Top fashion names Karen Millen and Anthony Campbell recently united a panel of judges to select De Montfort University (DMU) students to emerge at Graduate Fashion Week next month.

The higher education occasion is held at Earls Court in London from Sunday 6 to Thursday 10 June. And in a bid to succeed their place on the catwalk, last week, third year Fashion Design students showed their work-in-progress final collections, which ranged from men’s leopard print bomber jackets to hand-painted fabric enthused by dragons and tigers.

The 14 students who were picked by the judges are proclaimed today and will now showcase their collections in front of top industry names at the DMU catwalk on Tuesday 8 June.

On 8 June, these students’ designs will show in the University’s fashion brochures, with the images shot by high profile fashion photographer Fabrice Lachant – his photos frequently appear in magazines such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and Elle.

DMU is moreover hosting a catwalk show at Freemasons Hall in Covent Garden, London, to showcase Contour and Contour Fashion students’ collections on Tuesday 14 June.

Zandra Rhodes is going back to school, Last week the pink-haired fashion designer was installed as chancellor of Britain’s the University for the Creative Arts, created through the merger of the Surrey Institute of Art & Design, University College, and the Kent Institute of Art & Design.

At her London inauguration ceremony (likely the first in history to include a runway show), Rhodes eschewed the usual black cap and gown for a striking ensemble of her own design.

I wanted to make something that had the wow factor but remained in keeping with the sense of the occasion, she said of her bedazzled fuschia robe and matching hat.

I expect the distinctive color scheme and intricately designed embroidery puts my own mark on what is usually a subdued, black garment.