Cat McIntyre

Cat McIntyre's Graduate show for textiles at Gray's School of Art degree show inspired by organic plant forms as a reaction to urban living.

"My concept emerged as a result of missing my dad’s garden. The nature deficit I faced on return to the Granite City compelled a body of research into biophilic design, a concept which aims to re-introduce natural forms, colours and textures into the contemporary urban home. My work collages aspects of botanics which I find comforting and questions the line between art and design as I consider both form/function and wider cultural debates surrounding mental health and urbanisation. The environment created demonstrates the therapeutic properties of creating with your hands and immerses the viewer into a sensory, calmative utopia which prompts their own memories of the outdoors. Ultimately, the work is both playful and interactive." Cat McIntyre

Laura Lee Birch

Laura Lee Birch is an artist from Indiana who needlefelts puppets, costumes, wigs and objects. Lately she has been creating surreal garments, recreating the skin on undergarments such as bras and corsets.

Yixin Zhang

Yixin Zhang's surreally sophisticated MA menswear collection for the London School of Fashion consisted of soft pastel colour block wool blazers with wooden hats and ties.

"My whole collection looks very cured – the colour I chose also makes people feel pleasant. I focused on researching the behaviour habits of compulsive hoarders and the relationship between hoarding and their objects for my design. Through exploring compulsive hoarding behavioural habits, I have used my research to influence my menswear pattern cutting and garment colours. I made my design by using the subconsciousness of a hoarder and varies different methods. I created personal pattern blocks constructed with intercross structure and showed it through colour. I used mohair fabrics to show the colour and texture, finding this technique incredibly useful to my design. I also created accessories for the collection. Here I focused on using wooden material in fashion design, exploring the potential of diversity through material." Yixin Zhang

Minghui Cai

Minghui Cai's 'Creepy Romance'  satin, eyeballs, and roses exquisitely tailored jackets, shorts dresses and trousers, her MA collection of menswear at the London College of Fashion.

There are two main influences on me. On the one hand, my grandfather is a traditional Chinese painter, I feel that keeping a traditional element to my collection is extremely important. on the other hand I was attracted to fairy tales and non-human's fiction since I was a child and most themes of my illustration have shown this influence on me. Minghui Cai

Influenced by romantic novels which were popular when she was a teenager in China, Minghui Cai has developed an imaginary world, of non-humans living among us. A particular story that gripped Minghui's imagination was 'The Legend of the World of Fish Beauty' based on the stories from the Ming Dynasty. This story she developed into her own imaginary world by creating illustrations, gifs, furniture designs and fashion.

Mhairi Stewart

"Focusing on the prison environment and the lives of the captive community, I have used print to explore the relationship between the solid imposing construction of cell blocks and the fragility of life spent within. Examining the distortion of reality and the destruction of the sense of self within this unforgiving setting. I have taken inspiration from the contrast between soul and cell to create a bold , graphic menswear collection." Mhairi Stewart

Lisa van Nuland

Lisa van Nuland's graduate collection at Gray's School of Art called 'Within/Without"

"The dark colours and thick forest slowly become sparser. Showing themselves intermittently before reaching altitude, where patches of moss on rock start to come into view, if you can take your gaze away from the hills surrounding you.This is where the synchronicities of our inner and outer lives really come to their rights; our emotions triggered by things such as colour, and our abstract thoughts taking geometric shapes mimicking the flow and simplicity of nature itself. This is subtly intertwined with the richness you find when you look a little deeper. In my collection I used only sustainably sourced organic wool and linen. The fabric was dyed, folded and needle felted to create the desired effect." Lisa van Nuland

Lisa van Nuland's garments are reminiscent of the times when we lived outdoors and invested heavily in the creation of garments from the locality using skills built over generations. Lisa has a love of Scotland and the environment and this has effected all aspects of her textiles and fashion design.

Laura Ukstina II

Details of Laura Ukstina's textile engineering from her degree show at Gray's School of Art inspired by construction toys such as meccano and lego. Please see my previous post for her finished knitwear designs.

Callum Donnan

Callum Donnan's Graduate collection 'Cephalium' for Gray's school of art.

"Researching cacti and succulent plants, I came across the cacti surfaces. These plants have amazing barriers that have inspired my collection with their interesting textures, colours and patterns. I have created interactive knitwear that the viewer instinctively wants to touch. My collection is not only inspired by the waxy surface and spines that most cacti are covered with, but also the 'Cephallium' the wooly hair that insulates the cacti." Callum Donnan