You’d be forgiven for thinking that the above creation came straight from one of London’s hottest fashion houses. Not so. It was actually designed by one of the Norwich University College of the Arts (NUCA) Year 1 Fashion Students, and showcased at their end of first year fashion show.

The new Fashion degree and MA courses at the NUCA were only introduced last Autumn, so this year saw the first intake of budding McQueens and Chanels. We were lucky enough to be invited to their end of year fashion show, supported by John Lewis in Norwich.

A fantastically slick affair (as the pictures illustrate), the show afforded these highly creative students the opportunity to showcase their design work in a professional context, with real models, great lighting and pulsing music. Having been to a few ‘proper’ fashion shows in some very auspicious settings, I can wholeheartedly say it would have held its own with the best of them. As would the outfits, which were fabulous in their innovation and high quality.

There were two themes to the show: De-construction : Re-construction, a project which challenged students to create a range of garments from second hand clothing donated by Cancer Research UK and Connections, in which the students investigated recent trends and collaborations between designers and high street stores. This latter project required them to design a capsule collection of dresses which explored a dynamic use of colour.

All the work on show was amazing – even more so when you consider that this was produced by first year students. The show was a testament to their talent and dedication, and a clear indication that each and every one of them fully deserved to be there. I have no doubt we’ll see more than a few of their names in the high fashion press in the years to come…

Images kindly supplied by NUCA.