CSM MA FASHION 2025: New Slot, New Attitude

Usually, the CSM runway is overtaken by a sense of rebellion, with graduates often feeling frustrated by the industry, with the post-Covid/post-Brexit classes expressing an intense desire to be seen, or to be hired. This year, however, felt different. The designers appeared to treat the act of creating fashion as a privilege – something they want to continue post-graduation. It makes sense, given that this generation has been exposed to the bare realities of the industry. They know what they’ve signed up for, yet they’ve decided to move forward. Many of them have studied their craft for over six years, and the majority want to launch their own labels and continue their practices after graduation. Is this aspiration to start a brand only a “symptom” of the designers who made it in the show, or is it a reflection of an industry with no better options?

This year’s cohort demonstrates a strong sensibility toward tactility, fabric, and technique. Each collection offers a deep exploration of identity, memory, imperfection, heritage, and modernity. Tuuli Turunen’s Nightwalk evokes the mysterious, dreamlike quality of nighttime cities with garments that feel worn, lived-in, and connected to the past, using repurposed fabrics like old curtains and blankets. Petra Fagerstrom’s Recollection//404 delves into how AI distorts memory, employing glitch-inspired design elements to challenge traditional ideals of femininity and history. Kelechukwu Mpamaugo’s used custom Isiagu-printed lace, reimagining the traditional Igbo fabric and layered it over denim to explore the intersection of West African traditions and Black American culture and Isidora Durovic draws inspiration from the timeless, functional wardrobes of women artists, focusing on low-maintenance, machine-washable fabrics and subtraction cutting.

While the concepts are strong, the emphasis is clearly on the materials. This refreshing focus on the art of making, coupled with confident expertise in craft and sustainability, led us to question whether the future for emerging talents should be the one that is mapped out for them: a presentation space at London Fashion Week, a support scheme’s showroom in Paris for a season or two, or perhaps a spot on the website of an online stockist after a small order. The predictability of this system for young designers is limited and ephemeral, and today’s creators are both industry- and craft-literate enough to outgrow it.”

The question remains: will they resist the urge to mould themselves into what the emerging fashion ecosystem expects of them to give LFW another season of newness? Or will they harness their creative drive to forge more original and fulfilling paths?

Petra Fagerstrom

In Recollection//404, Fergstrom explores the fragility of memory in a tech-driven world, imagining how AI might distort history and fashion’s obsession with the past. Drawing from 1940s and ’50s womenswear, particularly Dior and Chanel, the collection challenges traditional ideals of purity and passivity, using glitches to subvert the “trad wife” image. Key pieces include double-front garments and a bomber opera cape, influenced by AI-generated errors. Materials combine classic wools and tweeds with waxed cotton and nylon to blur the lines between passivity and activity. Lenticular pleats create animated effects, and trompe-l’œil prints with CLO 3D avatars explore digitalisation in handcrafted work. Pleated garments represent memory distortion, and disappearing clothes address themes of shame. Next, the designer will showcase their work at Paris Fashion Week as part of the Swedish Fashion Council Showroom and continue developing their next collection.

Tuuli Turunen

Tuuli Turunen’s “Nightwalk”, is inspired by the mysterious atmosphere of a city at night, where familiar streets take on an air of intrigue and imagination fills in the details of shadowy figures. The designer explored an alternative to the traditional femme-fatale, where strength and respect don’t need to be expressed through loud, bold gestures. The collection features garments that feel worn and lived-in, like items passed down or found in charity shops – ill-fitting suits, long-sleeved T-shirts, outerwear, and hoodies – imbued with memories and hints of the past. These pieces, made from fabrics like linen, velvet, silk, muslin, and wool, incorporate deadstock and repurposed materials, including old curtains and cashmere blankets, some of which have been dyed or screen-printed. Turunen plays with the materiality of the fabrics, intentionally distorting their shapes to create a sense of fragility and imperfection. The colour palette is predominantly off-black, with carefully dyed fabrics in varying shades to create subtle nuances in different lighting. Influenced by music, cinema, and themes of nostalgia, the collection draws inspiration from films like Dogtooth, Twin Peaks, and The Seventh Seal. Tuuli intends to extend this collection into a full solo show and continue their artistic practice, making made-to-order pieces with a focus on slow, thoughtful creation outside the constraints of the fashion industry’s schedule.

