FASHION Glasgow School Of Art Fashion Show 2001
Students Storm The Winter Palace
Versace, Armani and Reebok. Just three of the companies with employees who spent time in the Textiles Department of Glasgow School of Art. There’s a widely-held (if misguided) perception that fashion graduates either form rock bands or end up in non- fashion jobs. The odds of making it in the world of design just seem too long. But GSA must be doing something right for its students.
’I think they have an innovative and creative and diverse experience when they’re here,’ says Anne Ferguson, one of the department’s lecturers. 'They maybe do a graduate fashion course and then go on to these companies. It’s a more widely based experience coming from a textile point of view rather than a garment-shape point of view.’
The annual fashion show has been an institution at the school since 1945, but it’s only in the last four years that it’s been staged outwith the building. After outings at Tramway and the Arches the show returns for a second year at the Merchant City’s Old Fruitmarket, with the grand-sounding theme ’Storming The Winter Palace’. ’The themes tend to be just a vague thing to hang the collections on, but this seems like a theme that works for us because we’re storming the
A wild and exotic mix of things that people
Fruitmarket and taking it over,’ she says. ’It doesn’t always follow through that all the garments fall into this category, but for the decor of the set-up we’re intending to have red curtains and big chandeliers so it’s actually the atmosphere of the place that’s like the winter palace.’
Primarily a showcase for 36 third years, although students from other years also contribute, the catwalk will be filled with outfits created in only three weeks, using the newest of materials and techniques. As well as the fashion, Ferguson believes taking part in the whole process has benefits. ’lt’s a major event for the students, they are involved in making and in modelling and in dressing and in being hosts. They take part in everything so it’s a good team exercise and it gives them experience of running shows.’
Unlike some shows where commerciality is the focus, Ferguson makes it clear that at this stage in their training, the GSA students are encouraged to explore their creativity to the limit. ’lt’s not a traditional fashion show in any sense of the word. What you see on our catwalk is a wild and exotic mix of things that people might wear or people might never wear, but it’s the ideas that count.’ (Louisa Pearson)
I G/asgow School of Art Fashion Show, wwwgsaacuk/fashion; Fri 9 Feb, 6.30pm, £3; Sat 10 Feb, 7.30pm & 9.45pm, £70 (£6); 0747 287 5517.
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Shoptalk
A NEW WEBSITE is aiming to take the mystery out of holistic health therapies and practitioners. www.holistics.co.uk lists over a thousand Scottish alternative and complementary therapists, and also gives a guide to qualifications. So now you'll know if those letters after someone‘s name mean that they spent several years studying or a couple of hours down the community centre.
MARKS AND SPENCER still seems to be floundering in the fashion stakes, but its on-line gift service is proving popular. With next day delivery you might want to bear it in mind for Valentine’s Day; as well as the traditional red roses, it’ll deliver champagne, orchids or even a ’cactus landscape’. Call 0845 603 1603 or log on to
www.marksandspencer.com
for details.
MEN IN GLASGOW have always had a . reputation
for looking good, and
it's going to get easier in April when the city's first beauty salon dedicated to gentlemen opens its doors on the city's West George Street. Watch this space for details.
LOTS OF PEOPLE take first aid on holiday, but a dental kit? Anyone who’s ever chipped a tooth or lost a filling on holiday will remember the pain, so it seems likely there will be a market for the new
Dentanurse kit. Apparently
containing everything you need for DIY repairs — including some kind of cement to ’protect the tooth from further injury’ — this could save a lot of
tears. Available from Boots
and other chemists, www.dentanurse.com for details.
RAISING FUNDS FOR WellBeing, the health research charity for women and babies. Patsy Seddon has designed a cardigan to be sold in her Phase Eight stores. £5 will be
donated to the charity from every item sold. £79 from Phase Eight. Princes Square , 0141 204 S130 and 47!) George Street. Edinburgh. 0131 226 4009.
POTS AND PANS may sound like the sort of shop you wouldn't go into without ‘I’m buying a present for my mum’ as an excuse, but its on-line presence removes the need for any such scams. Some of the best kitchen gadgets around are on sale here, including Dualit toasters (apparently the best in the world, which you’d expect with a £133.65 price tag) and coffee grinders, while no ultimate urban living space would be complete without a Bodum milk frother (perfect cappuccinos for £9.99). Go to www.pots-and- pans.co.uk for more culinary decadence.