Friendship and fashion unite to create the perfect finish to GCU student’s degree

An immersive fashion experience organised by a recent GCU Graduate has brought together creatives from across Scotland to help raise awareness of climate change.

Less than a week before graduation, BA (Hons) Fashion Design with Business student Orin Annand held the event at Edinburgh’s Cabaret Voltaire, with a sold-out crowd getting the opportunity to glimpse into a ‘dystopian, post-apocalyptic’ future.

14 of Orin’s designs, which were inspired by his time travelling, were shown on the night - with some having already been under the spotlight at this year’s GCU Fashion Showcase, which followed his successful appearance at the event last year.

We sat down with Orin, who came to GCU as a direct entry student in September 2022, to find out more about the design process and how everything went at the Dystopian Fashion Experience.

Tell me a bit about what your different designs focused on?

“My collection was pretty much a design exploration into the catastrophic effect of climate change. It was basically looking at it from a dystopian, post-apocalyptic potential future if global leaders don’t act now…which they’re not! It was a way of trying to emote different social and environmental issues that are being caused today by climate change, so a big thing was environmental displacement.

“There are definitely challenging elements to coming up with these ideas. I started thinking about it last summer when I travelled South East Asia, which was beautiful and very inspiring. A lot of the things I was seeing out there was like ancient buildings and temples, which really stuck with me in terms of their deterioration and overgrown nature. All the work I’ve been doing up until now has had a climate focus. The hardest part was bringing all these ideas together but I had great support from my lecturers.”

How did it feel to actually see your designs in-person at the GCU Fashion Show?

“It was nice to see them come to fruition. Stress is always a natural part of it - that pushes you forward to keep going. It was kind of a strange complex at the time because I was finishing up with University but also planning my show, which grew arms and legs. It was amazing to see my collection coming to life and it was also nice to speak to some of the younger students at the end and pass on advice.”

What was the idea behind your own fashion show?

“I had work from last year and this year that I wanted to showcase, but I also really wanted to expand it and make it a full show – so I had a lot of work to do.

“Maybe like a month before I finished my degree, I was working on this photoshoot project. It was just a really nice creative environment to be in. When I left, I realised that I really wanted to put something on. I’m lucky enough to know a lot of really talented creatives and performers through my social circle. I really wanted to bring my vision to life through these individuals. It was really good to bring this amazing team together that I also call friends. It was a lot of stress and a lot of organising, but also a really beautiful collaborative project at the same time.”

How did you go about making ‘Dystopian Fashion Experience’ a reality?

“Essentially what I wanted to do was create something a bit different to a fashion show. I never really wanted to promote it as a fashion show – it was more of an immersive fashion experience. I wanted the models to really engage with the audience, which is quite different. It was held in Cabaret Voltaire in Edinburgh on the Cowgate. There is so much history there and it was a small dark, space, which really added to it.

“What really inspires me is more theatrical, performance-based fashion experiences. I refer to Alexander McQueen and John Galiano and the way they mix performance with theatrics, fashion and design. I wanted to do that in my own show.

“The majority of people I chose are from the queer scene in Edinburgh and Glasgow. I’ve watched a lot of them in drag shows and as actors, so I wanted people that had a performance background. I worked alongside two amazing drag artists: Syr and Alicia Tryde. They helped me massively with movement direction. I gave the models characters that I had linked to outfits and looks, and got the movement directors to help them really evoke these characters.

“The whole purpose was for those in attendance to look into this dystopian, post-apocalyptic future that we were trying to create. It was also important for me to show off queer identity throughout. I worked alongside a very famous DJ, Sweet Philly, and they created an amazing playlist off these notes I’d given them around the different looks that would be coming down the runway.

“It was so great to have all these people in my corner helping me out – part of it was having the chance to show their talents as well. I had all these ideas in my head, but the one thing that is so important about the creative industries is collaboration. There is no way I could ever have done all of this on my own.”

“The two movement directors beforehand did this 15-minute long performance to set the scene and help the audience understand that it was going to be a bit interactive, a bit in your face, and a bit unsettling.”

How did it all go on the night?

“The venue was really generous and gave me the whole area. We had the club down in the basement and then the bar upstairs, as well as all the green rooms for the models to get ready. We had the crowd entering the bar level for an hour before the show with a live DJ on there. The venue had a capacity of 150 and we sold-out, so it was absolutely amazing.

“We had the actual runway split between two rooms, so we had both performers going on at the same time doing a similar performance. I’d made 14 different looks for the collection. The first set was very theatric performance based; one-by-one they were going out and really engaging with the audience.

“The music was heavily set to the characters they were portraying, so much more movement based and slower. This gave the audience the chance to really take in the clothes and look at all the details. After all 14 designs were shown off, we then had a more standard runway show for the second part. The third part was when they all went out one-by-one before I came out to close the show.”

You must be delighted at having the opportunity to do something like this?

“I definitely had major doubts in the build-up to it. I’ve previously worked at fashion shows before, including London Fashion Week. I kind of knew what to do on the day and what needed done to set up my collection (even though we were still working on designs right up until the show!).

“I was running about like crazy, trying to speak to so many different people: hair and makeup, photographers, videographers, models, movement directors, light and sound, DJs – so it was all a bit crazy. The fact everyone involved was a friend of mine meant it was a lot of fun overall. Although it was stressful, I didn’t necessarily feel stressed. Things are always going to go wrong but it’s how you react to it. I was so proud of how it all came together.

Do you feel grateful that you’re going into a career that allows you to explore your personal interests?

“When I first started fashion, I never really knew I’d be going down the design route. To see how I’ve been able to express my creativity and vision has been massive for me. To pick something like environmental displacement is not something you would not normally associate with textiles in fashion or structure of garments, but it’s about challenging myself and pushing myself to look at ways of doing these things.”

In terms of your personal journey - coming from college as a direct-entrant - was this a full circle moment for you?

“Absolutely. It’s something I could never even have dreamt of. Even six months ago, I would never have thought I could do this. I think throwing myself in at the deep end was key, and not actually knowing how I’d do something, but also knowing I would actually do it – that was really important. I’m just so proud of the journey from the very beginning where I went into college with no qualifications in fashion or art. To see how far I’ve come and how my skills and knowledge has evolved has been amazing.”

What are your next steps from here?

“I was always saying July was my time to relax and enjoy the sun…but we’ve not had much sun. I’m still working alongside the team from the night to try and make a short documentary of the night. We’ve got a lot of footage and content, so hopefully we’ll get that out at some point later in the year.

“What was really beautiful about the night was that the after-party was a great networking opportunity for all the creatives involved. It’s hard in the industry to actually meet people and do everything freelance. I want to show that and then show off the creative talent that made the evening so special.”

Find out more about the BA (Hons) Fashion Design with Business degree here

By Ross Clark 
Got an SHLS or GSBS story? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk or message me on Twitter