Central Saint Martins and I

It was the unexpected call of my friend studying at Central Saint Martins that interrupted my casual Friday night in - a campus you all have most certainly heard of, in one way or another - be it because Kanye West was rejected from their prestigious MA Fashion course, or because Galliano, Jacobs and McQueen are just a few from their renowned Alumni list.
Half angry but mostly panicking, she tried to explain how she and seven other CSM students were supposed to collaborate as part of their yearly course work in order to create a collection from scratch. There would not have been any problems meeting the deadline, had their photographer not dropped out last minute. Despite sensing where the conversation was leading to, it certainly scared me out my wits when she finally asked whether I could act as replacement. I certainly didn`t feel ready for a professional photoshoot at Central, where eight girls, three different design sets, one model and their final grades were depending on my photographic skills. Nonetheless, I agreed on meeting the group the next morning. "You`ll be fine", she said. "It won`t take long anyway - Just do something! Preferably good."
Of course, I didn`t feel any pressure.

So, I`m Federica, your photographer and creative executive for this year and am more than happy to share the outcome of the project with you.

The Impro

As soon as I`d arrived the next day, two things became pretty clear: Firstly, half of the girls (including the model) were running late, while the other half was trying to finish their pieces by cutting threads, sewing ends or changing buttons.
Secondly, the location they`d chosen for the shoot was already occupied due to their annual runway show. It was raining buckets and the temperature felt like -30 degrees. After 40 minutes however, I finally got introduced to the whole crew and instantly took to all of them: Lavinia (studying Fashion Textiles Embroidery), Jen (Pattern Cutting), Darcy ( Fashion Textiles Print), Amira (Fashion Textiles Knit), Zoe (Fashion Textiles Print), Panicha (Pattern Cutter), Jingyi ( Pattern Cutter) and Carmen (Model & Fashion Textiles Embroidery) seemed all so incredibly talented, judging from the handmade clothes. Since there was no point in trying to get into the building because of the upcoming Fashion Show, we simply decided to improvise in front of it:

The Print 

The Knit 

The Patches

Embroidery

After seven hours, we`d finally made it. Although my friend casually informed me, that I`d have two days to edit all of the 300 pictures, I was more than grateful for the day. The opportunity of getting to know another course, another campus, and having the privilege to glimpse into the world of one of the most renowned universities for art made me feel so motivated. In fact we are all students and yet so different. Having seen the girls creating something we are all involved with in our daily life, immersing into the world of designs and sketches, patterns and textiles, threads, needles and a tiny bit of glitter enhanced my desire for more. I knew what I wanted: More art, more culture, more variety, more paying attention to details and getting involved, more experimenting, failing, more learning, more creativity and more of this world but most of all: more living. 

*All accessoires were purchased at Topshop, Oxford Street

** All pictures shot on Canon eos 550d

Much love 

F

xx

Federica Potenza, 

Photographer and Creative Executive of KCL Fashion Society

Instagram: https://instagram.com/hilaryfierce/