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Amongst the more adventurous pieces were Louise Crawford's sculptural knits, featuring oversized collars, exaggerated bustles and huge Victorian-style muffs, incorporating pom-poms, knots and balls of yarn. Moving from raw-edged rustic to surreal and futuristic, Crawford's collection was undoubtedly one of the most exciting and directional on display. Elaine Jamieson's was perhaps the most theatrical of the collections: her distinctive distressed and dishevelled, artfully unravelling gowns in faded, sea-washed colours transformed models into romantic heroines lost at sea. Less adventurous but equally intriguing was Tytti Peltoniemi's understated collection of ultra-desirable holiday pieces: classic jackets, low-slung slouchy trousers, tailored shorts and bikini tops, which combined nautical chic with an elegant, nostalgic, Roman Holiday vibe. Similary covetable were Siobhan Molloy's graceful dresses, Lauren Clowes' button-embellished shoes and Lindsay Cullen's dramatic monochrome knits. Laeila Sinden offered a fun modern take on fifties film-star glamour, with Monroe-esque goddess dresses in varied fabrics, and flamboyant diva shrugs. Clare Nall-Smith's beautiful, draping jersey pieces were far more understated but equally arresting, teaming Grecian draperies and fluttery balletic skirts with unusual Japanese-style sashes inspired by traditional kimonos. Printed textiles were one of the show's greatest strengths, which bodes particularly well for the university's newly established course in Textile Design for Fashion. Amongst the most exciting printed pieces were Abigail Briggs', whose colourful and exuberant collection, bursting with zesty yellows, oranges and turquoises, opened the show. Emily Mackenzie's exquisitely beautiful and romantic fairy-tale prints in cloudy, smudgy dream colours were also an undoubted highlight of the evening. However, it was Oliver Goddard's collection which was unarguably the strong point of the show: his work has recently won him an RSA Design Award as well as recognition in the national press following London Graduate Fashion Week. His quirky prints are delightful and idiosyncratic: an intriguing mixture of sketchy line drawings, smudged with blots of vivid pastel colour. His graceful printed full skirts and quaint Alice in Wonderland dresses teamed with cute ankle socks made a vibrant and imaginative conclusion to MMU's dynamic degree show. Ultimately, it was exactly this kind of well-executed, sophisticated and distinctive design which characterised the collections of the 2005 MMU graduates. Consequently, the evening was an inspiring and exciting showcase of their diverse talents: less "cabbages" and more "kings".
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