London Fashion Week spotlights UEL’s next generation
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Published
23 September 2025
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London Fashion Week is famous for its fast-paced runways - UEL’s fashion design students proudly showcased their work on the official schedule for the fourth year in a row, this year flipping the script. On Saturday, they added their voice to the world’s most prestigious fashion event with The Common Room, a striking new journal brimming with design, inspiration and ideas that reach far beyond a one-minute showcase.
Rather than garments disappearing once the catwalk lights dimmed, The Common Room - produced in collaboration with Polyester - made its debut on the official London Fashion Week schedule during an exclusive event at Reference Point.
Created to give UEL fashion students a platform where their collections, processes and stories can be explored in depth, The Common Room is filled with designers’ work, inspirations, musings and processes. It captures the spirit of fashion as dialogue - inviting industry, press and buyers to take something meaningful away. The Common Room, shot by leading talent Suzannah Pettigrew and styled by Leah Abbott, was produced and promoted in collaboration with London’s premier fashion and lifestyle communications agency Raven.
The journal is the first publication from UEL’s groundbreaking Regenerative Fashion Archive (RFA) - a digital platform designed to evolve continuously. Unlike a static collection, the RFA – an interdisciplinary project with a visualiser designer by UEL’s Games department - connects student work, design processes and outcomes with industry, research and communities, ensuring creativity is not lost but tracked, linked and shared.
A key focus is student engagement with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Every upload is linked to a specific SDG and visualised as a colour-coded node, creating a dynamic map of sustainability-focused projects. This makes the archive both interactive and collaborative - a growing space for knowledge exchange and best practice.
This is not just about one minute on the catwalk,”
said Wes Hartwell, course leader for MA Fashion at UEL.
Our archive and this journal ensure that the stories behind the work are celebrated, documented and carried forward.”
He added, “Every decision is a design decision, and every design decision needs research behind it. That might be about silhouette, construction, or the choice of materials - but it always connects back to meaning. That’s why we talk about regenerative fashion. It’s not only about zero waste, natural dyes or responsible consumption. It’s also about regenerating knowledge: avoiding negative stereotypes, rejecting extractive capitalism, and using fashion as a tool for global good.”
UEL was one of only a handful of universities invited to present at this September’s London Fashion Week. As one of the world’s four major fashion capitals, the event is an industry-leading platform where global media, buyers and designers converge. For UEL’s Fashion students, it was an extraordinary opportunity to demonstrate not only their creativity but also their readiness to step onto the international stage.
“I never thought I would see myself in print, let alone be inside such a meaningful piece featuring so many talented alumni and peers. I feel so proud of myself for getting this far, and so thankful to everyone involved in making this book a reality,” said BA Fashion student Kingsley Cleminshaw.
London Fashion week is a massive jump for me, the fact that this book was launched on the official London Fashion Week schedule truly shows that UEL really cares about us, our talent and our futures.”
Wes summed up,
“Fashion is not static - it’s something we wear, we live with, we learn from. Our archive is not a place where ideas go to rest, but where they continue to grow. This launch event at London Fashion Week shows how powerful it can be when students, industry and communities come together to shape what fashion means now and for the future.”
Event gallery
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Woman attending London Fashion Week 2025Image 1 of x![three people pose for a photograph two of them are covering their faces with a copy of the fashion journal The Common Room]()
Female students attending London Fashion Week 2025Image 1 of x![Two men pose for a photo. one of them is wearing a colourful tracksuit top that has been specially designed]()
Male students attending London Fashion Week 2025Image 1 of x![A woman with a pierced nose, wearing a PVC bodice and chain belt stands in front of a table full of books]()
Female student at London Fashion Week 2025Image 1 of x![Two giant posters of people wearing fashionable clothing are leant against bookshelves]()
UEL's regenerative fashion archive displayed at London Fashion Week 2025Image 1 of x![A female DJ stands behind a turntable where she is playing records]()
Female DJ at London Fashion Week 2025 - The Common RoomImage 1 of x
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Woman attending London Fashion Week 2025Image 1 of x![]()
Female students attending London Fashion Week 2025Image 1 of x![]()
Male students attending London Fashion Week 2025Image 1 of x![]()
Female student at London Fashion Week 2025Image 1 of x![]()
UEL's regenerative fashion archive displayed at London Fashion Week 2025Image 1 of x![]()
Female DJ at London Fashion Week 2025 - The Common RoomImage 1 of x
Photo credits: Juan Camilo Suárez - Zehn Studio