Bye bye Room406

So our classroom on the 4th floor of CharingX is going to be closed in the next 2 weeks. Next term we are all moving to King's Cross, where a modern building of CSM is under construction now. It's sad to say goodbye to this old messy building. Some people say there's inspiration everywhere at CharingX. You may have used the sewing machine, which Alexander McQueen used to work with. Even in the toilet you can see student writing on the wall says something like: Stella McCartney used to wee here, I saw her! Eventhough the building is shabby and badly organized, we still love it, because it has a history of the London style.

If you can't open the door with the password, use your feet. Sue does that all the time.

And for our Room406, if you have come here you'll understand why the MA Fashion Journalism pathway accepts only 7-9 students each year. The size of the room can only afford these people. Thank god we have our own print machine, even though it's slow like an old grandpa, and sometimes refuses to cooperate. The room is chilly in winter, the door always opens with a creak, but it's our own room, and we love it.

by Yoanna Liu

On the meditating seat #final

Sue-Wen

On the meditating seat #4

On the power of perception:


Sue-Wen

On the meditating seat #1

Before machines demolish our dear old Charing Cross branch - it's so easy to come to love this grubby building - Room 406 shall pay respect to the whispering walls of toilet stalls.

Home to 70-odd years of historic art and design, retreating to the loos can seem a tad disappointing at first. Few work worth preserving to be found in there. These musing walls - mostly comical, sometimes depressive and cynical, are at other times insightful or just plain mundane (worrying for an art school, if walls could indeed speak) - are where the stars past, present and future come to get rest, in one way or another.

Goodness knows who 'Niady/Nialy M.G.' is though. Sad times for her and thousands alike whose restroom-declarations may be the only mark they are to make publically - and who would've known, will crumble into dust come the summer. Sorry folks. I suppose the likes of Christopher Kane to Phoebe Philo were too engrossed scribbling in their sketchpads than on restroom walls but you never know…

More seatings to come.

Sue-Wen

CSM Memoirs - Part 2

The enfant terrible of Indian fashion Kallol Datta recalls his favourite moments as part of class of 2006, BA (Hons) Womenswear at Central Saint Martins.

After completing my design studies in Kolkata, I felt the need of studying a bit more. I stood out like a bloodied thumb at the design school in Kolkata, and my education in design seemed extremely restrictive in nature. On applying to Central Saint Martins and being accepted to their BA Womenswear degree course, the feather in the cap (or so it seemed) was the direct entry into second year. 

The initial months were full of despair and wanting to head to a more generic educational setting. Nothing could ever prepare me for what studying at St. Martins would entail. I used to think, “Is it always supposed to be this difficult”? The class already had their cliques formed, and with my interpersonal skills being retarded, I obviously did not make friends at the beginning. I was defensive about my work, skipping tutorials, barely managing to submit coursework on time and more importantly, barely spending time at the campus.

Oddly enough what got me spending hours at school was the library. I was looking to kill an hour while waiting for a friend, and it got me hooked. The library (for lack of a better word) at my design school in Kolkata was barely a room with magazines and trend forecasting books (which I never took a shining to). Here at St. Martins it was that and then so much more. I’ve spent days cooped up inside, stepping out only for a loo break/ cig break/ hot cocoa break. This in turn got me conversing with students from other courses, which made me realise that I wasn’t the only one feeling the way I was. I started taking notice of my surroundings and the multiple imperfections in the building in which the school was contained, fascinated me. It wasn’t sterile or supremely chic unlike other schools. Walking through narrow, musty passageways to reach my 2nd floor studio, sitting on the stairs next to a caged elevator shaft which hadn’t been used for at least a decade (give or take), graffiti ridden toilets – surprising as it may sound; visually all of this had a calming effect on me.

This translated across my work at school. Nothing had to be perfect. All you needed was strong intent and this helped dealing with people around me who were extremely enthusiastic and inspired. It was an uphill climb from hereon (I’d like to think so), and creating my graduating collection in 2006, was something I hold close to my heart even today.

One would be very fortunate to have studied and graduated from the 107 Charing Cross outpost. The move to King’s Cross will see a whole new wave of technological advancements, containment of all courses under one roof and studio spaces reduced by 20% in size. However, I do hope that the inexplicable auras which one imbibed in (however late) at the Charing Cross building, moves onto the new school site.

Kallol Datta with classmate Yuna Yang 

Kallol Datta's design at BA Graduation show

A model walks in Kallol Datta creation from his 
fall/winter 2011 collection showcased at Wills 
Lifestyle India Fashion Week held in April this year

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In summer 2011, Central Saint Martins relocates to a new home at King's Cross. The move to this extraordinary state-of the-art space will mark a new era in arts education.

CSM Memoirs

BA Fashion Print ex-student recalls her favourite memories at CSM:

• Empty print room. Second floor of Charing Cross Road, walking through the blue swing doors and finding only Imogen Evans in her office. Silence and space was a rarity, and with rumours of the new print room at King's Cross being smaller, with more students per class, I imagine these will be more like gold dust.
• Soho. Leaving college in the afternoon and taking a thirty-second walk to Old Compton street for an impromptu evening of debauchery. 
• Less health and safety, and more room for experimentation in the print room. Health and safety is important, yes, but I believe it can also hinder a print student's learning and understanding of everything she/he can accomplish in print design. Some students learnt they could flood the dye room twice in one day if they ignored the rules, and left the taps running unsupervised.  I got acetic acid in my eyes on more than one occasion, but I did learn to wear goggles in my own time, when mixing chemical substances. Adding copious amounts of cobalt blue dye to your mix spells recipe for disaster — models with blue armpits don't look appealing. However, good surprises were always worth the hours spent waiting for things to dry, steam and dry again.

Leaving Charing Cross: I’m not entirely sure how I feel about CSM moving to King's Cross.  Sad when I first heard but I no longer study there and after many expensive hours with my therapist, I have managed to get over the initial shock.

Some say it’s the students that make the college. Some say it’s the tutors. I haven’t heard anyone say it’s the building itself, but certainly the area in which it is situated helps inspire its frequenters. As an ex-student, you know it’s an amalgamation of all three — students, tutors, location. Assuming they’re not getting rid of the staff and CSM intends on accepting new students for the following 50 years, 2 out of 3 aren’t changing.

King's Cross isn’t Soho, but it is in central London and a hell of a lot closer to Paris.

Good Times: Print tutor David Kappo with the legendary Nathalie Gibson at the BA Fashion after-show party

Colour-drenched memories:
BA print room located on second floor, CSM

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In summer 2011, Central Saint Martins relocates to a new home at King's Cross. The move to this extraordinary state-of the-art space will mark a new era in arts education.