College collection showcases students with a bright future

Students. The word can cause Paul Calf-style loathing among many people. But not in the fashion industry. Student designers are the very epitome of new and news; the two things that the fashion media thrives on. And for the established labels, always on the lookout for fresh talent, the recent graduate designer also comes cheaply.

So the Central Saint Martins MA show yesterday was marked on the industry calendar. St Martins, alongside the Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, makes up the Oxbridge of fashion academia, with the college's MA the most illustrious course of them all. The list of significant alumni is as long as an extremely avant-garde arm on a jacket including, among others, John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Hussein Chalayan and Stella McCartney.

Yesterday's presentation did not disappoint. The overall look referenced the codes of youth culture and the utilitarian, with a nod to elegance. The palette was monochromatic.

Alistair Carr was the star of the show, mixing sporty and utilitarian influences with traditional technical flourishes. An oversized beige bomber jacket morphed into the silhouette of a Balenciaga-style balloon dress, or a short swing coat was layered over a Harrington-style jacket. Other collections of note included those of Eugene Reeder, who presented white menswear separates with off-kilter touches, and Sook-Jong Lee, who showed myriad variations on a black army jumper, adapting the basic concept into leggings, skirts and tops. Aleksandra Olenska presented cute dip-dyed prom dresses.

Patrick Soderstam is already causing a stir with his exaggerated skater shapes and kaleidoscopic eye. He is perhaps, given that his PR was in the audience, the most precocious of the lot. His models, with tights over their heads, might have been incognito, but he will not be unknown for long.