Creative defiance wins at the class of 2020 virtual fashion degree shows

Design by Taz Dorodi modelled by Simmy Kanda. Picture by Simon Hulme

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A group of Leeds Arts University fashion students found new creative energy when they decided to stay together during lockdown to create their final collections, writes Stephanie Smith. Pictures by Simon Hulme.

It’s been a tough year for the graduate class of 2020, many having to return to their family homes, missing their final months at university and their friends while negotiating a whole new landscape for exams and assessments. For fashion and art graduates, it has also meant missing out on an event they have been working towards throughout their entire three-year degree - their graduate shows when they present their final collections and projects.

But the show must go on, and if that means online, so be it. One group of seven Leeds students - Beth Midgley, Jess Coulson Morley, Ella Liversidge, Charli Senior, Joe Harris, Sarah Robinson and Lily Susser, six in their final year of degrees in Fashion and Fine Art - decided to stay together in their student house in Headingley to complete their final term and prepare for the online Leeds Arts University Show 2020. It was a situation that came out of necessity as the house included those with family homes in Australia, America and France as well as Yorkshire, but the experience turned into an invaluable extended module in collaboration, resourcefulness and creativity under challenging circumstances.

Lockdown prevented access to the university buildings and its equipment, including industry-standard sewing machines, professional photography studios and woodwork, metal and print workshops. Materials were also hard to come by, but the students met the challenges by adapting their house - the living room became a sewing room, the basement was turned into a photography studio and bedrooms doubled as workrooms and studios. They shared equipment borrowed from the university.

Design by Emi Talaga modelled by Oliver James Campbell. Picture by Simon Hulme

“Once we got over the initial hurdle of accepting what was happening and the disappointment that the end of year show wouldn’t take place in the University, we decided to embrace the new situation and really go for it,” said final year BA (Hons) Fashion student Bethany Midgley. “The impact of the support and encouragement of everyone in the house has been a major positive with collaboration across courses that is unlikely to have happened otherwise.”

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Fellow graduating Fashion student Charli Senior added that there had been some surprising benefits, such as having the time to learn new skills. “I’ve learnt to crochet, for example. And, we have been able to refine design ideas and think more deeply about the details in our designs without the pressure of making as many garments as we would have in the University.”

Nicola Knight, course leader, BA Hons Fashion at Leeds Arts University said: “We are extremely proud of how our students have adapted to complete their studies in these unprecedented times. They have demonstrated outstanding commitment, creative thinking and resilience to find new solutions and outcomes for their work. Fashion industry employers recognise the importance of resourcefulness and innovation and the unexpected challenges met by the class of 2020 will be of great benefit to their future careers.