Debenhams presents graduate collections

Debenhams has unveiled its capsule collections with graduates Hannah Gibbins and Kate MacMahon, both winners at Graduate Fashion Week 2018, as part of its ongoing commitment to supporting new and emerging talent.

Gibbins, who won the Debenhams Menswear Design Award 2018, has debut her 13-piece menswear capsule HCFG x Debenhams collection inspired by her rural, Suffolk upbringing.

Elements of the countryside can be seen throughout the collection in everything from the fabric choice to the design of the clothes, with sustainability woven throughout the collection with pieces made from natural dye and out of recycled wool and nylon fibres.

There is also a strong focus on layering, with the aim for each piece to be versatile, allowing them to be paired up separately.

“Looking at the handmade crafts of basket weaving and thatched roofs – I wanted my range to be built up by layers and different textures,” explains Gibbins in a statement.

The HCFG x Debenhams collection sports an organic colour palette, with bases of navy and grey injected with spicy hues of mustard, while the silhouettes are relaxed and oversized, making the fit key to the collection, with clear references to workwear detailing in a combination of wool blends and pure cottons.

A key piece from the collection includes ‘The anorak hybrid,’ which showcases Gibbins experimentation with formal fabrics and casual boxy silhouettes. The large pockets and raglan sleeves make this jacket a statement outerwear piece. While another statement piece is the brushed check jacquard crew neck jumper.

Debenhams unveils capsule collections with graduates Hannah Gibbins and Kate MacMahon

Debenhams has also introduced a capsule gradate collection to its womenswear portfolio with the 2018 Debenhams Emerging Talent Award winner, Kate MacMahon.

Edinburgh College of Arts graduate MacMahon was inspired by the idea of conservation for her capsule collection, with a strong emphasis on sustainability and preservation of nature through digital print.

“I knew I wanted the focus of the collection to be on using fabrics that are more kind to the environment and this concept naturally evolved,” explained MacMahon. “I’ve made each piece of the collection to the highest ethical and environmental standard as it possibly can be from the very start of the process through to the end product.”

This marks Debenhams first sustainable collection with a capsule range of 12 pieces which sees each item constructed with a minimum of 50 percent sustainable fibres including organic cotton, recycled wool mix, Lenzing and recycled plastic bottles.

MacMahon added: “I began with the idea of preserving elements of Scottish history such as the Guernsey jumper and this evolved to key pieces which people keep throughout their lives and reinventing them in a new way.”

Key pieces from the collection include the ‘Puffer Coat’ which is made from recycled plastic bottles and the ’T-Shirt’ that is 100 percent organic cotton using less water than conventional cotton.

The HCFG x Debenhams collection and Kate MacMahon x Debenhams range is available online on and in 12 stores across the UK, with prices starting from 18 pounds for MacMahon’s collaboration and 25 pounds for Gibbins.

Images: courtesy of Debenhams