Her Campus x Leeds RAG Fashion Show: Review!
This year the Leeds RAG Fashion show was celebrating their 10th Anniversary, and Her Campus were lucky enough to be invited as VIP guests.
The LUU was completely transformed, on arrival we grabbed a glass of bubbly, enjoyed the live jazz music and some delicious canapés. After soaking up the atmosphere (and a few more drinks) we were all welcomed officially to the Leeds Rag Fashion Show by the directors themselves, Nicholas Egunjobi and Jonathan Canizales. In their speech, they explained their thinking behind the theme of the show: Timeless. The directors talked about Kendrick Lamar’s latest album, DAMN and the brash reality it exposed. The two explained how the album resonates with the state of the world in 2018, what with Trump being elected in the US and Brexit here in the UK. So, the show will be Timeless, in telling a story of birth (of an idea), war (internal conflicts), peace (resolution) and death.
This year, RAG are supporting both Leeds Mind and Dementia UK. The two amazing mental health charities work to help people struggling around Leeds and Yorkshire. With mental health being such a current issue, we felt the charities were well selected.
We were lucky enough to learn a bit more about Dementia UK from Shelia Wainwright, a charity ambassador who presented a short, yet touching speech speaking about the importance of Dementia UK and the work they do nationally, but also the need for more specific dementia nurses, Admiral nurses.
We then found our way to our seats to find they were front row and right on the edge of the catwalk! We were thrilled. There was not a raised platform like previous years, instead the audience were completely immersed in the show by sitting at eye-level, which we think worked much better.
The show opened with the theme Birth. The models walked slowly and serenely, dressed in beautifully simple clothes in a neutral and nude colour palette, complimented by the chilled, ambient music which filled the room. A screen at the end of the catwalk walk played time lapse imagery of different, equally serene landscapes which really added to the soothing atmosphere.
As Birth ended, War came crashing on to the stage. Kanye’s ‘Black Skinhead’ was blaring through the speakers in darkness until the scene exploded with flashing red and green strobe lighting. Models walked with adamant purpose up and down the catwalk with war painted faces. The atmosphere was electric as the likes of Kendrick and Miguel were blasted into the venue, we could feel the bass pumping in our chests.
Third, was Peace. Another dramatic shift in colour, tone and atmosphere. James Blake played to open the scene, all of the clothes were blue, white and gold, mainly loose fitting and relaxed. Think white flowing wedding dresses, with many of the models walking with bare feet and with gold flakes in their hair. The mood mellowed out even further to the sounds of Frank Ocean’s ‘Pink and White’, getting increasingly more mellow shifting to chilled music with no lyrics at all.
After a short break, we were welcomed back to the show by an amazing keyboard performance, a touching song about mental health, and then the show commenced again.
Death opened with the slow and atmospheric piano tones of Kanye West’s ‘Runaway’ as five ballet dancers in black tutus took the catwalk. They were reminiscent of Black Swan, beginning their routine as the models circuited the edge of the catwalk one by one. The clothes were exclusively black velvet and leather, hair was slicked back, there were veils and dark heavily lined eyes. The scene had an intense and epic feel, deep black with a hint of glitter. A teaser of what was to follow was a gorgeous floor length sequined blue coat with a luxurious fur colour which stood out amongst the rest, designed by the wonderful Eden Keshia.
The final scene came as a surprise, Re-Birth. It wasn’t on the programme and the literal explosion of colour and confetti opened our favourite scene of the show. The models danced along the catwalk in funky, colourful clothes. The vibrancy of the clothes was mirrored by the funky disco tunes that accompanied, songs such as; Earth, Wind and Fire’s ‘Boogie Wonderland’, Let’s Groove, Moloko’s ‘Sing it Back’, Kyla’s ‘Do You Mind’ and The Whispers’ ‘It’s a Love Thing’. Each model wore a different material or print, beautiful fur jackets, printed denim and colourful overalls stole the show. The catwalk was intertwined with some amazing hip hop dance routines, and by finale the crowd were clapping along. It certainly ended on a high.
The LRFS team promised something special for the show’s 10th Anniversary and they certainly didn’t disappoint! Thank you so much for having us for such an unforgettable evening, and a huge congratulations to everyone involved – we know from speaking to committee members and models alike the huge amount of time, effort and dedication that went into making this year’s show so phenomenal.
Laura Mavrias and Kelan Mahon