Graduates and alumni showcase at London Fashion Week

On 12 June, 14 Menswear MA graduates presented their latest collections to an invited audience of press and buyers in East London. Following the announcement that Westminster alumnus Steven Stokey-Daley had won the LVMH Prize, the Fashion Design BA course presented their collections. After showing digitally at London Fashion Week last year, this was the course's first runway show since February 2020, when the show also featured Steven’s debut collection. 

Brandon Choi, who graduated from Westminster's Fashion Design BA programme in 2020 and was awarded the British Fashion Council's Chanel scholarship, also debuted on 11 June as part of the London Fashion Week DiscoveryLAB in collaboration with DAZED Magazine.  

Westminster alumni include Steven Stokey-Daley, Priya Ahluwalia, Robyn Lynch, Paolo Carzana, Liam Hodges, Roberta Einer, Ashley Williams, Christopher Bailey, Vivienne Westwood and Stuart Vevers. 

Other recent Westminster fashion graduates are working in international design studios such as Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Lanvin, Alexander McQueen, Balmain, Versace, JW Anderson, Stone Island, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Kenzo, Carven and Loewe. 

Successful Westminster alumni also hosted their own shows at London Fashion Week including 2018 graduates Robyn Lynch, whose work took inspiration from holidays in Mallorca, and co-winner of the 2020 LVMH Prize, Priya Ahluwalia, with her work titled ‘Africa in Limitless’ and featuring a ‘tapestry of ideas’ of her responses to researching the culture of its 54 countries. 

Vogue's Alex Kessler wrote about Robyn Lynch’s show: “The mood in the room was electric, as models swiftly walked down the runway in one brilliantly cut sportswear look after another. But the devil is in the details with Lynch’s work: upon closer inspection, distorted yarn was used on jumpers as a lighter summer adaptation of traditional Irish Aran knit, and technical cargo pants made out of Irish linen with functional zips throughout were tailored to perfection.” 

Writing in Vogue about Priya Ahluwalia's latest show Sarah Mower said: "The whole occasion came off as an event which cemented what the London fashion community looks like today—lucky to benefit from British creativity rising from leaders like Ahluwalia who are bringing the modernity of multi-dimensional culture to the fore." 

Menswear MA Course Leader Liliana Sanguino said: “It was great to show again at London Fashion Week following the end of lockdown, and we wanted the event to have a great energy. I was thrilled with the students' collections, which demonstrated the graduates' diverse approaches, hard work, and dedication. I'm grateful to the teaching staff for their tireless efforts over the past two years; it's fantastic to see such impressive results.” 

Andrew Groves, Professor of Fashion Design at Westminster, said: “It was fantastic to see both our undergraduate and postgraduate students showing on the runway again at London Fashion Week. Their collections demonstrated a variety of aesthetic approaches, as well as a sense of modernity and desirability, which has resulted in so many Westminster graduates launching their own brands. It was therefore fantastic to see Priya Ahluwalia and Robyn Lynch's continued success at LFW, and for them to be joined by Brandon Choi, who was making his LFW debut.” 

Rosie Wallin, Course leader for Fashion Design BA course, said: “It is great to be showing at a live event again for this year’s BA Fashion Design graduate show. We wanted to retain the film element that we utilised during lockdown and so we did a hybrid presentation with both catwalk and live digital mixing on screen too. The atmosphere was celebratory and positive – just like the collections. 

“This year we had a special group of designers with – as usual – a gloriously varied approach to their practice. From exceptional skill in menswear and tailoring to sculptural and conceptual pieces – our graduates represent the breadth and variety of what fashion design can be. From the exuberant use of upcycled material and tactile surfaces for sustainability to the joyous knitted challenge to mass production and queer subversions of traditional forms, this year’s students continue to delight and inspire.” 

Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Westminster Dr Peter Bonfield commented on the show: “The event was fantastic as ever. Our students are so enormously talented, and of course we’re here at Ambika P3, which is one of the coolest exhibition spaces in London. Not only did we have great creativity on display, but also a brand-new way of displaying it with the big screen and the live editing. You could feel the music vibrating in your chest, it was just the pinnacle of excellence of Westminster.” 

Watch the Fashion Design BA Runway Show.

Watch the Menswear MA Runway Show. 

Find out more about Fashion courses at the University of Westminster.