In pictures: When Westminster’s fashion students took Milan

Last month, students from the University of Westminster held their undergraduate fashion show. Convening in central London’s Marylebone district, the BA Fashion Design grads took over the iconic Ambika P3 building for this season’s show, which featured a total of 30 different collections and over 170 looks. Paris Williams Otuyelu presented a kaleidoscopic offering of agbada robes and dresses, with silkscreen patterns and gold foil details; Azeika Nelson’s Echoes of Affection married British twee and sporting references via gingham prints and football studs; Xiaoting Chen’s models arrived on the catwalk in billowing devoré shirts and purple hooded cloaks; while Rebecca Halpenny’s ode to her Irish heritage featured a giant, wicker hoop skirt and fetish-coded, latex clothes. 

The catwalk was an exciting showcase of fashion’s cutting edge – but things didn’t stop there. Rather than leave things in London, Westminster’s class of 2025 momentarily became a travelling show, making the 700-mile journey across western Europe to Italy’s fashion capital. Setting up shop at Milano Moda Uomo (that’s Milan Fashion Week men’s to you and me), the university then opened their graduate men’s showroom outside of London for the very first time, bringing a selection of the MA Menswear collections along with them, too. Within the selection were Ricky Cai’s brutalist-inspired blazers, Zoe Zhang’s translucent, organza suiting, Brendan Ying’s bold and balloon-covered, expressive silhouettes and Liberty Smith’s futuristic tracksuits and pastel puffer jackets.

While in Milan, the uni also hosted a wide programme of side events to go along with the showroom. A panel discussion, ‘British Education, Italian Contexts, Global Practice’, explored the role of British menswear in shaping global careers, while a second, ‘Cut from a Different Cloth: Tailoring, Tradition, and Transition’ discussed an exhibition of the same name that traced the late Lee McQueen’s relationship with tailoring. Featuring rarely seen womenswear items from Romeo Gigli’s SS91 show – from when McQueen worked at the house – the exhibition then presented menswear garments from early Alexander McQueen, followed bty the MA Westminster students’ own “critical reinterpretations” of McQueen’s legacy. “Our collaboration with Alexander McQueen has given students a rare opportunity to interrogate tailoring as both tradition and language,” said Anthony Rawson-Campbell, Course Director of MA Menswear at Westminster. “Producing work that stands confidently in conversation with the [Westminster Menswear] Archive.”

Scroll through the gallery below for Westminster’s MFW showroom, and the gallery above for the BA Fashion Design show.