Battersea's rising stars

From the the catwalks of GFW

Graduate Fashion Week, an annual event on the UK fashion calendar in its 14th year, is now rivalling London Fashion Week for professionalism. The doors opened on Sunday, June 5 punctually at 11am to the static exhibition which this year features 39 colleges from throughout the UK. It will be a tough battle for the Stand Design Award judges because there are so many strong contenders.

Surrey Institute of Design were first on the catwalks with some great collections including Eton-inspired menswear by Quan Chi Phun with exquisite tailoring, super skinny trousers, oversized pinstripes and thin, vinyl ties while Stacey Miller's collection offers rich sunset hues in Moroccan trousers and twisted jersey pieces.

Sponsors River Island are giving away vouchers in an air tombola and have created a magical garden complete with pink flamingos and sun chairs - a welcome sanctuary where you can enjoy a beer in the sunshine. There are two catwalk theatres and if you don't have an invitation to a show, you can pay a £5 fee on the door.

The climax of Graduate Fashion Week will be Wednesday's Gala Show presented by June Sarpong and Terry Jones from T4 and Sophia Kokosalaki and Alexandra Shulman on the judging panel. There are several awards for outstanding students and the biggest, the River Island's Gold Award, is worth a gobsmacking £20K for the best collection. It's not all about doling out dosh though - all of this year's winners will get free support from the GFW mentoring panel and membership to the London Fashion Forum.