GFW Catch Up: The Emperor's New Clothes

Each June Graduate Fashion Week stages a static exhibition showcasing the work of some 50 universities across 52 courses, and approximately 22 university fashion shows. I kept Susie company in her perspex box exhibit at Earls Court 2 yesterday but managed to escape from the hamster cage (alas no wheel or giant water bottle) to take a seat during the shows. The amount of menswear on show during the first day of GFW was spread pretty thinly throughout the day.

Kingston University, on their first appearance here, had a wealth of talent on show and the menswear was particularly good. Alexander James was the standout collection of the day for me because he successfully reinvented a new set of clothes for his imaginary/contemporary emperor as he combined structured jackets with elegantly pleated trousers and cummerbunds which created stunning visuals. This collection would no doubt make us all want to steal the Emperor's new clothes. There is no mime here, in fact there is a great deal of real drama on show and it is plain to see that James is no Hans Christian Anderson swindler character. Of course the real star of the tale were the super pleated trousers which fell like harem pants and from behind had an extraordinary amount of detailing...with trousers like these I would be tempted to moonwalk everywhere just so people did not miss out on the pleats.