Jacek Gleba Puig

This collection is inspired by the diary of choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky, exploring our desire for connection through everyday movement, seen as a form of diary and a gateway to intimacy. The garments are designed to embody queerness in the ordinary, with attention to how they shift across space to reflect effeminacy and gesture. Influences also include choreographer Michael Clark, videographer Charles Atlas, and artists Patrick Procktor and Suzanne Valadon. The collection uses natural materials like bamboo jersey, wool crêpe, deadstock silk, and natural rubber elastics. The colour palette is inspired by stills from Kenneth Anger’s films. Key techniques include a shirt made with hand-stitched ribbons using a ‘faggoting’ technique to create floating stripes, and personal diary entries sewn into each garment as tags. Gleba Puig is excited to continue creating clothes daily, aiming to make it a lifelong practice.

Liu Xueyang

Inspired by vulnerability, this collection is shaped by the designer’s own experiences with discrimination, reflecting on how embracing vulnerability can be a strength. It invites others to wear their stories with pride and recognise the deep connections that bind us all. The collection features intricate knitting that encodes the message “WE ARE ALL CONNECTED” in Binary ASCII, with knit stitches representing 0 and purl stitches representing 1. The subtle, personal colour choices in the collection are an extension of the designer’s emotions. Post-graduation, Xueyang hopes to start their own brand in London, continuing to use knitting techniques to weave meaningful messages into their designs and create inclusive, engaging fashion.

Scar Kennedy

The collection “Personality Hire” reflects the absurdity and surrealism of office spaces, celebrating the “off-ish” nature of office life. Inspired by the 1997 film Clockwatchers, which follows four women in a tedious office job, the collection explores how the mundane can be exaggerated and the creativity that arises from boredom. The collection features upcycled office telephone cords, which are ‘buried’ in striped jersey knit to create distorted, glitch-like patterns. Other techniques include printing onto elasticated knit to create a bubble wrap effect, used in pieces like the ‘anti-surveillance’ self-portrait dress and office chair leotard. Many garments are made by hand on a domestic knitting machine, ensuring zero-waste construction. The colour palette combines dull greys and browns with day-glow neons, reminiscent of fluorescent lighting. After CSM, Kennedy aims to launch their own brand while continuing to experiment with knitwear techniques.

Keogh Dewar 

‘001’, the collection of Alison Keogh and Kate Dewar – presented under the name Keogh Dewar – emerged from a fascination with the mundane, transforming ordinary items into captivating pieces. With a focus on hyper-normativity, the collection pushes fabrications and colours to the extreme, reimagining three staple garments – a polo shirt, a dress shirt, and straight trousers – through experimental techniques. The duo used AI-driven development to turn digital concepts into reality, playing with perception to challenge what is real and what isn’t.

This collaboration began during their BA at Central Saint Martins, where they quickly bonded over their shared approach to design. After working separately on their final BA collections, they decided to continue as a duo for their MA, creating a strong, unified voice in menswear. Both admire women designing menswear and draw inspiration from them as they carve out their own space in the industry. The collection features unconventional fabrics like lamé, velvet, lurex, latex, and chiffon, paired with bold colour combinations to create a tension between blending in and standing out. Their work aims to evoke intrigue and disorientation, making everyday pieces feel unexpectedly captivating. The pair are committed to developing their brand and vision for menswear, and are excited to keep collaborating and creating work that reflects their energy and perspective, whether full-time or alongside other ventures.

Yaoyao Huang

Huang’s ‘cyclecore’ is a fashion style designed for those who live life at full speed, embracing adventure without sacrificing boldness or style. Inspired by the swinging ’60s and professional cycling wear, the collection features bold geometric patterns like polka dots, stripes, and chevrons. The aim is to create knitwear for active individuals who want to stand out, whether heading to the office, opera, or dancefloor. The collection uses unique yarns such as sequins, tinsel, and vibrant colours to make a statement. The patterns, inspired by traditional cycling bibs from the Tour de France, add a dynamic edge to the pieces. Yaoyao aims to develop their own brand and work as a knitwear designer for established brands they admire.

