See the highlights from the opening day at Graduate Fashion Week

As we’re sure you know, Graduate Fashion Week, the biggest fashion event of the summer, kicked off at London’s Earl’s Court today and of course we were there to catch all the catwalk action just for you. Here’s the Runway Rundown for Day 1…



First up was the University of East London who started 2010s showcase of the latest young design talent in style. As a collective, the creations definitely had a superheroes vs. villains vibe. We saw fierce female samurais, caped fembots and vampiric ‘creatures of the night’ make their way down the catwalk.

Up next was UCLAN, who always pull in a big and enthusiastic crowd. Prints reigned supreme in this show; both on parachute dresses in lightweight fabrics which floated down the runway, and on structured, voluminous skirts.

After a quick River Island Session in the bar from Eliza Doolittle, we headed back to the catwalk for Edinburgh College of Art’s show. For us, Edinburgh was all about the maxi dress – from billowing, deconstructed numbers to sharp shouldered, skin tight maxis; these dresses were ready-to-wear and we want them now!

On to Northumbria who always impress and this year was no exception. The first collection to storm the runway looked like it was fresh from Lady Gaga’s tour wardrobe: jumpsuits came complete with exaggerated shoulders and hair (just for good measure). With designs influenced by church stained glass windows, Trojan horses, kids on a fairground and kaleidoscopes to follow, Northumbria’s show gave us a taste of the weird and the very wonderful.

Although it’s the home of the circus, Bristol’s UWE brought us back down to Earth with monochromes and a distinct “black is the new black” feel. Gothic warriors marched down the runway, only stopping occasionally to make way for streamline all-white collections.

The final show of the day was held by UCA Epsom where the collections were chiefly futuristic with the odd bit of patriotism, fun and nostalgia thrown in for good measure. The show opened with a glow in the dark dress and pieces featuring flashing bicycle lights, American flags and the letters of the alphabet followed. The six looks of the alphabet collection came together to spell out “random”, which seemed fitting for this show – in a good way of course!

And there you have it, Day 1of GFW 2010 in the bag. Six shows down, 14 to go… We’ll be back the same time tomorrow! Don’t forget to catch all of the Graduate Fashion Week action as and when it happens over on the River Island Twitter page.

The highly acclaimed and world-famous photographer, Rankin, has collaborated with Graduate Fashion Week to photograph some of the designs from the students who will be showing their collections at this year’s event.

Rankin’s campaign images, which feature our Spring/Summer 2010 Look Book model, Clara Paget, showcase creations from some of the tips for the tops from this year’s graduate talent.

Rankin said, “I really enjoyed this shoot. It was incredibly easy to shoot the clothes - each piece was so beautiful and full of character. I'm sure among the 2010 graduates we will see a designer that will catch the fashion world's imagination!”

We agree with Rankin and can’t wait to see the work of these students and more at Earls Court next week.

Find out more about Graduate Fashion Week by clicking here.

As we revealed a few weeks back, Kelis is the face of our 2010 Graduate Fashion Week campaign! Here she is looking amazing head-to-toe in River Island pieces created by designers who came from GFW and now work with us.

Hit play on the video below to see Kelis on the shoot in New York and don’t forget to check out the behind-the-scenes photos by clicking here.



You can now shop the Graduate Fashion Week designs, as seen on Kelis, in selected stores and online - just click here. Pick up your free copy of River Island Summerzine in stores or check it out online here to read our exclusive interview with Kelis.

Here they are – the photos of Diversity’s Ashley Banjo wearing the GFW Boutique pieces!

Everything Ashley is wearing was created by a designer who studied at a Graduate Fashion Week university before moving on to work at River Island. Watch the video below to see the outfits in action on the shoot with Ashley and to check out our catch up with the man himself. Oh and a few dance moves of course…



The Graduate Fashion Week designs, as seen on Ashley, are now available to buy in selected stores and online - click here to shop. Pick up your free copy of River Island Summerzine in stores or check it out online here to read our exclusive interview with Ashley.

Click here for behind-the-scenes pics of Ashley during the shoot.

Want to know how you can get into fashion and have a successful career in the industry? Attend the Inspire & Mentor with Marie Claire event and you’re sure to find out!



The Inspire & Mentor with Marie Claire event takes place as part of Graduate Fashion Week at Earls Court on Wednesday 9th June from 11am-1pm. At the event you’ll get the opportunity to get invaluable advice from a panel of some of the industry’s biggest names including Marie Claire’s Fashion Director, Jayne Pickering, Marie Claire’s Fashion Features Editor, Jess Wood, Matches boutique buyer, Georgina Gaiza, designer William Tempest, and our River Island Director of Fashion Communications, Sarah Walter. After the panel have talked you through how they started their fashion careers and how they became so successful, you can also catch up with them for a quick chat over drinks.

We’re sure you’ve noticed five brand new Style Insiders on the site. They all work here at River Island HQ and all play a part in making our sponsorship of Graduate Fashion Week a success. Over the next few weeks the Insiders will be giving you and insight into what it takes to produce the biggest fashion event of the summer.

So lets meet the new insiders...Charlotte and is a Marketing Assistant who will be blogging about working on the Style Insider website and how we produced the first River Island Summerzine for GFW.



Michael is an Assistant Buyer so he’ll be filling you in on how the items in our GFW Boutique are created from start to finish.

Our Graduate Fashion Week 2010 campaign is officially up and running so the GFW Boutique is now open for business!

Head over to the Boutique to see the latest items created by designers who studied at Graduate Fashion Week universities and now work with us here at River Island. Be sure to keep checking back too, more and more items will be added over the coming weeks. Click on the images above to shop our current favourites.