How events like the Met Gala set the stage for fashion students

With a dazzling display of outfits spanning costume and couture, high-profile fashion events like the Met Gala put the best of the best on display. But how do you go from doodling dresses to designing for divas?

The annual Met Gala, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (The Met), is a feast of fashion and creativity. The event raises funds for The Met’s Costume Institute and marks the opening of the museum’s spring exhibition. It’s an eye-catching event, from Lady Gaga’s 2019 layered fuchsia balloon to Rihanna’s iconic omelette dress.

We caught up with Isatu Taylor, Fashion Curriculum Lead at Capital City College (CCC)’s Holloway campus to talk about this year’s Met Gala and learn more about how CCC’s fashion courses help students stand out.

What do you think of the theme “Costume Art” and dress code “Fashion is Art” for this year’s Met Gala?

I was quite excited by the theme this year – it really lends itself to our ethos in terms of the kind of artwork that we encourage students to produce. There’s a lot of space for creativity, and I imagine it will allow the Rihannas of the world to go crazy with it, so it will be interesting.

The dress code lends itself to something elaborate, something with a powerful narrative and a real sense of play. It will be interesting to see whether it feels somewhat understated, if it’s commenting on something that’s happening in the world, or if it’s just a real feast of colour and drama in terms of silhouettes and concepts. I’m keen to see what Schiaparelli or Marcella do, and who’s wearing them. They keep that very hush-hush until the last minute. 

How many hours would it take to construct one of these outfits?

With couture, a lot of it’s done by hand, so a modest estimate would be around 300 hours. That could mean weeks of work, but it really varies depending on the level of intricacy. It can be a highly collaborative process. If you’re a designer like Iris Van Herpen, where the work is technical and potentially hand rendered, then it relies on different sets of skills and expertise to pull the look together.

What sort of skills do fashion students learn at Capital City College?

When students come here, they can look forward to developing fundamental fashion skills and a strong conceptual and technical foundation – and that’s adapted across the courses that we offer.

For students on a Level 4 course, such as our Garment Technology for Fashion Retail – Level 4 Diploma (UAL) course, there’s a greater emphasis on refinement of core construction and pattern-cutting skills, because that’s the foundation that anchors their ability to function as a designer. They’ll learn how to interpret draft patterns, how fabric behaves, and how to put in seams, darts, zips, lining, and more structured elements. 

What’s special about the courses at CCC?

We’re really proud of how we encourage students to build their capacity for lateral thinking and develop their capacity for critical reflection, which means that they’re able to contextualize their ideas and draw on broader, cultural, social and contemporary issues.

We’re seeing more young designers who have a greater awareness of ethical design. And we’re not just talking about upcycling, we’re talking about broader, more powerful issues – like the food chain, working conditions, price points, audience and how we make things more inclusive, both in terms of dress sizes or the type of models we use. There is a much bigger shift to have more social responsibility as designers, and it’s something that we aim to embed in an authentic way.

What are the barriers for students who want to break into the fashion industry? 

Aspiring designers often have limited access to industry networks and financial constraints. We have a material budget and, due to the college’s industry contacts, we also benefit from donations of materials. However, one of the things we often see is students who don’t have the freedom to create their full collections as their choice of fabric is compromised due to the cost.

Thanks to the experience of our lecturers, we’re able to turn our limitations around resources into an asset. One of the things we teach students is how to manipulate the surfaces of cheaper materials so that they can be made to look unique, and they can learn how to make their own constructed textile. This means they can reuse existing fabrics and turn them into something that’s beautiful and unique. 

What makes CCC fashion courses particularly good for aspiring fashion designers?

When you leave, you’ll have a toolkit that is current and relevant. Sometimes people think relevance means throwing away the traditional methods, but actually we’re keen on marrying the fundamental traditional skills with modern technical skills. We want students to think like designers, and that’s important. 

We also make good use of opportunities with companies and organisations where students can respond to a live brief. It gets students to understand the pace at which design moves, and get them to get into that rhythm.

What advice would you give for someone looking to break into the fashion world?

You have to put the hours in. It’s a hard reality but even if you have wonderful ideas and are capable, you also need to bring consistency, resilience and a strong work ethic to bring those ideas to life.

My other advice would be to really focus on developing an authentic creative identity and to maintain strong technical rigor. If you’re striving for excellence in your practice and in your craft, that will help elevate your design.

Finally, if you’re out there doing something creative, you’re much more likely to have an interaction that leads somewhere. So everything is an opportunity, and you have to go into those exchanges with the right kind of attitude as it could pave the way for other exciting opportunities. We’re often focused on the big moments when actually, those are very few and far between. It’s the incremental shift that’s going to open doors.

Why do you think events like The Met Gala are important?

The Met Gala provides a platform for fashion and fashion designers, which we do need. It can inspire you and remind you that you can dream. It’s an escape, a little bit of an indulgence but it’s important to have those little moments of beauty and theatre.

If you’re looking for an industry-led course taught by nurturing and knowledgeable fashion lecturers, take a look at our Art, Design and Fashion Courses.

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