Inside The Graduate Fashion Show at The V&A
Graduate fashion, emerging talent and an evening celebrating Scottish creativity.
The other week, we swapped the boutique for (near enough) the front row and headed to V&A Dundee for an evening celebrating some of Scotland’s most exciting emerging fashion talent.
The Graduate Fashion Show brought together the work of the graduates from across Scotland’s leading fashion and textile programmes, transforming the V&A into a showcase of new ideas, craftsmanship and creative expression.
As people who spend our days surrounded by independent design, it felt like a natural event for us to attend. Fashion and eyewear may occupy different spaces, but there’s a shared language between them - proportion, colour, material, craftsmanship and, perhaps most importantly, individuality.
The evening was an opportunity to see how a new generation of designers is interpreting those ideas for themselves.
And there was plenty that caught our eye.
From the Graduate Runway
One of the things we loved most about the show was just how individual the collections felt.
There wasn’t a single definition of what fashion should look like. Instead, the runway moved between very different worlds, with designers exploring their own stories, influences and ideas through clothing.
Amongst a brilliant evening of graduate work, three collections from The Design School at Heriot-Watt University particularly stayed with us.
Libby Mills — Flora Reverie
Romantic, dreamlike and unmistakably influenced by Scotland, Libby Mills’ Flora Reverie celebrates Scottish landscapes and folklore through demi-couture womenswear.
There was something beautifully escapist about the collection. Its romanticism and sense of fantasy felt rooted in Scotland without being confined by traditional ideas of what Scottish fashion should look like.
It was a lovely example of heritage being used not simply to look backwards, but as a starting point for creating something new.
Thomas Crane — Between Two Frontiers
Thomas Crane’s Between Two Frontiers took us somewhere completely different.
Merging the visual language of the American West with Scottish heritage textiles and craftsmanship, it was an unexpected meeting of two identities that somehow made complete sense together.
We’re always interested in designers who are willing to take familiar references and look at them differently, and this collection did exactly that. Scottish heritage was present, but reinterpreted through an entirely new lens.
Distinctive, considered and full of character, it was one of those collections that made you want to look a little closer.
Megan Thomson — DEVOURED
Then came Megan Thomson’s DEVOURED, exploring the idea of all-consuming love through themes of devotion, sacrifice and desire.
There was an intensity to the collection that made it particularly memorable. Where Flora Reverie transported us into romance and folklore, DEVOURED approached emotion from a darker and more visceral perspective.
It was also a reminder of something we found ourselves thinking about throughout the evening: fashion can communicate so much more than simply what we choose to wear.
At its most interesting, it can tell a story, provoke a feeling or reveal something about its creator.
Front Row Ready
Of course, an evening dedicated to fashion also presented the perfect excuse to think a little more about what we were going to wear ourselves.
With the dress code calling for guests to be “Front Row Ready”, Erin opted for a Me369 shirt and matching maxi skirt in a beautifully fluid silk-like fabric, both found at Erin’s favourite independent Perth boutique Eva Lucia.
Cream square-toe heeled boots kept the look light, while a small box-shaped wicker basket bag added an unexpected textural detail.
For the finishing touch? A pair of striking white MATTTEW frames, of course!
Bold, angular and deliberately impossible to ignore, they provided a sharp contrast against the fluidity of the outfit and demonstrated rather perfectly why we’ve never considered eyewear something that should simply disappear into a look.
Sometimes, the glasses are the accessory.
Beyond the Runway
Once the final looks had left the runway, the evening continued upstairs with a networking drinks reception and a chance to chat, meet other guests and reflect on some of the collections we’d just seen.
There’s something special about being in a room filled with people connected by an appreciation for fashion, design and creativity, whether they’re creating it, working within the industry or simply there because they love it.
The reception also allowed a late night viewing of Catwalk: The Art of The Fashion Show, V&A Dundee’s current exhibition celebrating the fashion show itself.
Inside Catwalk: The Art of The Fashion Show Exhibition currently on at the V&A Dundee
After spending the evening watching graduate designers at the very beginning of their careers present their work on the runway, stepping into an exhibition exploring the history, theatre and cultural significance of the catwalk felt particularly fitting.
It was a chance to consider fashion from another perspective - not only the clothes themselves, but everything that surrounds their presentation. The styling, casting, music, movement and setting all help transform a collection into something much bigger - a moment, a mood and a story.
Moving almost directly from Scotland’s newest generation of designers on the runway into an exhibition celebrating the enduring spectacle of the fashion show felt like the perfect way to round off the evening.
The Power of Individuality
If there was one idea we left V&A Dundee thinking about, it was individuality.
The collections we found ourselves most drawn to weren’t necessarily connected by a particular colour, silhouette or trend. In fact, they were incredibly different.
What connected them was a clear point of view.
And perhaps that’s why the evening resonated with us so much.
At Occhiali, we’ve always believed that the things we choose to wear can be an extension of our personality.
We’re naturally drawn towards independent eyewear designers because they aren't afraid to challenge convention, experiment with materials, play with proportion or simply create something that looks unlike everything else.
Seeing young Scottish designers approaching fashion with that same sense of curiosity was incredibly inspiring. Each designer and their collection created a world entirely of their own.
Really, isn’t that what great design should do? Make us look twice, make us feel something, and maybe even encourage us to see things a little differently.
We left V&A Dundee feeling inspired by the creativity already emerging from Scotland’s next generation of designers, and very interested to see where they go next.