This year GSA’s Fashion Show collectively celebrated the achievements of all students studying BA (Hons) Fashion Design at The Glasgow School of Art.
Jiani Liu “996 —— Worklife” Laura Hoya “The Last Dance”
The live catwalk Show saw graduating students debut, for the first time, their bold new designs within The Reid Gallery space. In another first for Fashion Show all four year groups presented new work together; year 2 and 3 presented on the catwalk garments from their most recent projects titled Silhouette and Form, whilst year 1 students displayed their working process in an exhibition of drawings, illustrations and collage at the entrance to the Reid Gallery.
The final year show shone a light on graduating student collections, which embody creative freedom and diversity. These represent a range of target audiences, ideas, processes and making practices focussed on the individual interests and career aspirations of each student.
Highlights of the graduating catwalk show include new designs informed by multiple themes, materials, personal experiences and rich aesthetic references.
Flora McFarlane “The Midas Touch”
Flora McFarlane’s designs are influenced by the iconic costumes and sets in the 1960’s film Goldfinger, paying homage to British craftsmanship, humour, and glamour. The collection is also a tribute to Flora’s grandmother, transforming her image into that of a Bond girl and drawing from memories of the objects in her grandmothers home for creative inspiration.
Xinran Zeng “The Edge of Postman”
Xinran Zeng’s work investigates how fast fashion disconnects people from their clothing, and explores how to re-establish a meaningful relationship with the wearer. By exploring concepts of Post-humanism, Xinran has developed self-folding interactive wearable technology. This innovation allows for a re-balance of the relation between clothing, body, and consciousness – emphasising unity and resonance. Xinran’s aim is to involve the body as an active participant in the design process, creating a seamless integration for a more holistic and functional approach to designing fashion.
Kyra Saint-Clair “Whitby’s Folly”
Kyra Saint Clair is inspired by memories of her mother’s equestrian life and love of horse riding, delving into the history equestrian clothing, especially the misogynistic legacy of the side saddle. Kyra seeks to challenge and subvert that history in her designs, reframing the look of competition wear through a female gaze, imbued with the humour of burlesque.
Mark McKinlay : “A Lavender Streak”
Mark McKinlay explores how clothes can perpetuate social norms which confine and represses queer and gender non-confirming people. Examining the evolution of their own identity through clothing, from conforming to masculinity to embracing a softer, more feminine styling, Mark’s collection is a journey through growth, fear and refusal, to ultimately embracing his own authenticity as a queer man.
“The BA(Hons) Fashion Design programme fosters a diverse, creative learning environment where students can develop into confident, specialised fashion designers”
“This year’s graduating students have imaginatively honoured and learned from fashion and cultural traditions whilst looking to the future, learning to balance originality of concept with design viability. Many have also used their role as emergent designers to shape and lead on ethical, sustainable and responsible fashion design practices.”
Julia Maclean-Evans, Programme Leader BA (Hons) Fashion Design.
Always one of the highlights of the calendar, GSA Fashion Show gives a first sight of some of the future stars of the Fashion world. The 2024 Fashion Show is sponsored by Moda.
“Embracing and embedding ourselves in the culture and heritage of the cities we open our rental neighbourhoods in is a core part of the Moda mentality. As we prepare to welcome residents to Moda, Holland Park for the first time, it is a huge privilege to be able to support an organisation as prestigious as The Glasgow School of Art. We’re looking forward to working in partnership with the School to celebrate the emerging talent in the fashion world.”
Susan McGowan, General Manager of Moda, Holland Park.
The garments and portfolio of supporting work from this year’s graduate fashion show can be seen on display at the Reid Building, during The Glasgow School of Art’s 2024 Degree Show, which runs from Friday 31 May to Sunday 9 June 2024 across the entire GSA campus.
for further information contact press@gsa.ac.uk.
NOTES FOR EDITORS
About The Glasgow School of Art (GSA):
The Glasgow School of Art (GSA) is internationally recognised as one of Europe’s leading independent university-level institutions for education and research in the visual creative disciplines. Our studio-based, specialist, practice-led teaching, learning and research draw talented individuals with a shared passion for visual culture and creative production from all over the world.
Originally founded in 1845 as one of the first Government Schools of Design, the School’s history can be traced back to 1753 and the establishment of the Foulis Academy delivering a European-style art education. Today, the GSA is an international community of over 3500 students and staff across architecture, design, digital, fine art and innovation in our campuses in Glasgow and Altyre (in the Scottish Highlands) and a thriving Open Studio programme delivering non-degree provision to over 1500 students annually.
About Moda Group:
Moda Group is a vertically integrated investor, developer and operator of large-scale rental neighbourhoods. Moda has a pipeline of 24,000 homes across build-to-rent, family homes and student, with a combined GDV of £6.8 billion, and recently opened its first Glasgow neighbourhood: Moda, Holland Park.
Focusing on long-term stewardship, Moda partners with global institutional investors to provide unique access to the UK rental market at scale. Moda’s mission is to pioneer positive change across the rental landscape, delivering spaces and experiences for people to prosper, evolve and live better.
Moda’s vision is to create the world’s best rental experience. A better version of living; they call it life 2.0. That doesn’t just mean investing in next generation homes and spaces, it means investing in innovation and excellence across wellness, technology, ESG and customer service.
As custodians of the communities they operate, they work with a range of market leading partners to deliver services and experiences that create genuine social impact, helping people live happier, healthier lives.