Featured image: Molly Clements

The Manchester Fashion Institute (MFI) graduating class of 2024 hosted their annual fashion graduate show at New Century in Manchester’s NOMA district, presenting the work from across the MFI’s disciplines and courses.

The event Meet The Future served as a creative showcase, exhibiting work from the following courses: BA Fashion Promotion, BA Fashion Art Direction, BA Fashion Design and Technology, BA Fashion, BA International Fashion, BSc Fashion Buying and Merchandise, BSc Fashion Business and Management and BSc Fashion Marketing.

An outside exhibition was constructed outside the venue in Saddlers Yard, featuring work from a select handful of students from across the MFI programmes including Fashion Art Direction students Thea Mary Holmes and Grace Potts.

Thea’s photography focused on themes of maximalism and theatre, curating her images using second-hand garments and featuring independent designers. Grace labelled her images as having a primary focus on displaying the raw and authentic emotions intertwined with social issues, especially for the younger generations. 

Fashion Promotion student Lydia Sheppard featured four examples of her own photography from a project intended to advertise the Adidas Originals, highlighting photographers Adrienne Salinger, Sly Morikawa, and artist Corbin Shaw. Coinciding with the events at New Century and Saddlers Yard, the Fashion Business and Communication courses previewed their array of work at Altogether Otherwise.

The highlight of Meet The Future was the two fashion catwalks – followed by a digital fashion catwalk later on in the evening – displaying the work of talented from the BA Fashion and BA Fashion Design and Technology courses.

The designers unveiled their collections to family, friends, and industry guests, conveying to the sell-out audience their individual design identity and personality through their collections. Many of the designs that featured on the runway pushed gender boundaries, featuring gender fluid garments and styling, with a strong collection of menswear designers demonstrating technical “gorpcore” inspired designs. 

Fashion Design and Technology showcased first, with standouts from student designers Georgia Sly, Amrita Mukherjee, and Bailey William Warburton. As the models filled out down the runway, bringing the vision of the young designer to life, tech beats overlaid with poetry and spoken word accompanied them, creating a dynamic experience for the audience.

The music was specifically created for the shows by IS33N, through Brighter Sound charity, which brought the show to life, tying together the theatrics and rich feeling of the shows. 

Another standout from the show was designer Molly Smith who showcased a utilitarian reminiscent collection with neutral earthy tones and different textures, featuring a jacket designed to be worn as a rucksack.

Georgia Valentine closed the show with a futuristic, space-like design, which was recently showcased at London’s Graduate Fashion Week. The garment’s long train dominated the runway; the silver reflecting the lights of the runway creating a visual spectacle. 

The BA Fashion Show exhibited another round of young designers featuring everything from bows, belts and balaclavas, to hoods, hosiery, and hats galore. Standouts included designers Maya Macdonald, Kitty Everson, and Molly Morgan who presented their collections. Molly’s four-piece collection, titled ‘Gimme 10 more mins’, was inspired by the joy of girlhood and dressing up, featuring various shades of pink and many hand crafted bows. 

BA Fashion student, Yara Engineer, after the show says: “Everything is really overwhelming… This has been an amazing place to start. I’m super proud of myself and my friends and it feels like a very full circle moment.”

Describing the inspiration behind her designs Yara attributes her use of scrap metal from him in her work to the influence of her dad and his work with cars and mechanics. She adds, “I think that this is a great opportunity for young designers and I’m excited to see what the future holds.”

As another academic year draws to a close, MFI releases another generation of artists, designers, and creatives out into the city of Manchester and the world.

The Graduate Fashion Week shortlist nominations included a host of MFI graduating students, including Fashion Art Direction graduate Claudia Burke , and BA Fashion student Eleanor Mcmahon, who won Graduate Fashion Week’s Debenhams Catwalk to Commercial prize.

You can find out more about Meet The Future, the graduating students, and view their work online on in the digital showcase here. Follow @McrFashionInstitute to stay in the loop with their latest news and events.