Fashion stars of the future highlight sustainability

If anyone still needed convincing that sustainability has become the new buzzword in fashion, they needed to look no further than the London College of Fashion's annual celebration of postgraduate design talent.


The MA Show 2009, at London’s V&A Museum, on January 21, showcased the work of designers that the college predicts will be the stars of the future.

Famous faces including cosmetics queen Jo Wood, designer Zandra Rhodes and Girls Aloud singer Nicola Roberts were among a packed crowd to watch the creations take to the runway.

Less than 20 of the students from the course were selected to feature in the show, and some of this year’s collections highlighted the rising importance of environmentally-friendly fashion.

Rohan Kale’s collection featured unique suits made from off-cuts from the production of silk neck ties, which would otherwise have been discarded.

Another new feature this year was On I Off Reinvents, a collaboration with On I Off, which holds a series of catwalk shows and exhibitions during London Fashion Week which bridge the gap between on and off schedule designers.

Lee Lapthorne, founder and creative director of On I Off picked his four favourite designers from the students to create outfits using material from the company’s tenth season anniversary banner.

Their recycled creations will then be displayed at On I Off at the Science Museum, in London, during London Fashion Week in February.

Announcing the four winners, Mr Lapthorne said the project was “part of a desire to highlight the importance of sustainability”.

The selected students included Manjit Deu, who also took home the coveted Collection of the Year Award.

Kate Martin

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