Founded by a passionate team of students, Astra Collective aims to forge a vibrant fashion community within the University of York. Their debut fashion show, which showcased local and student designers, raised an impressive £1000 for the BEAT charity, a vital organisation dedicated to raising awareness for eating disorders. The event beautifully encapsulated the collective’s mission: to foster a sense of community while promoting authenticity and creativity in fashion.
With core values of sustainability and inclusivity, Astra challenges the toxicity of the fashion industry, celebrating all forms of beauty in a time where social media’s ever-changing standards make ‘perfection’ unattainable.
Astra embraced student talent; the work of dedicated student designers, makeup artists, models, and stylists made the event possible. ‘Revival, Rebirth, Renaissance,’ the theme of their debut show, actively encouraged sustainability. It inspired designers to fight consumerism by renewing old fashion trends. It was so inspiring to see ambitious students with a real passion for creativity enact the values they want to see in the fashion world.
At the heart of Astra is a commitment to community. The collective has welcomed students with a love of fashion and established a space where creativity can flourish, in a time when STEM is prized above other disciplines. Throughout the whirlwind process of organising models, contacting designers, and styling
outfits, Astra has maintained positive energy: building new friendships and creating a steady support system for its members.
Before I attended the show (which I recount at the end of the article) I sat down with Tara and Maddie, founding members of the collective, to chat about Astra’s inspiring journey so far and their aspirations for shaping the future of fashion at York…
How was Astra started? What were your goals and what inspired you to form?
(M) York has done fashion shows before, but FashionSoc wanted to get involved with a new type of show…
(T) The reason why we created a separate section called Astra Collective is because we wanted to create a legacy for York. St Andrews and Durham, do a big fashion show which, if they’re passionate about it, is a reason people go to the Uni. We don’t offer fashion courses at all. We thought, you know what, we’re gonna bring all these creative communties (HARD magazine, ModellingSoc, FashionSoc) together and create a collective.
(M) Some of these societies are so interlinked, but they never mingle. So to create this hub of creativity right in the centre of the uni, I think it’ll be such a good thing for the future of fashion at the uni.
What’s the story behind your name?
(T) The reason we’re called Astra is because Central Hall kind of looks like a spaceship. During my course I was studying the architecture of Central Hall, basically, they wanted to create a futuristic dystopian kind of feel to it. Because for most of our campus, the architecture is very 60s, we were like, oh, let’s just tie into it and centre it all around space and the Space Age,
(M) We had so many names, we had Stella, Electra there were so so many, but we liked Astra.
(T) This is our first show and we’re hoping for a decent turnout, we’re really excited and it will give people a taste of what’s to come next year.
What does the theme ‘Revival, Rebirth, Renaissance’ mean to you and has it inspired the aesthetics of the night?
(T) In terms of the visual aesthetic of the show, we wanted to keep it spacey and futuristic. We wanted
to tie in with the 60s aesthetic of our uni so we communicated that to some of the designers. One of the designers has created some beautiful 60s-esque pieces and she’s opening the show so it’ll be really exciting to set the theme for the show. Fashion has no limits… but also just reusing what you’ve got is a key aspect as well, tying in with sustainability.
(M) That’s the same with the dress code. We’ve said the dress code is gonna be like glittery colourful 90s, like completely Hunger Games Capitol. We’re saying, go out, wear your best fashion, imagine you’re at Paris Fashion Week and it’s the peak of Vogue 90s. It’s going to be a really good atmosphere, it’s going to feel spacey.
All the designers have a different vibe as well. It’s such an eclectic mix of so many different designers, and so much different creativity, but it’s all under the same theme.
(T) Especially with what’s going on at the moment in the world, it’s an excuse for everyone to just be camp – let off some steam, have fun, get creative, enjoy some gorgeous fashion, good music, good conversation. It’s a chance for you to meet some amazing designers and enjoy the creative process while raising awareness for BEAT.
“You don’t have to go to the far corners of the world to find good fashion, you can find it anywhere around you. ”
Astra has been working closely with local designers and businesses. How’s that process been and what inspired you to reach out to the local community?
(M) The concept of the show is ‘Revival, Rebirth, Renaissance’, it’s all about upcycling, getting inspiration from older fashion trends and making them new. York has such a big vintage community. We’ve got so many vintage shops, upcycling shops, thrift shops and kilo sales. We thought, why not showcase the creativity and talent of local designers? It also pushes this sustainable approach, that you don’t have to go to the far corners of the world to find good fashion, you can find it anywhere around you.
We’ve also contacted a lot of student designers. One of our designers is from Huddersfield, a master’s student, and their designs are just incredible. It’s giving these students the opportunity to showcase their work as well, and creating a community of talent that’s just local to us. Because a lot of these designers are quite small, it meant that it was quite easy for us to build and establish relationships with them. That was a really nice process for me, I got to know designers quite well.
Can you tell me about BEAT charity and why you chose to raise funds for it?
