The Central St. Martins Collection is [insert dramatic adjective here]

There's a reason Central St. Martins is hailed as the best fashion school in the world. While the Academy of Art University show in New York was great, it doesn't even compare to the creativity and talent seen on the CSM runway. Because I hate to present you with anything and just demand you to like it because I do, below are some of the looks from this collection and some of my reasons why I love it so much. I'm not necessarily hoping that you'll leave this post with a new found love for this collection, but instead an appreciation for the young talent in this amazing school.

Their pieces are unlike anything else you'll see on fashion week runways--introducing the avant garde to the sometimes tediously similar runways. These are definitely not the "prettiest" pieces (this is at the exact opposite end of the spectrum of Elie Saab and the like--whom I also love dearly) you'll see on the runway, but they're mind-bending, interesting, and creative. While no one in their right minds would deem these pieces "wearable," they are certainly works of art.

While stunning us with these different and innovative pieces, the students at CSM still incorporate subtle nods to F/W 2014 trends, but with their own spin. White, prints, long jackets, midi skirts, and texture are all very prominent trends this season that you can see traces of amongst the plethora of out-there and creative pieces in the CSM collection.

Even the pieces I don't personally like (the whole brown mesh-y thing on black dresses is a bit lost on my I have to admit) I have to applaud for their courageousness. Since most designers are motivated by customers and money in their RTW collections because, quite literally, these pieces are supposed to be more accessible and wearable than the haute couture, we tend to not get as much artistic variety. These guys don't have to worry about wearability and money because they're not presenting a collection under their label--it's for the school. Therefore, we get these daring looks that really transform these dresses and pants and jackets into wearable art.

Even after all of this raving, I'm not going to say that this collection is the best in fashion week and that they're better than the Gurungs, Pilottos, Wangs, and Gaultiers of the world or anything like that. I still love how each collection and designer has something different to offer, and seeing their interpretations of trends and styles one after another is one of my favorite parts of fashion week. Plus, these are college students whose experience and skill still has years of improvement ahead of them. I just wanted to give the students of Central St. Martins some extra recognition for their creativity and courage to be different in a world of fashion where that is becoming increasingly hard.

Want to see the rest of this collection (it's 100 looks, by the way)? Check it out here.

Thanks for reading another lengthy runway post! I promise...I am working on my blogging restraint!

xo

Audrey