Suit-Dress

If you have a regular 9 to 5 job, you will love  Balenciaga Resort 2015 collection. The designer gives a whole new meaning to the term "Suit Dress" by creating quite literally a suit-dress.

This Spring/Summer, drop the work-wear to night-wear trend and say: "FFS", yes short for Fun and flirty Suits.

On Point

If you’re looking for something bright and fresh this Spring/Summer, you will find it in Southampton Solent students.

Although many students may have finished University either for summer or entirely, it’s a chilling thought that some haven’t yet. Fashion students, studying Fashion Design hung on to the very bitter end in order to see where the piece of string stopped; used not only to piece together garments, but ultimately helped to reveal their graduate collection.

“The Graduate Show” was held in Eastleigh at The Point on 7^th June, which was created as a way of showcasing and highlighting many talented students. Rebecca Butler, Fashion Designer and student says: “My inspirations derived from religious clothing/uniforms worn by sisterhoods such as the Nun, Amish and Puritans. The uniformity and impact of the clothing evokes a very modest and austere emotion. There is little expression with gesture and it is somewhat oppressive in terms of outer personal expression”. After hearing the designer’s response, this was a good indication of what to expect at the show, which was nothing other than fantastic.

Sitting impatiently in the audience, the suspense seemed to fill the entire room. The light dimmed for what could be one last time, heightening the excitement even more so and the entire audience beamed as they waited to watch the collection.

One by one the Models sashayed the runway wearing the most incredible clothing. The first collection was designed by Ruth Simmons. It was an explosion of terracotta’s infused with fresh blues and yellows, which helped to wash a zinging design to a winning one. Looking at the collection in deeper depth, there were oversized jackets, cocoon jumper dresses, preppy cropped trousers and turtle necks – the designer was rolling with ideas. The end result was that the collection was cool, coy and very wearable. There was a sense of picking one piece and wearing it either as a statement or teamed with something else to create a grand look.

The music played continuously and the flow of fantastic designs continued to fill the runway. Designer Alys Webb collection was nothing other than a clean slate. It had rustic colours and the origami style strapless dress, meant that the designer was off to a flying start.  But the last piece of the collection was a clever play with materials. It was a combination of metallic stiff Midi skirt, which was held together by woven wool and was paired together with a brown jumper. This brought a whole new meaning to rustic metal and truly deserved a medal.

Rebecca Butler, designer kept her promise regarding her collection. The models wore black lipsticks and their hair was neat but messy at the same time and with the name Butler – her collection was clean, sharp and well-polished. It was Nun meets grudge; this was truly an innocent design and gave a devilishly good collection.

Kirstie Ward had her ideas buckled up. It was fresh natural hues, with buckle details that made everyone go crazy for it. Although the models faces were almost hidden from the drapes and folds, it helped to create mystery to the collection; leaving the audience intrigued and captivated.

The entire show consisted of 29 graduates; Ruth Simmons, Abigail Carter, Alys Webb, Suzanne Rennie, Kirtstie Ward, Khloe Pavis, Rebecca Speed, Mira Valerie, Megan Rudd, Leila Alloush, Sue Carley, Jessica Harding, Sarah Mac Crossan, Ashleigh Lawrence, Janu Kumar, Maija Richardson, Amber Smith, Gemma Eldridge, Jay Shah, Georgie Clarke, Joelle Torincsi- Furness, Lauren Richard – Smith, Hannah Rodgers, Lucy –Jayne Hogan, Hannah Thomas, Leanne Willis, Rebecca Butler, Katie Jane Marie and Holly Lake. All their collections were truly brilliant and similar to their MBA– it was Magnificent, Brilliant and Amazing!