The best of 2004?

It is the fashion equivalent of speed dating. You have five minutes to win over prospective employers. Do you a) come on strong, all guns blazing, with an approach that simply screams "you won't forget

Faced with such a choice, students at Graduate Fashion Week used every ploy in the book, from the confidently commercial to the out-and-out crazy to make sure that their five minutes of catwalk fame wasn't wasted over the past four days, with varying degrees of success.

There is no doubting that British-trained fashion students are the best in the world, but with a total of 18 catwalk outings showcasing at least 20 graduate collections each - as well as those that didn't make the catwalk displayed in the vast exhibition space in Battersea Park - it is an almost impossible task to select just a few stand-out names.

But, impossible or not, the Graduate Fashion Week panel will have to do exactly that for tonight's finale Gala Awards, including singling out just one lucky student for the prestigious Topshop Collection of the Year award.

Names for tonight's roll call of honour might well include Northumbria's Gemma Henderson for her Arabesque mix of chainmail and flowing silk, Middlesex's Serena Fuller for her complex checkered knits, Manchester's Victoria Smith for her intricately embroidered and beaded shift dresses, Brighton's Marjam Naji for her lacy crocheted skirts and simple knit vests, and London College of Fashion's Wei Ling Cui for her amazing collection of ruffles and statement silver jewellery.

Awards aside, colleges as a whole showed their particular strengths this week. London College of Fashion is now a creative force to be reckoned with and is right up there with Central St Martins; Northumbria has built up a deserved reputation for innovation and sophistication with a healthy commercial leaning, and Brighton confirmed its place as the top college for textiles with a display of technical brilliance.

But for sheer raw energy and enthusiasm, the University of Westminster was hard to beat this year. Hitting just the right balance between out-there showmanship and the almost wearable, this central London college, if not up for any of this year's awards, should at least expect more than a few interested calls. Not bad going for a five-minute date.