The work of Aberdeen’s up and coming design talent will come to life later this month as part of the north-east’s freshest fashion event.
Final year Fashion and Textiles students at Gray’s School of Art will unveil their collections at the art school’s high-profile fashion show which will take place on May 21 and 22 at Robert Gordon University (RGU). Tickets for the May 21 event have already sold out, with those of May 22 also selling fast.
For two nights, RGU’s Sir Ian Wood Building will be transformed into a backdrop for the catwalk show, highlighting the range of creative talent being produced at Gray's.
Students will showcase full and capsule collections on the catwalk, with the event a rare chance to glimpse the work ahead of the Gray’s School of Art Degree Show which runs from Saturday, June 18 to Saturday, June 25.
Head of Fashion and Textiles at Gray’s, Josie Steed, said: “The Gray’s Fashion Show is a highlight of the creative calendar in Aberdeen and we are always delighted by the number of people who turn out to support it.
“Our students work incredibly hard to be able to put on the event and they never fail to be organise an exciting, professional and thought-provoking night. If people want to see Scotland’s up and coming fashion talent then this is the perfect opportunity.” Among the students exhibiting their work are Dennis Neville (22) and Lisa Campbell (24).
Dennis says that it is the thought of the fashion show which has motivated him the most throughout his final year.
“The fashion show is my main drive,” he said. “I can't believe it is my final year and it is all about to climax. The excitement is overwhelming. The prospect of watching my collection walking down a catwalk fills me with pride and happiness.
“I feel this collection is my child and I am taking it to school of the first time, nervous for it to leave but excited for the adventures it will take!”
Lisa added: “I am extremely excited for the fashion show but I am slightly scared that it is so soon. As a member of the fashion show committee, I have been involved in nearly all steps of the organisation which has only made me more excited to see the final outcome of all our hard work.”
In his collection of work, Dennis has explored the issue of mental health after being inspired by the two generations of his family who have worked in the sector.
His grandparents, two uncles and his mother have all worked in mental health nursing and growing up Dennis was told stories of the patients they worked with and their illnesses.
He said: “Each story explains a life and the way someone interacted with another and how their illness was displayed. Mental illness was something which was explained and welcomed in my household. I never found fear in interacting with patients as the misconceptions of mental illness were explained to me.
“Compassion and acceptance has been instilled into my character, to accept people for who they are, and understand that mental illness has no home in gender. Embracing the difference found within each person allows me to learn and understand the world.”
Dennis added: “This inspired me to express my passion and knowledge. My collection is unisex, as of way to reflect metal illness as no gender. Each garment is made with pulls and ties and to show how mental illness restricts, while clips on the garments mean they can attach to one another. This allows the suggestion that we are all 'attached' to mental illness, personally or through another.”
Lisa has taken the inspiration for her collection from origami, following a project in third year which sparked her interest in the subject.
“It is the intricate shapes and forms created by folding that really interested me,” she explained. “While researching my final year project I realised that the majority of collections inspired by origami tend to be exclusively white. This is something that I wanted to avoid, and made the decision to use stripes to highlight the geometric shapes and confuse the eye.
“I looked at optical illusions and dazzle ships used by the navy which lead me to look the work of Louise Bourgeois. This in turn has influenced my most recent designs, laser cutting striped fabric into triangles and reattaching them together as hexagons to create my own textile for my garments.”
Tickets for the fashion shows, which will take place at RGU’s Sir Ian Wood Building, Garthdee Road, at 5pm on Saturday, May 21 and 4pm on Sunday, May 22, are priced at £12.50 and included a catalogue and refreshments.
They are available to buy at www.graysgraduatefashionshow.com