This Exhibition Unearths the Student Projects of Fashion’s Big Names

Photographer Campbell Addy’s publication Niijournal, journalist Kay Barron’s (very) honest fashion tabloid Rag, director Kathryn Ferguson’s experimental dance film Tingel Tangel, and creative director IB Kamara’s utopic styling portfolio 2026 – these projects show the humble beginnings of some of the fashion industry’s biggest players.

Now on show as part of the exhibition FC 50! at Tank in London, these projects celebrate 50 years of the Fashion Communication program at Central Saint Martins, the prestigious arts university that produced names like Stella McCartney, Gareth Pugh and Alexander McQueen. Curated by the course’s pathway leaders, Dal Chodha and Adam Murray, the exhibition pays homage to generations of alumni whose contributions have significantly shaped fashion as we now know it.

Since its beginnings in 1974, the BA Fashion Communication course at CSM has undergone a dynamic transformation; first created as Fashion Communication & Promotion, with a journalistic focus, today it exists as a multifaceted trio of three pathways: Image & Promotion, Journalism, and Histories & Theories. For Dal Chodha, who became Pathway Leader of FCIP in 2023, this evolution is a compelling one. “If you stay within the walls of the college and do what we ask, you become a really good employee,” he says. “But we need people who are curious, because without curiosity, where does fashion take us?”

Below, AnOther spoke with five alumni – Hywel Davies, Hanna Moon, Jet Swan, Sharmadean Reid, and Jebi Labembika – about their deeply personal portfolios.

Pants* A beginner’s guide to finding the perfect pair by Hywel Davies (1998)

Since graduating in 1998, Hywel Davies has been a relentless force in reshaping fashion education. Working in leadership roles at the college, he’s allowed Fashion Communication to flourish as its own discipline. “I wanted Fashion Communication to be recognised as something singular,” he explains, illuminating that, while the college was famed for producing great designers, it was also brimming with other extraordinary talents – photographers, stylists and journalists – that deserved equal acknowledgement.

His final major project, Pants* A beginner’s guide to finding the perfect pair was a playful reaction to the ultra-polished aesthetics of Wallpaper* magazine. “Wallpaper was all about gloss, refinement, and luxury – with no sense of humour,” he recalls. “I wanted to do a magazine that was essentially stupid, silly and not serious.” Shot entirely on film and printed in just two copies, Pants* also featured a quirky promotional video sponsored by Tia Maria, a bold move from Davies that, at the time, reflected his personal experiences of London in the 90s.

A Nice Magazine by Hanna Moon (2014)

Hanna Moon’s world is one where youth, humour and counterculture collide. Born in South Korea and based in London, Moon challenges traditional fashion imagery through her subversive approach. In 2014, as part of her final major project, she launched A Nice Magazine: a hands-on, rebellious manifesto.

Over the past 11 years, A Nice Magazine has evolved dramatically. While its production quality has improved with higher budgets, its core spirit – challenging conventions and amplifying diverse voices – remains intact. Now, with the relaunch of its third issue, themed Me Myself and I, Moon invited 18 women to deconstruct oversimplified narratives and limiting terms like the female gaze.

Reflecting on her time at CSM, Moon says, “The skill of making magazines was one of the greatest exercises I learned there.” She notes her growth: “I matured and learned to deliver content in a more nuanced way. Early issues were very hands-on, but now I focus on curating a collective voice.” For Moon, the magazine platform remains a constant, even as the industry transforms.

Read our feature on A Nice Magazine’s latest issue here.

Photographs taken on West Street, Sheffield by Jet Swan (2014)

Photographer Jet Swan finds magic in chaos, renowned for her rich and atmospheric images. In Photographs taken on West Street, Sheffield, Swan was drawn to the expressive energy of women out at night – their joy, boldness, and even the distinctive expression of their legs, which symbolised freedom to her. “I wanted to make something real out in the world where life was happening,” she explains. “There was a kind of poetry in images that I fell in love with.” The series is soaked in emotion, each frame humming with life.

Her experiences at CSM were both pivotal and perplexing: “It felt very important and very complicated to unpick myself and find out who I was among lots of other young people doing the same thing.”

Now based in London, Swan continues crafting her singular visual language while balancing work and travel. With her debut monograph Material (Loose Joints, 2021) in tow, she proves her lens captures not just images but vivid stories, sensations, and moments.

Thirteen Magazine by Sharmadean Reid (2007) 

“Thirteen Magazine was my final major project, inspired by my love for menswear and the skate culture my first boyfriend introduced me to,” says businesswoman Sharmadean Reid.  “I wanted to capture how skaters were growing up – still holding onto that youthful spirit, but evolving into streetwear and fashion.”

Drawing on her time assisting Nicola Formichetti and Kim Jones, and collaborating with talents like Alasdair McLellan and Juergen Teller, Reid’s magazine explored the shift from boyhood to manhood, weaving Japanese streetwear and personal interviews with friends from the scene into its pages.

Today, that same energy runs through her entrepreneurial ventures, from styling for Nike and Asos to founding Wah Nails, Beautystack, and currently The Stack World, which empowers women in business. “Balancing creativity with commercial success is hard,” she admits. “But my time at CSM trained me to think fast and stay sharp.”

Concrete Bodies in Unfinished Cities by Jebi Labembika (2022)

Jebi Labembika frames the raw, unfiltered essence of urban life through his evocative photography series Concrete Bodies in Unfinished Cities. Shot in Douala, Cameroon, the project captures skeletal architecture and the resilient bodies navigating it – an intimate confrontation between place and person, chaos and survival. “The project began as a love letter to my younger self,” Labembika says. “It’s about stripping away fantasy to reveal the unfinished, dusty world I grew up in, capturing the environment as it truly was.”

Known for his distinct ‘surveillance-style’ framing, Labembika’s work thrives on tension. The project, which essentially launched his career, has shaped his artistic practice and sparked his exploration of African bodies and migration. He tells me how his tutors at CSM played a key role in his creative pivot, playing a major role in shaping this project, and inevitably defining his voice today.

Jebi now leads his brand Nuba and continues to shoot for clients including Burberry and Dazed. But it’s the streets – whether Douala or London – that remain his truest canvas. “I owe everything to this project. It’s where my storytelling began.”

FC 50! is on show at Tank on Great Portland Street in London from 21-25 February 2025.