhibition though, so I urge you to go and visit if you are able to. If not, I shall try to get my photos up on the Facebook page asap. I shall be featuring some more of the designers here on Rarely Wears Lipstick over the next few weeks, so keep a look out for more from these bright young stars.

The Collective205 exhibition exhibition will be open to the public tomorrow, Tuesday 8th July 10am-6pm at Blackall Studios, 73 Leonard Street, Shoreditch, London EC2A 4QS. Follow Collective205 on Twitter and Instagram for more details.