Jane Fu

Jane Fu’s collection is inspired by nomadic exploration and the figure of the ‘hunter’ – someone who seeks and pursues, blending urban tailoring with outdoor apparel. It imagines urban space as a new artificial nature, focusing on four survival aspects: conformity, shelter, viability, and comfort. The design process uses Bruno Latour’s ‘Network Tracing’ theory, examining the interaction between body and garment. Traditional double-faced cashmere is reworked with sustainable materials like recycled Cordura, dry-waxed organic cotton, and upcycled leather. The colour palette creates a sophisticated, artificial yet sincere feel, balancing futuristic and nostalgic elements. Fu plans to launch a brand in London focused on next-generation cashmere products, connecting with East Asia, where the finest cashmere originates, and reflecting a blend of past heritage and future vision.

Jude Braganza

Braganza’s work is inspired by the glamorous people and diverse cultural influences the designer grew up around in his “family of Goan migrants in Bombay”. The blend of Western dress, classical music, Catholic imagination, and a Scottish heritage all shaped Braganza’s vision. Circularity plays a key role in the collection, using end-of-mill fabrics from London and upcycled textiles, along with sustainably sourced organic materials from India. The pieces are designed to be wearable, size-inclusive, and filled with cultural juxtaposition, offering a message that fashion can remain joyful, experimental, and powerful while honouring craft and heritage beyond the gender binary. Looking forward, the designer aims to expand their craft and grow by working in the fashion industry, with landing a job in a fashion house as a top priority.

Jake Zhang

This collection is about finding joy in an uncertain future, creating a new wardrobe that brings digital escapes, like video games and cartoons, into the real world. Made from upcycled garment waste, deadstock fabrics, and foam offcuts, the design process combines digital and physical methods, blending 3D modelling and AI with draping. Grey jersey and sports mesh are paired with vibrant “Simpsons yellow” Aertex and bright red Lycra. Zhang aspires to keep evolving their practice and explore new ways to share their garments with the world.

Lucas Moretti

This collection draws inspiration from Valerie Solanas’ SCUM Manifesto and Larry Mitchell’s The Faggots & Their Friends Between Revolutions, alongside the atmosphere of walking home through misty London streets. Music and visual references, like Berlinde de Bruyckere’s drawings and films like Daughters of Darkness and Crash, evoke the idea of a feral, shapeshifting woman. The women in the designer’s life, particularly two friends, Clementine and Fiona, have greatly influenced the designs. The collection is dominated by black to focus on textures and silhouettes. Wool, tights fabrics, and macramé techniques were used, with the latter creating a fur-like effect. Collaborating with textile student Oliver Roberts, the designer incorporated knitwear to enhance movement. Tailoring was essential to reflect the transformation of woman into beast. One standout piece is a glass-beaded dress made out of two second-hand beaded and sequin embroidered garments, then draped onto the undergarment; every piece of the outer shell of the dress is reused, from the panels to the trimmings and small embroidered pieces. Moretti is eager to work under a respected name in the industry post-graduation, focusing on craftsmanship and textiles. In the long term, they hope to launch a project, either under their own name or in collaboration with friends, as creative collaboration is central to their work.

Thatton Phinyophummin

Titled “Rude Etiquette (or The Revival of a Tragic Clown)”, Phinyophummin’s collection is inspired by the pursuit of an unreachable dream, exploring the themes of imperfection, metamorphosis, and eroticism. The collection features a unique blend of materials, including Thai silk, tape, and hand stitching, with unusual combinations that challenge conventional design. When talking about the future, the designer’s vision is encapsulated by the phrase, “Today your love, tomorrow the world!”

Zihan Liu

Zihan Liu’s collection is inspired by a journey across Europe, where the designer sought meaning and freedom, using their body as a provocation in cities, challenging the stillness of the environment. The designer wore a vintage shirt that became worn from frequent use, covering it with a coat, leaving only the collar visible. Upon returning to China, they learned bamboo weaving and began creating headpieces from various objects like bowls and streetlamps. For the collection, the designer drew color inspiration from sketches of stones at the Vienna Natural Museum, using leftover fabrics and techniques like appliqué and mono-printing to create unique textiles. The garments are designed to fit diverse body shapes, with an emphasis on freedom and immediacy in construction. Liu plans to continue their creative journey with an exhibition focused on their travels.

