Tuesday at AFW 2008

Today's catwalk show showcased work from designers ranging from graduates, those already working in the industry and students from local community colleges. First out was a demure and thoughtful series of lace outfits created by Watford-based Kelly Ashworth. Kelly sourced her lace from Cyprus and has taken a modern approach to this vintage fabric, working it into baby doll dresses, intricately worked blouses and shorts. Hasan Hejazi hails from Manchester and graduated last year from Manchester Metropolitan Museum with an impressive collection that mixes fabulous sheepskin coats with digital printed dresses with leather details. Styled with socks (which complement the collection surprisingly well)the outfits also had fetish references in the form of skintight vinyl trousers.

Ragtime jazz posters provided the inspiration for Amy Hostler's fun and frolicsome collection of play suits, pinafores and dresses accessories with mini turban hats. Rich hues of blue, gold and red dominate and a print featuring sketches of musical instruments completed the theme. Cooltan Arts is a mental health project based in south London which chose kimonos and tea dresses as their focus. They showed some beautiful printed garments and the inclusion of a small child in a blue kimono resulted in huge smiles from the packed audience.

Sheffield's Shahkella Ijaz is a graduate from Bradford College who showed 'Court 2', a collection of menswear and womenswear inspired by "graffiti and basketball'. She fuses streetwear, sportswear and tailoring to create interesting pieces included a pair of 'double' trousers for men and slick pinstripe drainpipes worn and a slick black top with integrated hood. Her basketball bags and super thin braces and ties perfected the look. Recycling and re-use has become increasingly important to designers showing at Alternative Fashion Week and today Jane Dennerly and Kay Haskins from Manchester demonstrated dexterity at forming new garments from old fabrics. First out was a wide skirt emblazoned with 'Hit a nail on the head and hammer an idea home' worn by a male model. Denim, wool, tartan and lace all feature in their outfits which include a mini skirt and matching waistcoat and 'baseball' cap and a gingham apron. Sarina Mantle sought to mix influences from "nature, African culture and street chic". One of the main strengths here was the consistent colour palette of rich hues of deep purple, cerise, magenta and aqua.

The lads and lasses of Hackney Community College brainstormed the theme for their outfits - bodymorphing inspired by nature. There followed some fantastical interpretations including Jackson Pollack-style prints and sculptured waistcoats. Amelia Quiambao gave us a "Winter Fairytale' - beautiful, twisted cobweb knitted dresses and silk shift tops. Jessica Odoi menswear collection is inspired by the Rococo period and focused on brightly-coloured paisley as her main fabric which she has worked into elegant frock coats and waistcoats worn with flamboyant shirts and white tights. Irving Vorster has checked out fuk.co.uk's coverage of Alternative Fashion Week and decided that he would apply from his native Holland. "I've Seen This Before' is his attempt to pay homage to some of fashion's greatest legends (Schiaperelli, Pierre Cardin and Dior) re-interpreting classic pieces all of which he's cut asymmetrically. Finally, Newham College provided us with a series of golden garments all exploring an Egyptian theme.

Words: Marian Buckley
Photos: Paul Tait