After months of preparation, designing and sourcing materials, students at the University of Derby have showcased their final collections at the Graduate Fashion Show.
IT was a family interest in witchcraft which was the eerie inspiration for Nicholas Walsh's fashion collection.
The University of Derby student said his mum and her two sisters would pretend to be witches when they were young and would conjure up a magical world to play in.
Growing up, Nicholas, now 22, said he was often taken to incense shops and haberdashery stores where he was exposed to different colours, textures and materials.
It was this dreamy-like image which became the theme for Nicholas's final compilation, Lynette – named after his aunt – at the university's Graduate Fashion Show.
But it was not only enchantment that inspired Nicholas. His father owns a drapery mill in Halifax and has created curtains for Sydney Opera House and the Royal Albert Hall.
As a youngster, Nicholas would spend many hours in the warehouse learning how to create fabrics.
He said: "Before the days of health and safety, I used to play in the mills.
"I would look at what my dad did and I would look at all of the different velvet he would have. At the time, I didn't realise that being in the mill would play such a big part in my career, in my final university project."
Growing up in Halifax, Nicholas was also close to Sowerby Bridge, which holds an annual Rushbearing Festival. He explained: "In the olden days, rushes would involve people covering the floors of churches with lavender and barley."
Combining his experiences and ideas, Nicholas decided to create four different velvet outfits for his end-of-year project. From a blue babydoll dress, to a lilac top and trouser set and a green floor-length gown – his collection screams classic antiquity, with a modern touch.
Nicholas said: "I used the lavender colour taken from Rushbearing, along with the dull blue skies and grey rocks of the Yorkshire Moors, to create the final pieces.
"I also did a lot of research into French fashion historian Madame Gres, who was big in the 1920s. She was known for treating fabric like stone.
"I decided to incorporate this into my collection as well as adding a 16th and 17th-century etching style, reminiscent of the time when witch hunting was promoted."
For months, Nicholas and many other students on the University of Derby's BA (Hons) fashion studies degree course have been busy preparing for the show, which took place at Derby Theatre and saw more than a hundred original designs make their catwalk debut.
The Graduate Fashion Show – sponsored by Intu Derby shopping centre – involved 34 students and was part of the university's free public degree shows, this year called the Big Show.
Featured in the Big Show are final-year projects in crafts, fashion, textiles, fine art, film, design, theatre, visual communications, architecture, music technology, creative expressive therapies, art therapy and others.
And Nicholas won an award for the Best Collection. He said: "It was such a fantastic night. I cried when they announced that I had won.
"I couldn't believe it, it was so emotional."
Having already spent his placement year at design label Alexander McQueen, Nicholas said he hoped to move to London in July and continue designing. He said: "Working there showed me a lot about pattern cutting as well as PA work.
"I got to help out with two dresses for actresses Mila Kunis and Amanda Seyfried. It was a great experience.
"I have already started working on a new collection. I would love to work somewhere which stocked my collection – that would be the dream."
A similar vision is shared by 21-year-old fashion student Jessica Nicholls, who created a collection called Linear Suppression for the degree show.
Focusing on orthopaedic braces, asymmetrical lines and metal structures, her assemblage is edgy, contemporary and diverse.
Her outfits feature plastic, wool, leather, silk and buckles.
Jessica, who studied a foundation degree at Leicester College before completing her top-up year at the University of Derby, said: "I looked a lot at architecture to inspire my designs.
"It was so interesting to me and I wanted to explore the approach, which really pushed conventional boundaries.
"I also drew on the American Football look, with big shoulder pads to symbolise protection.
"For our model shots, I created the setting of a 1950s abandoned hospital to add to the theme."
Jessica said she had begun working on her designs in September and now hoped to take up a fashion design job in the industry.
She added: "The whole experience has been really enjoyable and exciting. You want everything to be perfect on the day, so there is pressure.
"Studying in Derby has shown me different ways of working and has enabled me to really push myself. It's been fantastic."
Fiona Hawthorne, senior lecturer of fashion studies at the University of Derby, said: "The students have all worked extremely hard.
"It is nice to see such a mix of collections and the processes that they have used. Nicholas explored with cutting and Jessica worked with architectural structures.
"So, in terms of collections, no two were the same, which is very interesting.
"The designers started looking at ideas back in September and what was admirable about this group was that they had a range of different concepts which they brought to the table."
![Derby students' playtime in a textile mill helps inspire fashion collection with a nod to 16th-century witchcraft]( "Derby students' playtime in a textile mill helps inspire fashion collection with a nod to 16th-century witchcraft")
