SOMEWHERE, in London's cavernous Earl's Court exhibition centre, Claudia Schiffer, Matthew Williamson and Zandra Rhodes are casting an eye over the catwalk creations of tomorrow's fashion pioneers.

Among them are the works of 24 Nottingham Trent students selected from among their peers to take part in this year's Graduate Fashion Week.

The event is the highlight of the student fashion calendar, the chance for undergraduates to showcase their aspirations in front of some of the industry's biggest brands – River Island, Pringle and Mulberry among them.

At the end of the four-day series of shows, 10 awards are presented to designers whose work has impressed the judges. Supermodel Schiffer hosts the ceremony and designers Williamson and Rhodes are among the judges.

An award here can fast-track a fashion career. Last year, Trent student Ria Thomas won The Pringle of Scotland Visionary Knitwear Award and now works for international designer Julien Macdonald.

This year, Trent's numbers include five fashion knitwear students, with the rest coming from the fashion design department.

Many of the students were up at 4am for a four-hour coach trip from Nottingham.

"I've got panda eyes!" jokes design student Yanling Li, who, at 22, has nothing of the sort.

Since their arrival, they have unpacked and pressed their collections (each one containing six outfits), tried them on the models and made minor alterations.

The students are now running purely on adrenaline and youthful ambition.

The Trent show is due to start at 11.30am and last-minute nerves are palpable.

In the corner of Trent's backstage area is the most startling sight of the day so far – a teenage lad, frantically ironing.

Meanwhile, a team from L'Oreal is dousing all the models in clouds of hairspray.

"She's absolutely tiny... a size seven!" complains one student, walking past us, presumably referring to one of the models.

So far, the only sizing issue Rosie Ray has experienced has been shoes.

"A lot of the models are different to what I thought," sighs the 23 year old fashion design student. "There's a lot of pressure with the show. There are people from high street companies."

Rosie's collection has been inspired by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. It combines muted colours with heady purples and gleaming, hand-made pressed-flower accessories.

Regarding each student's collection with a fond, maternal gaze is programme leader for fashion design Gilly Staples.

This is Gilly's sixth show with Trent. During the year she tries to play down its importance so as not to sideline the achievements of the two thirds of her students who don't make it here.

"I still get excited about it every year, though," she says. "I think this year's collections compare very well with previous years."

Amid her excitement is a wistfulness about what the future holds for today's students.

"It's sad in a way that we've come to the end of the year," she says. "Now they have to fend for themselves. Hopefully we've given them the skills and the confidence to do that. You have to tell them not to give up – especially in the current economic climate."

Two of the stars of the Notts Trent show are fashion design student Ana Belen Meroño and fashion knitwear student Pandora Bahrami.

Later, it emerges Ana was nominated for the prestigious Gold Award, while Pandora was contending for two awards in textiles and visionary knitwear.

There were no Trent winners this year but the experience is invaluable.

In the rows of chairs surrounding the catwalk, the students anxiously watch their collections being modelled.

Fashion design student Nick Robbins, 22, has created a combination of traditional tailoring and loud, spontaneous retro-prints.

"It's all over so quickly," he sighs. "You just want to get back up there and show all over again."

Not surprisingly, Paul Smith is a major influence on his work.

"It's hard not to be influenced by him," he says. "I think Paul is so brave with his designs… which is why I was!"

Across the hall, on the Manchester Met stand, is another Paul Smith devotee – Morgan Brooke.

Last summer Morgan, 23, from Bunny, did a three-week placement with the Nottingham designer.

"My dream is to work for him," she says.

Today, she's one of 20 students who have travelled to fashion week with the university.

"It's been a struggle to get here," she admits. "I'm quite efficient but there just aren't enough hours in the day to get your collection ready.

"My one goal this year has been to get here. Missing out was not an option. There are 36 in our year and not everyone can make it. The day the list of students they've selected gets posted at the university, there are a lot of tears. But it's been a great experience."

The ordeal over, the Trent students are gathering around their stand, where the centrepiece is a table of Buck's Fizz.

The Trent stand is a miniature showcase of their work – one of around 50 such stands in Earl's Court from universities across the country. Trent's is strikingly criss-crossed with metal bars from which plastic mannequins are suspended, displaying the students' show garments. These will hang in place until the end of fashion week.

"It's about showing people what we can do," says Zoe Lewis, 21, from Eastwood, a fashion knitwear student who incorporated fluorescent yarn into her designs.

The fizz is drunk, the party's over and soon these students will be out in the big wide world, competing for jobs.

But for many, this week has cemented all their youthful ambition and made them hungry for more.

As 22-year-old Trent student Stephanie Hill puts it: "We know this is the world we want to work in."