Oriol Clavell

Clavell’s work is inspired by the book Viaje al centro de la Infamia by Sosa Machín and the queer contra-cultural movements under Franco’s dictatorship. It blends utilitarian and military garments with cabaret-inspired elements, creating a deconstructed, dark, hybrid glamour. The collection represents an escape from a distorted environment, with garments merging in a way that challenges identification – blurring the lines between a cowl neck top and bomber jacket or tights and jeans. The collection features upcycled accessories like belts, caps, and fascinators, combined with draped fabrics such as jersey, nylon, and cotton. The contrast between structured geometric elements and relaxed drapes plays a key role. Technology also plays a part, with 3D scanning and printing used in the design process. After the show, the designer will focus on self-care, but is open to new projects and continuing custom orders.

William Palmer

William Plamer’s collection was inspired by their personal experiences during a transitional period in their life, including moving back to London and working a part-time job to fund their course. Reflecting on the pressures tied to financial success, the designer sought to subvert the traditional concept of the “breadwinner” through humorous pieces like the breadwinner bag. They also aimed to capture a playful, childlike energy, creating oversized underwear hybrids to explore the link between childhood play and adulthood. Imperfections, such as bite marks on the clothes, were incorporated to challenge the perfectionist pressures of society and embrace flaws. The collection redefines masculinity, promoting emotional expression, vulnerability, and fluidity, while maintaining strength and confidence. William drew from traditional menswear materials like Ventile organic cotton, recycled British wool, and indigo denim, with elements like upcycled tea towels and elastic bands to blur the lines between casual and formal, childhood and adulthood. Palmer envisions running their own studio, collaborating on sustainable and authentic collections, and pushing the fashion industry toward greater emotional expression and sustainability, with aspirations of eventually becoming a creative director at a major fashion house.

Lily Teiger

Lily Teiger’s collection “Bunny’s Closet” is a blend of history and personal expression, drawing inspiration from both the designer’s and their grandmother Bunny’s wardrobes. By merging 19th-century silhouettes with modern technical fabrics like Gore-Tex (donated by The North Face), the collection creates a conversation between past and present. The use of vintage textiles reimagined with contemporary materials is complemented by jacquards, silks, and velvets. The base palette is largely monotone, allowing pops of neon laces and royal blue undergarments to stand out subtly. Victorian-inspired bust lines and corseted jackets are juxtaposed with draped drop-crotch pants, blending and subverting the traditional female silhouette to create a vision of the modern woman. The designer carefully balances the historical and the modern through the use of innovative fabric techniques and contrasts. Moving forward, Lily plans to offer made-to-order variations of the collection before taking a well-earned break after seven years at Central Saint Martins.

Isidora Durovic

Inspired by the simplicity and timelessness of the everyday wardrobes of women artists like Joan Didion and Georgia O’Keeffe, Durovic aims to create essential pieces that are effortless, practical, and comfortable. The focus was on easy-to-wear, low-maintenance garments, with a design stripped of unnecessary details to concentrate on functionality. The collection features sustainable fabrics from Manteco, using recycled wool and natural fibres like viscose, silk, and cotton-linen blends. Key elements include machine-washable garments, such as a knitted wool jacket lined with soft cotton jersey for added comfort. Durovic employed subtraction cutting techniques to reduce waste and improve efficiency. After the show, the designer wants to have a period of reflection to process their journey and define the direction of her future work.

Kelechukwu Mpamaugo

“Home and World” is inspired by the duality of the Mpamaugo’s Nigerian and Black American identity, exploring the coexistence of tradition and modernity. The collection reflects the fluidity of identity, drawing from West African traditions and the cool athleticism embedded in Black American style. It celebrates resilience, cultural fusion, and the ways individuals navigate and shape culture globally. The collection incorporates custom Isiagu-printed lace, reimagining the traditional Igbo fabric, layered over denim to symbolise the blending of heritage and strength. The colour palette, inspired by Nigeria’s naira currency, includes shades of pink, magenta, green, and blue. Techniques like drawstring detailing nod to education and the pursuit of transformation in Nigerian culture. Looking ahead, the designer plans to evolve their brand, Koat, into a fully realised label, continuing to explore the intersection of athleisure, culture, and identity.