YORK FASHION WEEK (MINUS THE 'NEW')

When I tell people I’m studying at the Uni of York, they sometimes mishear it for ‘New York’ and get really excited. All of a sudden I’m the next Andrea Sachs, on my way to becoming Miranda Priestley’s assistant in the City of Dreams. But what does New York have that York doesn’t? Smokehouse sandwiches at the famous Shambles Kitchen (that are probably on the same level as the New York bagel), a cafe on every corner, and although it lacks on the billboards, we have a Medieval Minster (just as cool in my opinion). Did I mention we also have a Fashion Week every October? 

I had to book a ticket for the Student & Graduate Runway Show, even if that meant missing Strictly live on Saturday night. This would be my first fashion show. I swear by the Vivienne Westwood Café Society Spring-Summer 1994 Collection runway on Youtube, but the blurry quality doesn’t quite have the same effect as a live experience. 

The POA was to leave at 18:40 to get into town for 7ish but I did that thing I always do when I mentally plan my outfit hours in advance - but don’t actually try it on. This meant it was a classic example of ‘empty my whole wardrobe and throw clothes around the place’ to the point where I could no longer see my bed covers. I had to forget walking into town and instead called an Uber (after deciding to wear a denim dark grey mini dress paired with black tights, a red scarf, polka dot headband and some satin brown ballerina pumps). 

My taxi dropped me outside Stone Rose’s, a 10 minute walk from the Art Gallery, and as I happened to pass McDonald’s on the way, it was only kind to my freezing cold self to get a hot chocolate. This ended up being a mistake as I had forgotten it was Races day, so of course it was peak period for Maccies on a Saturday night. I had 15 minutes until the show started and was worried about not getting my drink on time, so I anxiously waited. Not long after, My friend Millie met me, order 19 was called and we were ready for the world of runway. 

On arrival, we were joined by my friend Christina and a few more of Millie’s friends, Lara, Lily and Hadiya (the latter 2 being from the Uni of Leeds). They were lovely and we instantly clicked. I have to give a special shout out to Christina’s six inch emerald green snake print boots too - they stole the show. We were treated with a complimentary glass of prosecco or orange juice as well as a gift bag full of Cut & Craft goodies (the sponsor of the night). This included some dark chocolate mints, drink vouchers and a fancy jar of salt! Elated to have finally arrived, we had our picture taken by a photographer. I remember feeling slightly concerned about the fact she only took one photo. It’s an unspoken rule that you take at least 10 shots to ensure that at least one pic will make the gram. Miraculously, it ended up being the perfect shot and there were no blinking eyes.

It was time to enter the gallery, so we found 6 chairs on the second row and took our seats. My leopard print handbag matched the fur jacket on the back of the lady in front’s seat and this instantiated the perfect photo opportunity:

Without further ado, the music began and it was lights, camera, fashion. My favourite look consisted of an Odango-inspired hairstyle (choppy fringe and loose space buns) and a dark wash denim two-piece. The bust of the halter neck top was cut out to display a rusty orange, sea-shell-esque bra. Cut-outs of the material were used to create sleeves and the bottom half was comprised of some baggy fitted shorts. My favourite part was the black, chunky platform boots. Leg warmers of the same colour were worn to give an illusion of being part of the shoe - creating a similar effect to the fold over boot that was trendy last fall. 

Christina’s sketch of the look on the left.

I was most fascinated by ‘Delirium’ and one of the models for this collection made the cover of my obligatory YFW 2024 Instagram post. If I could describe this lookbook in one way it would be Sally from Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas. Think lots of black and white pinstripe, bold magenta, red and contrastive pale blue. Something about it was very ‘Sugar rush racer girl’ from Wreck it Ralph, with the crochet rainbow skull hats adorned with beads. I loved how it combined gothic with the World of Oz and, the size of the heels, as well as the copious amount of glitter used in the makeup, were particularly impressive. 

One of my friends commented on how much she loved ‘Collection’, a lookbook marked by its ethereality, profuse frills and dreamy tones. The model, who had previously worn my favourite look, walked again in this one to ‘Starry Night’ by Peggy Gou - it was the perfect catwalk moment.

Overall it was the best experience I could’ve possibly had for my first fashion show. Every fashion piece had a really unique and eye-catching quality and the diverse selection of models worked amazingly well. It was an unforgettable evening, and a special debut to (hopefully) plenty more catwalks to come. We ended the night in Tomahawk for a drink before catching that late taxi home.