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The annual ‘Work in Progress’ show at the RCA showcases work from current RCA students. Personally, I love degree shows, graduate fashion week…in fact the whole package, because truly, you never know what you’re going to get (thanks Forrest). But with the RCA you’re usually guaranteed something special, that, whilst it may not appeal to everyone, will provoke debate and speculation. It’s important to remember that this IS exactly what it says on the tin, and  (speaking from personal experience), collections and designs can really alter as deadlines loom.

 

 

Josefine Jarzombek’s experimentations with architecture, male corsetry and light and shadow certainly look promising, his tailored trousers combined smart twill with some unexpected sheer rectangular cutouts. A little NJAL research revealed that Jarzombek’s final degree collection, ‘Breaking the Ice’, was a resounding success- inspired by winter and ice landscapes, hard and soft elements are blended to create a sense of classical harmony.

 

 

My personal favourite Calum Harvey continued his BA exploration of reclaiming and recycling, experimenting with brown tape in a rather ingenious way. Calum’s project, entitled repair/restore, creating unusual surface patterns and shapes that reference the utilitarian purposes of this humble self-adhesive. I can’t wait to see where Calum will go with this…somewhere unexpected I’m sure.

 

 

Similarly, Hanna Ter Meulen, whose name I recognised from the RCA Brioni project last year (her designs ranked as one of my personal favourites), featured a diagonally woven herringbone jacket that was simultaneously tailored and casual, thanks to the frayed weave and loose silhouette. Combing a very modern aesthetic with more classic menswear fabrics keeps the garments directional, yet wearable and (hopefully?!) commercially viable. A look at Hanna’s website revealed some more of the collection, including an oversized textured black jumper, a navy pleated shirt and soft cocoon coat, which seems to be a successful development of the ideas the designer developed in her degree show.

 

 

Caroline Gardner’s project was modelled by an obliging (alpaca) goat who, rather handily, happened to be passing by. Her brightly coloured, plaited knit was a visual delight, and proved that knitwear is here to stay, and that menswear doesn’t have to be dark in palette.

 

 

 

Marie Parsons combined a soft, earthy colour palette with materials that could have been sourced from an obscure archaeological dig. Her intricate stitched jewellery was reminiscent of some traditional craft. I almost hesitate to call this jewellery because Marie, who studies on the Mixed Media course, could clearly take these pieces in many different ways. Accompanied by a quote from Grace Christie, author of ‘Samplers and Stitches: a handbook of the embroiderer’s art’, which was published in 1921.

‘The worker is urged, when thinking over a new piece of work, either simple or complex, to take some characteristic stitches and see what can be done with them…’, which certainly seems an unlikely starting point for an RCA student. However the level of craftsmanship and attention to detail- points that Ms Christie (and no doubt Marie’s RCA tutors!)- reiterate time and again certainly seems to be a lesson Marie has incorporated into her own designs.

And for those of you less interested in the sartorial adventures of the RCA graduates, the next Work In Progress show is certainly worth a visit- featuring students from Architecture, Design Interactions, Innovation Design Engineering, Vehicle Design, Printmaking and Animation. 

Showing at the RCA 3-9 February 2010, at the Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, SW7 2EU.

Posted by Victoria Loomes