Yesterday, after staying up all night and then getting on a 4am coach, I was given the brilliant opportunity to take photographs at London Fashion Weekend, the aftermath of London Fashion Week that gives the general public the opportunity to watch catwalk shows and shop for designer goodies, as part of the Canon team. I've never attended London Fashion Weekend before and so, with team members from Canon guiding me, I was rushed through the compact bazaar around the showroom and into the photographer's pit alongside 20 or so others, with barely any time to take in my surroundings. When I photographed at Graduate Fashion Week I had the freedom to sit in the crowd and take photographs at my own will; here, I had to quickly secure my 50cm x 50cm spot and make sure that I didn't get in anybody's way (or suffer a deadly elbow in the back if I did).

My brief was to take 5 beautiful photographs from each catwalk show I attended, to send to Canon for juding in a competition that could win me a Canon 650D and a chance to photograph at London Fashion Week next year. The first catwalk I photographed was the 'Trends' show, a 30-45 minute display of the upcoming A/W trends. Catwalk presenter Zoe Hardman talked the audience through each style - Kitchen Chic, Sergeant Indigo and Lady Brocade, all put together by resident stylist Miss Molly - before the models came walking down the aisle, at which point I had to rapidly arrange my aim, zoom and focus before snapping away. These are the 5 photographs from the 'Trends' show that I put forward to Canon.

The second show I attended was a designer highlights show by Issa, a London dress company with many celebrity fans. Put together by Issa's creative director Daniella Helayel, the collection featured bold prints inspired by Moscow and, more specifically, Red Square. Bold colour combinations and a sophisticated, feminine silhouette were noticeable in each design, and the Russian-style motifs really made the collection stand out. I spent this show in a different position to the last, stood up in the middle of the pit as opposed to crouched uncomfortably at the front. Using both a 70-300mm and a 24-70mm lens I managed to capture close-ups of the models as well as an overall sweeping gaze of the room. These are the images I chose to send to Canon from the Issa show.

After the Issa show, I had the time to look around London Fashion Weekend as a whole. What I found was 35 or more designer label pop-up shops, each crammed into a small room within Somerset House. In one wing of the building I found myself with a free can of coke and the opportunity to pose with a Jean Paul Gaultier coke bottle for a photo that would be immortalised on a postcard I could take away, whilst further down the hall discounted off-season designer clothes were being sold to the crowds of well-dressed fashionistas; meanwhile, in the small area surrounding the show space, the Vodafone Lounge was hosting a Q&A on what goes on behind the scenes at a cover shoot for the team behind Elle Magazine. It was a great atmosphere and was filled with a myriad of gorgeous, intricately-designed clothes (way out of my price range, of course), and I really hope to go back next year. Or, fingers crossed, maybe I'll have the chance to experience the real fashion week...

I'll leave you with some of my other photos, which didn't quite make it to Canon but are still favourites nevertheless.

Catwalks at Graduate Fashion Week

Not only did my AAA pass at Graduate Fashion Week allow me to access a lot of areas that were out of bounds for the general public, it also meant that I could get into the catwalk shows as a member of the press, blag a front-row seat, and photograph away to my heart's content. The photos I took of the catwalks and the designs weren't going to be used on the official GFW blog, I knew that much, because there was already a designated photographer/writer team who were covering them. That meant that I could take as many photos as I wanted, but had to be careful; if I'd spent too much time away from my own designated tasks it would've looked like I was slacking off, and as a result I only went to 4 catwalk shows. Out of those 4 I only took photos at 3 - Salford, East London, and the university I was most impressed with design-wise and show-wise, UCA Rochester. These are my favourite photos from each show.

East London:

Salford:

  

UCA Rochester:

  

   

What I really liked about the work of the UCA Rochester students was the amazing diversity between all of the designers, and the amount of effort that appeared to have gone into not just the designs but the show itself. The catwalk show opened up in silence, with a faded milky light on the entrance to the catwalk. From the empty, sterile environment two figures emerged, dressed like scientists in white coats, and reached out for a row of coat hangers that had been suspended above the stage. Under the discerning gaze of the entire audience, they dressed the first model in his outfit, left the stage, and then - just like that - the music began, the lights intensified, and the models starting walking. Each set was something new, and brilliant. The decorations used to adorn the models was extremely imaginative, and every set of clothing had a perfectly apt song choice to accompany them down the catwalk. Not only that, the students had gone to the effort of creating a fashion magazine, which was placed on the seats of those in the front few rows, entitled Geist. I read through this magazine on the hour-long journey home, and was really impressed. From interesting case studies about unpaid interns, to androgynous fashion shoots, the magazine is well researched, well presented, and was very well received. It might have been because UCA Rochester was the last show I got to see before I came back to Norwich, but it really seemed like there was something special about the work I saw.

