Graduating students fly the flag for LGBTQIA+ communities

Across Fashion Photography, Fashion Management with Marketing and Fashion Design, students at Solent have been using their FMPs – the culmination of three years of hard work and developing talent – to celebrate queer communities and spotlight inclusive approaches in the industry.

Zena Fawzy Abdou is one such student, building on her passion for queer culture and communities to create ‘Them’, a beautiful photo book that features stunning portraits of 16 individuals from the community.

Zena, whose project for her BA (Hons) Fashion Photography course celebrates the LGBTQIA+ community and has been recognised with a nomination at this year’s Graduate Fashion Week, says:

“Being able to find my avenue at university and perfect it has been so rewarding. Solent is so good for creatives, and through my final project I’ve been able to celebrate the beauty of queer culture, by documenting a variety of queer experiences.”

“’Them’ turns hard times into something beautiful, showcasing the resilience and strength of the people who took part.”

Genderless clothing has also been a big theme among graduating students this year, signalling the commitment of the next generation of creatives when it comes to inclusion and diversity in fashion.

Andrew Prestage, a BA (Hons) Fashion Design student, was inspired by ancient Rome and Greece for their Final Major Project. ‘Fluid Ideology’ is a sustainable, gender-neutral collection made for non-binary individuals. Andrew says:

“I was inspired to do this project due to the lack of well thought out gender neutral and size-inclusive clothing. The collection drew inspiration from ancient costume, borrowing elements from tunics and togas.

“Solent has encouraged me to explore creatively, and a university degree is valuable not just for the qualifications, but also for meeting a diverse range of people from different backgrounds which shapes your view of the world for the better.”

Fashion courses at Solent University encourage burgeoning creatives to push the boundaries of their artistic ambition and turn their passions into something inspiring.