New design talent at Graduate Fashion Week: part 1

In the first of a mini-series running down to the 20th anniversary of Graduate Fashion Week beginning on the 5th June and, this year, sponsored by George at Asda, FashionUnited have picked out a few graduates whose influences,

techniques and design direction look set to take them a long way. Not only will FU be looking at their ideas and key pieces, but we have managed to bag a few minutes with these hardworking youngsters to find out about some of the stresses and challenges they faced in the lead up to the event. Admittedly they weren’t keen to reveal too much about the anxieties they have had to overcome and have been busy solely focusing on their design work, so we also, over the forthcoming days, will be speaking to course leaders from some of the 50 odd universities partaking, to get their input on this year's talent and what they are most looking forward to over the anniversary event.

Kyle Graham Spires is from the Edinburgh College of Art, where he has focused on Womenswear.

His graduate collection is inspired by the relationship between cloth and body, specifically the link between seduction and movement. When considering shape and line within the collection, he looks closely at parts of the body, which personally seduce him. Therefore he takes areas like the collarbone and shoulder blades – playing with ways to conceal and reveal them.

Look out for: 3 dimensional surfaces, pony hair and leathers, fluid materials such as crepe and silks against heavy nylons and wool, juxtapositions and bold, spontaneous colour.

Ambitions and goals: Having been accepted to do a Masters in Womenswear at The Royal College of Art, who knows what opportunities will occur.

Spires says, ‘To most students the thought of creating a graduate collection is truly daunting – the idea of having complete creative control over something is simultaneously exhilirating and terrifying. My main goal, for this final year, has been to push myself, whilst embracing new techniques in cutting. I have found my passion lies with details and finishing.

Of course within making any collection there are times of stress – so I suppose GFW is a good training for what is to come! I strongly believe the whole design process should be as organic as possible, so I tried not to give myself specific deadlines to finish final garments. My main concern and anxiety probably was not being able to translate my designs from paper to 3D – this is a design direction I want to continue to explore.

Personally, I have found the key to remaining calm in the run down to the event has been focusing on staying true to myself and my personal design ethos. Most importantly, I think I just want people to look at my graduate collection and recognise the way I design.’

Photos: Kyle Graham Spires collection