(T) I suggested BEAT because of the gorgeous community they’ve formed on our campus. Specifically, because of the girls that run, they’re some of the kindest, most beautiful people I’ve ever met in my life. It’s become such a safe space for people, even if they haven’t even been affected or know anything about eating disorders. It’s a nice place to come and meet friends, where you can just express yourself, and they’ve done beautiful creative projects as well, and collabed with ArtSoc and FashionSoc. It’s also good to raise awareness for men as well because there’s such a stigma around men not having disorders.
(M) I think another reason why we chose BEAT is because in such a cutthroat world, like fashion, it’s showing you that you don’t have to be one size to be involved in fashion. All these ideas and problems that girls have with their bodies stem from these 2000s kind of fashion shows, these ideas about you can’t be a model unless you’re like this or you can’t wear this as with this.
So all of our models are completely different, no one model is the same. They’ve all got different hair, they’re all different sizes, they’re all different in everything. We chose BEAT because they demonstrate this idea so well and their community shows it so well, and it’s an uplifting idea that you don’t have to be one type of person to enjoy fashion, you can be anyone. If we want these big jobs in fashion, we have to make sure that we’re pushing forward the right ideas.
“If we want these big jobs in fashion, we have to make sure that we’re pushing forward the right ideas.”
Tara and Maddie told me about the models in the show…
(T) It’s also really lovely because the main sizes of clothes for the models in the show are a normal body size. Instead of a six to eight, it’s 10 to 14 which is so lovely to see but so rare… That’s the average size for women and nobody says it.
(M) We’ve also got loads of different hairstyles and loads of different people who know how to style their natural hair, which is something that the fashion industry should be doing already. It’s outrageous that they’re not doing it already, we’re kind of slapping the industry in the face.
(T) I also wanted everyone to just feel so comfortable and like themselves. Everyone was so serious and so tense. And we were like, no, this is not what we want to celebrate. We want everyone to make friends and they did by the end of it. When modelling we said: we want to see you and your personality, it was beautiful. It’s not like I’m moulding them into what I want them to be.
How have you implemented sustainability into the fashion show?
(M) One of the reasons why I really wanted to push for sustainability is because I found out York Fashion
Week doesn’t use a lot of sustainable designers. We as students who are the new generation, should have more sustainable clothing. We’ve reduced our carbon footprint by using local designers and student designers. They don’t have access to the unethical ways of creating clothes, compared to these huge fast fashion companies.
We’re also using Tash Crane, and she’s one of the most amazing sustainable designers York has to offer. She used to be at this uni and she makes her bags out of recycled materials and recycled ocean waste, which she crochets. We’ve got all these the designers who themselves are inherently sustainable in their nature and lack a carbon footprint.
The Show…
As the sun set, on the day of their inaugural show, Central Hall was transformed from an unremarkable lecture theatre into a flashy runway, waiting vacant under a wash of lilac lights. The audience filed in, thrumming with anticipation, many had embraced the glitz and glam of the occasion by dressing up for the show, creating a magnetic atmosphere bursting with excitement.
When the first models hit the stage, they were received with a wave of cheers and applause. The show was opened by the 60’s-inspired designs of ‘FINGS BY FLOSS’. The show’s theme, ‘Revival, Rebirth, Renaissance’, was inspired by the futuristic design of Campus West and encouraged designers to fight consumerism by reinventing old trends. FLOSS’s use of vintage patterns and silhouettes set the space-age tone of the night.
Above all, authenticity and joy are what took centre stage. Championing genuine self-expression in fashion, the collective inspired its models to embrace their individuality and showcase their true selves on and off the runway. Each model’s walk was refreshingly unique, full of character and confidence, a far cry from the expressionless catwalks that the industry prizes today.
Each designer showcased imaginative collections from Emma McGilloway’s vibrant knit garments to Hannah Claire Hallam’s punk-rock bridal dresses. The show was closed by Franck Bekaka, the largest collection of the night. The chic black and white colour scheme drew attention to the garments’ sleek silhouettes and intricate craftsmanship. The audience gasped as the last model emerged in a glittering sequinned veil. She spun elegantly at the front of the stage, effortlessly capturing the room’s attention as the light caught every last stone; it looked as if she was glowing.
After a triumphant debut, raising important funds for BEAT and exhibiting such a high quality of fashion, Astra is poised to establish a successful fashion legacy for York. Tara and Maddie told me that their future shows will likely run on an Autumn/Winter, Spring/Summer schedule, hoping to expand Astra to other venues across York, such as the Minster and Museum Gardens.
The ambition and passion of Astra’s members are such an inspiring statement to what student communities can create and I can’t wait to see what’s next!
Many thanks to Tara, Maddie and everyone at Astra! Other societies involved were BEAT, HARD, ModellingSoc and Fashion Soc. Designers: Fings by Floss, Tash Crane, Dog and Bone, Emma McGilloway, Hannah Claire Hallam, Mallin & Son, TVFMR, Lauren Betts, Franck Bekaka
Absolutely delighted to have supported this and so pleased about the result. Such an inspiring team☺️ Merryn