Lather up with Leather

My visits to Graduate Fashion Week which concludes today in a big bash Gala type thing, have been irregular and a little on the lazy side I’m afraid.  Catwalk Queen has a much better grasp on all thingS GFW than myself so head on over there if you want all the details.

However trom what I did see at the shows and at the exhibition, it seems leather is everywhere.  Fashion students can’t seem to get enough of the stuff and it’s setting the wheels turning in my own head about my relationship with leather.  Save for some pencil skirts, a cropped All Saints jacket which I barely touch, I’m pretty un-leathered when it comes to garments.  I’m interested in leather as a pliable material and rather than buying into the normal garments you expect them to come in; fitted/bomber jackets, pencil skirts and even trousers, I’d love to see babydoll/trapeze dresses, caped/cocoon jackets and coats and even baggy wide cuffed shorts in various leather finishes and textures.  Basically, what I mean is to use leather on unexpected garment shapes.  Thus making leather all the more wearable for me.  A prime example would be this navy leather jacket with huge kimono sleeves designed by Alyssia Burridge from the University of Westminster.

We don’t have to necessarily associate leather with ‘bondage’, ‘toughness’ and ‘bikers’ if we use it in a different way.  We shall see whether the new season yields better things for me to start a beautiful relationship with leather.   

Alyssia Burridge – Westminster   

Bronaugh Holmes – Westminster

Geannine Pollazzon – East London // Rachael Barrett – Edinburgh // Li Xia Wang – Central Lancashire