Maki Nakamura
“I want to create fantasy within the experience of everyday life. I want to make beautiful or pretty or kind of nostalgic things which were once there but people forget,” says Maki Nakamura of her sweet, playful garments. For her graduate collection, the Tokyo-born designer was inspired by what the contents of a storybook might be, and from there she let her imagination run riot, with dresses turning into a pick ‘n’ mix of confectionary references. Candy prints, stripes and colours pop, with the statement piece in a collection of them being a three-tier cake masquerading as a dress.

Nakamara continues: “I’m interested in textile and costume, pictures and moving images not so much catwalk shows. My dream is to design fabrics and make costumes for advertisements, magazines and other media, saving money to have a shop with my fabrics, clothes, little things from travelling, sweets; something like that. It sounds a fantasy right now but I’m ready to work hard for it!“ Indeed, fantasy is somewhat of a buzzword for Maki’s designs, but for all the whimsy, sugar and spice, Nakamura is a dreamer with ambition concreted in reality.


Cornel Bolt
Cornel Bolt attempts at summarising his design philosophy: “Maybe… romantic minimalism with avant-garde detailing.” Wanting to design a collection that has its very own mood, Bolt has essentially focused on pieces which speak the same strong language but remain individual looks.

“Something that caught my interest greatly [when working on the collection] was the thought of modesty,” he says. “I enjoyed designing innovative details and hiding them in busy prints what gives the shapes a quiet spark. The same applies to the overall design - the look is modest yet sexy.“ Fabrics in the collection range from PVC to wool, with different silks and jerseys featuring simultaneously. “Not to forget the velvet,” Bolt adds. In a colour palette of blues, greens, silvers with occasional red highlights, the man himself says of the tones “Imagine sitting aside a romantic pond somewhere out in a forest.” Eager to go on and study the MA, Swiss-born Bolt is a name we’ll surely hear again.


Zeno Plersch
“The challenge is not to get lost in your inspirations, to focus on the outcome and for me that is beautiful, desirable clothes. I want to create innovative, unique garments without having to compromise in wearability. I want people to be able to relate to my designs, be wowed and at the same time make them want to wear the clothes,” explains Zeno Plersh of his womenswear.

Quality and attention to detail is unsurprisingly key to the German-born designer. “The woman that would buy my clothes - as well as myself too - believes in quality rather than quantity, that's the way forward. People will go back to buying what they love, items they can enjoy for a long time rather than compromised, trend driven shopping.”

With research unfolding this collection - Plersch found Federico Fellini’s elegant, seductive women chimed with his vision - 50s lightbulbs played an unexpected catalyst. There’s reason for this, though: Fellini created the word ‘Paparazzo’ by naming a celebrity photographer in La Dolce Vita just that. Plersch’s silks, waxed cottons, jerseys and fur therefore play with light when they move, building a collection that’s flash only in its treatment, never in vulgarity.