UKFT supports Westminster University MA Menswear during Milan Men’s Fashion Week
25/06/2025
Graduates from UKFT Education Partner Westminster University’s MA Menswear course presented their collections for the first time during the official Milan Fashion Week (Milano Collezioni Uomo) calendar. Hosted in the heart of Milan at the impressive 247 Showroom, the event signalled a new chapter for emerging menswear designers and reflected the growing international recognition of British design education.
Supported by UKFT and facilitated through an introduction to the British Consulate in Milan, Westminster University was offered a prime platform to showcase the work of 18 graduating menswear designers. The result was a compelling and curated presentation of forward-thinking collections, accompanied by a programme of talks and exhibitions. This initiative highlighted the importance of nurturing new talent and connecting British and Italian fashion networks in meaningful and strategic ways.
The collections, shown in a professional showroom environment typically reserved for established brands, marked the culmination of two years of intensive MA study. Each collection reflected the individual designer’s vision, technical skill and conceptual development. Visitors from across the industry including buyers, press and peers had the opportunity to view the collections up close, ask questions and meet the designers behind the work.
“Cut from a Different Cloth” Exhibition: Legacy and Lineage
Running alongside the graduate showcase was an exhibition titled “Cut from a Different Cloth: Tailoring, Tradition, and Transition”, traced Alexander McQueen’s evolving relationship with tailoring – from his formative work in Milan for Romeo Gigli, through his early London-based menswear, to a new generation of Westminster-trained designers responding to that legacy.
The exhibition opened with five tailored womenswear garments from Romeo Gigli’s Spring/Summer 1991 collection, kindly loaned by Fondazione Sozzani, produced during McQueen’s time at the house. A recently unearthed letter confirms his direct involvement in these garments, revealing a pivotal moment in which McQueen absorbed Italian tailoring methods while navigating the personal and financial pressures of entering the fashion industry.
From there, the exhibition presents ten early Alexander McQueen menswear garments from the Westminster Menswear Archive. Designed in London between 1996 and 2000 but manufactured in Italy, they illustrate the dynamic exchange between British cutting traditions and Italian production techniques.
Completing the exhibition were new tailored garments created by MA Menswear graduates from the University of Westminster. Developed through extensive archival research and shaped by direct engagement with the current Alexander McQueen design team, these garments respond to McQueen’s legacy through critical reinterpretation. The exhibition explored how tailoring knowledge crosses borders and generations – how designers come of age by working through others, and how garments hold the lines of influence that run between them.
UKFT’s Paul Alger was pleased to be part of an insightful and thought-provoking panel discussion headed up by Prof. Andrew Groves, head of the university’s impressive Menswear archive alongside Paul Toner, deputy editor at 10 Magazine and designer and educator Andrea Cammarosano. The panel looked at the challenges and opportunities for menswear designers and the strong relationships and parallels between the UK and Italian menswear and broader fashion and textile industry.
After the event, Paul Alger was able to speak to a number of the MA graduates about their collections including Alex Page, Yuechen, Venus Studio and Xinyue Zhang before heading off across town to attend the opening of the Mark//Giusti (formerly UK based) retail store.
Pictured below are collections from Gyouso Liu, Ricky Cai and Liberty Smith.
