Orlando
Yates

24 year old designer Orlando Yates will shortly graduate from the Menswear pathway this summer. Having spent a year interning in Paris, splitting between Kenzo men’s ready-to-wear and Givenchy men’s pre-collection, Yates used this experience to develop a defined aesthetic, inspired by the people and North London environment with whom he grew up. Clearly showing this in his technically innovative UK festival-inspired graduate collection. His research focused on the clashing colours and mixing of materials at festivals: explaining how his silhouettes ‘came from tents, leading me to look at tensegrity structures’. A personal and intimate approach to design resonates through the collection, coming together to create an exuberant identity: ‘My colour palette came from the sunrise and sunset which are special moments for me’. Planning to develop a full collection, beyond the reduced lockdown requirements, Orlando Yates aims to grow as a designer under his own name.

Pia Brynteson, BA (Hons) Fashion Journalism
@piabrynteson