The graduate show 2011 of the institute for fashion design in Basel took place a week ago and it was the first time I had the chance to attend. I was already impressed solely by the size and organization of the whole event and they surely do not have to hide from any regular fashion show. You already kind of notice how much money is involved and what prestige it must be in Switzerland to graduate from that school by looking at the long list of sponsors. There were 18 collections in total from all the graduates. The overall quality and finish of the clothes looked impressive as far as I could tell from my seat and you could sell them straight from the runway. Most of the clothes looked rather futuristic (in a good way) and more or less wearable. Wearability shouldn't be a criterion for a graduate collection anyway though. Shini linked me an interesting interview about this subject matter between Cathy Horyn and Louise Wilson (director of the M.A. program at Central Saint Martins). Here are my favourite looks from the show and I would love to hear how they compare to graduate students from your city or country.
