FASHION MAKES STYLE: LCF WOMENSWEAR

1915
London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London started life as three trade schools: Shoreditch Technical Institute Girls School (1906) with Barrett Trade School (1915) and Clapham Trade School (1920). These schools trained girls in the art of dressmaking, millinery, embroidery and hairdressing. Here is LCF's first dressmaking room in 1915.

1930s
In the 1930s and through World War II, the schools realised the significance of the fledgling ready-to-wear market and trained pupils accordingly. This radical approach to design education is as pioneering today as it was back then.

1958
"Fashion for Beaux and Belles" Fashion show in 1958

Jiali Lu, MA18

Andrew Ko explores female strength
Describe your collection in five words...
"Dark, new avant-garde, timeless, fierce and serious."

Find out about Andrew Ko's graduate collection on LCF News

Lorenzo Buzzi
"My collection is called The Story of Vanda. I was inspired by a book that explores the role of women in 1920-60s American society. The book talked about women in advertising campaigns and the way males created this perception of what women had to be at that time."

Zhixian Wang

"My final collection is based on San Mao, Chinese poet and writer. San Mao spent her whole life seeking freedom and true love, she had a romantic but sad love story with her husband in the Sahara desert. I love her poems and stories, so I wanted to use her in my collection, I wanted to represent her story in my design style... she was a very strong woman."

Find out about Zhixian Wang's graduate collection on LCF News

Ning Xu explores functionality
"Every garment is reversible, and the detachable details such as the collar, the hood or the pocket, offer a different way of wearing the garments."

Find out about Ning Xu's graduate collection on LCF News

Dmitry Gotsfried, MA18

Gayane Arzumanova
"My graduate collection has a strong textile influence – the shapes and silhouettes revealed from collages are exaggerated, with minimal details. I have developed the illusion of stone texture using leather melting techniques. My team and I have achieved the creation of a transient moment, and the illusion of thickness and softness."
Find out about Gayane Arzumanova's graduate collection on LCF News

Eren, MA18
" The concept is about exploring the imaginative fourth dimension and twisted space, by expanding my practice into untried forms of three-dimensionally intertwined weaves."

Find out about Eren Hayashi's graduate collection on LCF News

Lauren Lake
"My final collection is called ‘Some Girls Aren’t Meant to Be Tamed’. The inspiration came from traditional Roma Gypsies, it’s based on their rawness and their fun edge, mixed with a modern-day women. I mixed it with traditional Inuit dress and women of that culture."
Find out about Lauren Lake's graduate collection on LCF News

Chen Zhi
"While Playground, an all-knitwear collection, conveys playfulness and lightness, it is underpinned by highly intricate and sophisticated structures. The elaborate patterns, rich colours and distinct textures are all knitted into one piece of seamless fabric."

Find out about Roberta Kruminaite on Showtime

Desirée Slabik

Describe your collection in 5 words...
"Sculptural, organic, white – colourful, conceptual, tactile"

Find out about Desirée Slabik's graduate collection on LCF News

Tsitsi Fred, BA (Hons) Fashion Textiles, with her work at the Lime Grove site.

Ruoya Xu, MA18

Katrina Wilson

"The collection incorporated a lot of print and knotting. It was very spontaneous. Tribes had a practical and functional element, but they also painted their bodies because they wanted to show off and represent themselves with colour and drawings and it was very creative and inspired by nature. So that’s where the prints come from."

Jaewon Sophie Kim
"The shapes come from John Chamberlain’s works where parts of cars were crushed and twisted. The shapes were first developed in paper on stand by cutting, twisting, and adding volume with paper shapes. Then they were refined and developed into wearable garment details – collars and sleeves – or as decorative features for example."

Find out about Jaewon Sophie Kim's graduate collection on LCF News

Emily-Louise Coveney
Describe your work in five words...
"Fun, adventurous, textural, detailed, mystical."

Find out about Olga Tytarenko, Emily-Louise Coveney and Nina De Marco's graduate collection on LCF News

Hyone Chi
"I used minimal fabrics and colours, so the focus was on the characteristics of the design. I only used black so people could really see and feel the silhouette and details of garments as they are."
Find out about Hyone Chi's graduate collection on LCF News

Yutong Jiang
"‘Naughty girl’ emerged as the initial character and the soul of this collection. ‘Naughty’ suggests a combination of ‘Rebellious’, ‘Crazy’ and ‘Sexy’ and implies a sense of humour. "
Read about Yutong Yiang's graduate collection on
LCF News

Scottacus Anthony
"I played with the idea of tailoring, creative pattern cutting and innovating digital prints."
Find out about Scottacus Anthony's graduate collection on LCF News

Xuyunqui, MA18