As Graduate Fashion Week 2024 comes to an end, the much-anticipated winners of this year’s prestigious ‘Best of GFW24’ Show have been announced.
Celebrating the stars of tomorrow, the event that was hosted by presenter, best-selling author and content creator, Megan Crabbe, shone a light on four standout designers from the week: Alice Daggett from Winchester School of Art, Patrik Platko from Coventry University, Elizaveta Lykova from Cambridge School of Visual Arts & Performing Arts University and Eleanor McMahon from MFI at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Established in 1991 by Graduate Fashion Foundation, Graduate Fashion Week continues to bridge the gap between graduation and employment by brining attention to the outstanding talent of tomorrow.
The organisation is backed by a number of global brands such as Debenhams, Next, Zalando and PVH Group and companies dedicated to supporting the emerging designers and creatives of the future. It also benefits from the wisdom of high-profile ambassadors and Lifetime Patrons, including Dame Zandra Rhodes DBE RDI, Christopher Bailey MBE, Nick Knight OBE, Victoria Beckham OBE, Caryn Franklin MBE, Gok Wan MBE and Christopher Raeburn.
This year, a Graduate Fashion Week one to watch was Alice Daggett from Winchester School of Art who walked away with the coveted the GFW24 Gold Catwalk Award.
The award was given to Alice after she impressed with her collection that was inspired by her heritage and upbringing in Yorkshire: “From a young age, I have loved women’s fashion and unique fabrics. Everything I design is to enable women to feel empowered through garments with timeless elegance. Most of what I design is inspired by what is around me.”
On winning, Alice said: “It’s an honour to be award with the Gold Award at Graduate Fashion Week, I’ve been surrounded by an incredible team of peers, tutors and support system who have got me here today.”
Another standout student for 2024 was Patrik Platko from Coventry University, who was awarded the GFW24 Silver Catwalk Award for their spectacular collection focused on celebrating uniforms and workers in uniforms: “I found that area of fashion really intriguing with rich potential and inspiration. I approached this by re-imaging classical uniform silhouettes, and almost the whole collection is made from existing garments and accessories which we were repurposed.”
Reflecting on their award, Patrik said: “I couldn’t be happier to win the Silver award, I didn’t even think I would make the top 25.”
The GFW24 Bronze Catwalk Award was given to Elizaveta Lykova from Cambridge School of Visual Arts & Performing Arts University.
During tonight’s show, three international students were recognised for their outstanding collections and awarded gold, silver, and bronze awards. The Gold award was presented to Peter Shonoda from Savannah College of Art and Design, USA.
Upon receiving the award, Peter remarked: “It feels unreal to win this award, it makes all the hard work a hundred times more worth it. Just seeing all of your hard work payoff is the most rewarding feeling in the entire world.
“My collection is titled The Dark Delusion of the Light – it tells the story of someone who was born into an abusive and dysfunctional household, and they escape into the light, but once they discover the light they realise the darkness has become a part of them and they need to make peace between the light and dark.”
Sasandi De Silva from the Academy of Design, Sri Lanka was awarded the Silver prize, and the Bronze award was awarded to Sumeng Sun from the College of Fashion and Design of Donghua University, China.
The Designers By Debenhams Catwalk to Collection Award was given to Eleanor McMahon from MFI at Manchester Metropolitan University. On winning, Eleanor said: “I'm really happy even to have the opportunity to be put forward for this award, so to win is amazing, and I'm so excited for what the future will hold.
“My collection is based around organic forms, taking inspiration from nature around me, and I wanted to embody that throughout the collection and create something that was vibrant, clashing and could be seen as too much.”