By Ayah Salami

UAL’s 2018 Central Saint Martins BA Fashion Show presented the collections of 41 students from across all five pathways, including Womenswear, Menswear, Knit, Print, and Fashion Design with Marketing. The shows were visited by thousands of members of the public, both from the UK and international visitors.

The UAL Summer Shows were held at the Oval Space in East London, where a physical catwalk was combined with an interactive and immersive virtual exhibition. Also, each show was followed by private/press views that gave a preview to the media and invited guests. UAL is expecting more shows to be launched with dates to be released soon.

Professor Frances Corner, Head of College, London College of Fashion and Pro-Vice Chancellor of UAL highlighted the fact that the “London College of Fashion BA18 season brought digital to the fore, presenting a multisensory immersive experience with large scale screens and interactive media allowing viewers to experience LCF talent in bold, inspiring and memorable ways.” In addition, for the first time, the Central Saint Martins Summer Show took place in the fashion studios, which brought the guests right into the centre of Central Saint Martins’ fashion department – and was live streamed for all to enjoy.

The UAL Summer Shows have boosted the confidence of the participating students as the theme of this year’s shows was expressing identity. Graduate Amari Carter said that “I no longer feel shy about sharing my work now I have participated in the show,” and that the process was overwhelming because he was mainly making work that triggers intimacy in the most sensual form.

Another graduate, Carolina Raquel’s, designs were about the relationship between our garments and ourselves, focusing on displacement, wrongness, and memory. She said that her goal was to “explore something personal and translate that into draping, colour, shape, and ultimately sensibility. A reflection about the relationship with our own garments was the core subject of the whole research and design development.”