Fashion students at Kingston University put on a head-turning fashion show at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel yesterday, with designs inspired by sustainability and marine life.

Junsen Zhao created a womenswear collection inspired by the colours, shapes and patterns created by coral reefs and marine life.

Each of his eight looks capture a particular time and place, memories of his childhood growing up in Macau on the south coast of China

Mr Zhao said: “I spent a lot of my youth travelling around the islands with my parents. I felt my final collection should be something close to my heart and that led me to examine coral reefs.

“Each garment is linked to my love of the coast. My aim is to show how beautiful and inspirational coral reefs can be.

“Environmental pollution is affecting them and it will only get worse unless we do something about it. I wanted to find my way of raising awareness of their plight.”

He added: “But Grace Jones is my fashion inspiration. I like to design for a strong, sexy and elegant women. I imagine her wearing my clothes with each of my collections.”

Sophie Bailey, 23, designed pieces which can be customised by the wearer, with industrial zips and clips enabling the wearer to demonstrate their individuality.

Ms Bailey said: “It’s shaped by the idea that you can change the garment in different ways, customising it.

“The wearer collects add-ons to the piece giving a variety of different ways to wear it. You can hook all of the eyelets at the front of the jacket or use the zips to remove the front panels.”

The collection as a whole is informed by extreme hoarders, those who fill their houses to the extent that they are unable to navigate through their own homes.

She said: “I was inspired by photographer Corinna Kern‘s work on a hoarder called George she followed over the course of a year.

“One of the series was based around his bath which was the only space he had left in his house. He used it for washing the dishes, doing laundry and even fixing his bike.”

One of her garments was created from more than 20 bin bags alongside hand cut vinyl signs and a jumper featuring 2,500 individually interwoven cable ties.

She said: “I want my clothes to be special, something people keep for a long time. I hope people wear them in different ways, it’s much more sustainable.

“It all comes back to the initial inspiration of hoarding and the contrasts between hoarding and throwing things away.”

Richard Sorger, course leader, said: “I encourage our students to think about clothes as beautiful objects.

“If you produce beautifully crafted clothes that aren’t part of a fad or gimmick you are producing sustainable pieces because people will buy them and keep them for a generation.”