My experience at Graduate Fashion Week

Last Saturday was, I thought at the time, one of the most hectic days of the last couple of months. After an 11 o'clock finish the night before, I was up at 9am for a 10am-6pm shift. And, once I'd finished ringing newspapers and alcohol through the cash register, I had less than an hour to pack up my things, get on a coach and travel 119 miles to Victoria Station, London. Upon arrival, I had another hour's worth of travel to complete before arriving at my destination: the house of my boyfriend's parents, in North London. However despite the exhaustion settling into my bones after the non-stop day of work, panic, and travel, the next day, the first day of Graduate Fashion Week, turned out to be far more difficult.

In the official Graduate Fashion Week blogging team, I was assigned the role of sponsor photographer. This meant focussing on the stalls, events and products of the key sponsors of GFW- namely George, Barclay's, Karen Millen, L'Oreal, Mulberry and Rimmel - as well as the various partners dotted around the exhibition such as Coca-Cola. From the moment I received my Access All Areas badge and was told I was the only photographer without a real schedule, I was excited. This meant that I could go wherever I want throughout the entire exhibition, from backstage to the sponsors' lounge to the press office, whilst only having the obligation of returning to the Artsthread Blogging Bar every couple of hours to upload my photos to the server. With free entry to all of the catwalk shows and the privilege of being allowed to photograph the works of the students (a privilege only permitted to members of the press and the official team), I had a lot to photograph. It took me a while to find my feet in the large exhibition space, and even longer to build up the courage to flash my AAA pass to the men guarding the backstage doors; but, when I did, I found myself enveloped in the world of fashion and everything to do with it. It was exciting, not to mention intimidating, to wander amongst the awe-inspiring designs of the graduates and photograph them moments later on the catwalk, or to find myself being led around the entire event and introduced to some big names by the director of events.

But, by the second day, I was having mixed feelings. Whilst the exhibition housed some amazing work by the students, and the catwalk shows were phenomenally produced, none of my photos of these things were really being used. And, whilst everyone else on the blogging team had been paired up with one photographer to one writer, I had been left to my own devices - meaning that no-one was writing stories to go alongside my photographs, and therefore they weren't being looked at. With no schedule, minimal guidelines, and only staggered intervals in which to upload my photos, I wasn't getting much done and felt like I could be spending my time far more productively. On top of this, some of the people higher up in the team than me seemed unsure about what move to take next - whereas I was raring to go, planning every next step myself and formulating blog layouts in my head. So, therefore, I decided to focus on the things that interested me the most: the fashion, the catwalk, backstage, and the pop-up events that were taking place. I'm going to be writing my own blog posts about the various different things I chose to photograph, my opinions on these different categories, and how well they worked at GFW. No one has written these pieces for me, so they are my own personal experiences and opinions regarding the designers, organisers, crew, makeup artists and sponsors of Graduate Fashion Week as a whole. And, having signed no contract with the people who gave me the job, I can also share with you the photos I took.

Graduate Fashion Week

On Wednesday, my alarm went off at 8am. I dragged myself out of bed, got ready - and was on a London-bound bus by 10am. I arrived at Liverpool Street Station at midday, with an hour left to get to Hackney and figure out where the Graduate Fashion Week's offices were. By the time I got there, I was sweating. The temperature in Norwich when I'd left had been overcast, but at lunchtime in London it was boiling, with ice cream vans on nearly every corner and sunglasses attached to everyone's faces. I found the offices, and was welcomed by Cat Kinselia, the production manager of Graduate Fashion Week and the woman I'd been emailing for the last few weeks. We were joined by her colleague Sam, and had a 15-minute, informal discussion in the meeting room before I was back on my way.

On Twitter about a month ago, I read a retweet by someone that stated that Graduate Fashion Week were looking for photographers and to please contact Cat. I did so, with a link to this blog and some other examples of my work, and was told that I would be good for one of the positions. On Wednesday, I dropped by the offices to talk about this position, and what my role will be during Graduate Fashion Week. And I couldn't be more excited with what I've been given. Covering 4 days, Graduate Fashion Week celebrates the work of all graduating fashion and textiles students, in a series of catwalk shows, exhibitions, and displays. During this period I will be photographing the sponsors involved with Graduate Fashion Week (George, L'Oreal, Karen Millen, to name a few), including their products, the products in use (i.e. on the models), their displays, and any celebrity endorsements they've chosen to bring along. I will be photographing alongside big names, and the images will end up on the official Graduate Fashion Week blog, as well as any associated websites. And, in the midst of all of this, I will also have free periods where I can go and photograph whatever I want backstage; the models, the crowds, the clothes - whatever I want. I'm going to be heading back to the offices soon to have a briefing about the role, and the work itself will begin on June 10th and continue until June 13th; the days will be long, and the travelling will be arduous. Fingers crossed that the weather will be nice!

To finish up, here is a photo that summarises my day in London: a businessman struggling against the unexpected heat, taken near Bank, next to the river where people were enjoying their lunch and a spot of ice cream.

London: a week of sunshine.