Central Saint Martins Opens Its Doors For Its Latest Graduate Exhibition

What have the class of 2022 cooked up now? From the weird to downright wonderful, we bring to you a selection of works from Central Saint Martins' most recent Fashion Communication graduates. Stemming from three pathways: Fashion History and Theory, Fashion Journalism and Fashion Communication and Promotion, the exhibition - which will be on show at the university's own Lethaby Gallery - covers a selection of essays, films, editorials and hard-hitting journalism. Immerse yourself in the talents of these young creatives and go see the exhibition for yourself.

Open to the public from 27 - 30 May, 12:00-18:00.

Rachel Fleminger Hudson: La Ronde

'Developed through extensive material, visual and academic research, La Ronde - depicting four interlinking couples - explores the latent tensions and contractions of the 1970s through the lens of dress. Taking influence both from directors like John Cassavetes and Ken Russell, and period documentary photography, the film simultaneously engages with everyday and spectacular elements of 1970s style and identities.'

Hyemi Koo: The Future of Humanity: A human being who becomes Homo Deus

The Future of human being who become Homo Deus’ will be expressed in three 3d motion graphic films; Homo Deus who combines with a machine and lives forever; Homo Deus who immigrates to the second Earth and Homo Deus who communicates with each other in 3D.

Jebi Labemika: Echoes Before Dawn

'A strip of road, a never-ending time-lapse of imagination, forever flowing, forever providing the foundation for those who walk, travel, make a living and simply exist on it. Echoes Before Dawn is a short film exploring the uncanny desires of a Cameroonian roadside at night... the film provides both distress and catharsis by exploring bodies so intertwined with the capital and destruction of their society yet forcing you to see the poetry and simplicity in their humanness.'

Victoria Ruiz: El Carnaval Que No Pasó

'El Carnaval Que No Pasó translates to the Carnival that did not happen. This series is born from my experience of the Venezuelan crisis depicting my interpretation of the citizen's dreams and the reality Venezuelans face. This project analyzes the empty promises made by the government to its citizens, using Carnival as a canvas to critique the ongoing turmoil using surreal elements to tell this narrative.'

Archie Taylor: Smithereen Exchange

'Our pockets hold a sacred wormhole. Narratives bounce, swell and condense in a chain reaction that casts infinite reflections. Content is dumped, reshared and regurgitated. Clouds of debris trickle tiny squares of colour into all aspects of our lives. This piece navigates the labyrinth of my own virtual consumption, honouring time spent online for its intensities in solitude and collective experience.'

Talia Beale: To Trudge In Zundon

'Blocks of council flats are often presented as forbidden turf for the poor or problematic. This film attempts to reimagine how estates can be represented through a curious and queer lens. For the creative and often conflicted kids from concrete castles whose hearts start at home; I hope to see the next top deck fear who hubs at the back of the bus, living their life in magic and not dust.'

Yelena Grelet: What's Sape?

'Dressing up, or precisely ‘saper’, is a means of rehabilitation, social affirmation and bodily expression. Through La Sape, the sapeur feels like a man in society, it allows him to exist socially. It is for the personal pleasure of being seen and being distinguished from others. This euphoria allows the sapeur to feel like he exists in a world where he alone counts, ignoring his entire environment. Sapeurs make ‘sape’ a necessity, a virtue, an art. La Sape can be traced back to the early years of colonialism when the Democratic Republic of the Congo was Belgian Congo. Captivated by the snobbery and refined elegance of the Coast Men’s attire, Congolese houseboys spurned their masters’ secondhand clothes and became unremitting consumers and fervent connoisseurs, spending their small wages extravagantly to acquire the latest fashions from Paris.'

Hannah Karpel: Access To Arts: Breaking the Class Ceiling

'Why does a career in the arts feel unattainable if you’re from a lower socio-economic background? Prompted by the recent 50% cuts to art and design courses across higher education in the UK, this timely documentary is a call to recognise the importance of the arts for all, before it’s too late.'

Sophie Bellamy: Fashioning Delilah: Love, Power and Alternative Narratives of the Biblical Femme Fatale

'Delilah has been categorised as a Biblical ‘bad’ woman who used her sexuality to ruin a strong man. My thesis questions Delilah’s historical condemnation by exploring the role dress plays in cultural representations of her, considering its effect on her narrative interpretations, both as a ‘femme fatale’ and a feminist figure.'

Alexandra Parkin: Common Threads: Fashion and Accessibility in Late Qing Suzhou, 1850-1911

This research investigates what fashion meant for lower class women in China during the final years of imperial rule. It explores how fashion manifested amidst the unique context of a rapidly developing commercial economy, the rigid Confucian gender ideology of an imperial government, and the intense political turmoil of the Opium Wars, Taiping Rebellion and the Boxer Rebellion. In doing so, the research explores the importance of fashion in the everyday lives of lower class women during this period, and the importance of these women to the dissemination of fashion in China.

Tegan Rush: An Exploration of Female Agency Through the Lens of Fashion in Post-Independent Bamako (1960-1968)

'My thesis presents an alternative reading of post-independent studio and documentary photography in Bamako (Mali), emphasising female narratives during the politically charged period of 1960-1968. It investigates agency through the lenses of two west African photographers Abdourahmane Sakaly (1926-1988) and Malick Sidibé (1936-2016).'