Mix it Up at Graduate Fashion Week

Our pop up studio with i-D Magazine at Graduate Fashion Week gave All Walks the chance to fly the flag for The Diverse, The Dashing and The Deliciously kitted out.

Everyone was keen to show us their best fashionable-foot-forward and make a statement in support of diversity. Our supporters, captured here just before lift off, by photographer Daniel Sims are all advocates of being unique and individual.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Susie Lau

Founder Style Bubble

“My love of fashion was born out of feeling different, feeling like I didn’t belong or fit in. What attracted me to fashion was the freedom to express myself through attire and that it is an industry full of designers, photographers, stylists and creatives, who all have unique points of view. It’s incredible that the very industry that is bursting with diverse creativity and supposedly fosters uniqueness, is actually promoting conformity - be it in size, race, background or aesthetics. It’s not the same fashion industry that I fell in love with. When fashion becomes prescriptive, that’s the death of creativity.”

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Natalie Gage

Model with Milk Management

“Recognising that people are unique in their own way should be valued and embraced because without Diversity, life would be boring - Diversity makes life interesting. It should be celebrated!”

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Anette and Dani Felder

Designers: Felder Felder

“All Walks is such a wonderful concept with a very important message.

If fashion seeks to push boundaries why can beauty not do the same? We love that All Walks challenges our ideal of beauty and what we have been brought up with and got to accept as our norm.

Diversity stands for Individuality, diversity stands for creativity and excitement- all elements that have attracted us to fashion in the first place.

We feel there is a shift in our perception of beauty happening at the moment- may it be keep an open mind about what fits into it and what does not.”

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

David Gant

Model

“Diversity is important to me because it creates an excitement and a spirit, not only in the clothes one is wearing - but within one’s self. It gives your heart joyfulness and a spring in your step.

Collins English Dictionary defines DIVERSITY as ‘the quality of being different or varied,’ I agree. The word ‘quality’ being important.”

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Felicity Hayward

Model

“Diversity is important because no two people on this earth are the same and this should be celebrated.”

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Daniel Lismore

Creative Director Sorapol

Individuality is the thing that makes us special…fashion sometimes forgets that and shows us repeat visions of one human ideal….Life is so much more exciting than the fashion world would have us believe. Women experience body image pressures first hand but so do men. Having modelled, I know how restrictive the body weight requirement is for male models too. It’s important that All Walks reminds fashion industry creatives that all bodies are valuable.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alex Bruni

Model

“Men and women are diverse, diversity is part of life and thus diversity should be reflected in fashion, advertising and the creative arts.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Graduate Fashion Week

Showcasing the very best talent from 40 of the UK’s premier fashion and design universities and 16 International Universities (including Parsons, BUNKA, FIT and Istituto Marangoni) GFW proved to be a hot-bed of opinion on diversity and a worthy venue for All Walks Beyond the Catwalk Diversity NOW! Our student competition in association with i-D Magazine.

Huge congratulations to the Arts University Bournemouth who’s catwalk show was the embodiment of diversity, and to Edinburgh College of Art who took two of the three top design prizes: Gold Winner Lauren Smith, tributed by Roland Mouret, acknowledged Edinburgh College of Art, our home for the All Walks Diversity Network, as the best place for learning to work with and understand a range of bodies.

All Walks hosts an annual educational think tank now in its fourth year. Diversity NOW! our project devoted to politicising fashion creatives is now in its second year and the Edingburgh College of Art, All Walks Diversity Network is now in its third year. All initiatives are in pursuit of diversity in front of the lens and BEHIND it!

With a cast of spectacular creatives below, both students and tutors from a variety of colleges up and down the country, we believe the future of fashion is in safe hands.

Mix It Up

Photographer: Daniel Sims

Art Team: Sophie Parker & Daniel Sims
Creative Production and Casting: Rachel Holland
Live Casting Scout: Michael Williamson
Assistant Producer: Kim Smith
Production Assistant: Noelia Santa Garcia
Make up: AOFM, Media and Fashion Styling Make-up and Hair Design, Southampton Solent University, Nails using ‘B’ at Superdrug

With thanks to AMCK Models, Milk Management, Models1, Sapphires, Zone Models, Forward PR, The Industry London, Charlotte Gush, Sam Kay Oliver, Cassie Cridell.

Main Image above: Felder Felder’s Annette and Dani, Natalie Gage, Aizak Buyondo, Jason Boatang, David Gant, Alice Palmer.