Ravensbourne students selected to show at London Fashion Week 2021

Fashion students from Ravensbourne University London will host an incredible, mixed reality showcase at London Fashion Week 2021. Ravensbourne is the only university in the country that is exhibiting at the prestigious, official event. The showcase will take place at the W hotel in Soho, Central London on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 September 2021.

Ravensbourne students have been accepted by the British Fashion Council to showcase at London Fashion Week. The exclusive, invitation-only presentation will see students host a digital and physical fashion experience. Our students have blended the innovative use of digital technology with traditional fashion craftsmanship for the show. They have also produced a film that celebrates the entire class of 2021.

In the summer of 2020, BA (Hons) Fashion and BA (Hons) Games Development students united to showcase their graduate collections via a slick, downloadable game which was streamed on Twitch. The game, titled Rave Digital, attracted a thousand concurrent visitors in the first 3 hours and had a staggering 36,800 unique views within the first day! The project made history as the first time that undergraduates had created their own avatars and digital outfits for a virtual fashion show. Students from the BA (Hons) Music & Sound Design, BA (Hons) Digital Television Production and BA (Hons) Digital Film Production courses have built upon this digital exploration with their own impressive show.

Our students have partnered with MO-SYS, an award-winning creator and manufacturer of innovative camera robotics and virtual production technologies. The company have worked on visually stunning films such as ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’, ‘Life of Pi’, ‘The Shape of Water’ and ‘Aquaman’ as well as Netflix phenomenon ‘Stranger Things’. The students have also partnered with Potion Pictures, an award-winning motion graphics and animation studio, to produce a film that will form an integral part of the fashion show. Potion Pictures introduced students to the latest virtual production technology, allowing them to create virtual set backgrounds and utilise real-time compositing.

Joe Phillips, Senior Designer at Potion Pictures and a Ravensbourne graduate, commented on the project, “It was great to come back to the university where it all began for me. Having graduated in 2015 it was the first time being back in the building. It was great to hear the students’ thoughts and help them understand this new dimension of design. These collaborations are important to the future of students and Potion Pictures are glad to have been a part of it.'

Lee Lapthorne, Programme Director Fashion, says: “This project brought together students from across Ravensbourne to produce an innovative and unique film; showcasing the very best of the class of 2021. Our students are known for being forward-thinking, creative, resilient and resourceful. They have a strong digital sensibility from the get-go and have adapted effortlessly to transdisciplinary and collaborative design.”

Students on Ravensbourne's BA (Hons) Fashion course can now choose a Digital Technology for Fashion Pathway as part of their second-year studies. This pioneering pathway ensures students are prepared for the digital technology that’s set to completely transform the fashion world,

London Fashion Week takes place from 17 – 21 September 2021. Visit the LFW website to find out more.