WITH her green hair and electric blue dress covered in pieces of mirror, Paige Manning looks out of this world. The 18-year-old from Garforth is modelling her own creation ahead of tomorrow's York College Fashion Show at the racecourse.

Paige's theme takes my prize for the weirdest title for a fashion collection. "It's about the alien host taking over the faceless entity that gets eaten from the inside to reveal the galaxy."

Er, if you say so, Paige. Safe to say this second year student on the Extended Diploma in Fashion and Clothing at York College is a huge sci-fi fan.

"I am obsessed with science fiction. I love all the old movies, like Barbarella – I like anything that is a bit cheesy."

Like many of her fellow students in the college's fashion department, Paige is uni-bound, with a place secured at De Montfort University in Leicester to study contour fashion – that's lingerie, swimwear and corsets, Paige helpfully illuminates. "I have wanted to do this since I was in high school. I want to do proper, full-on crazy lingerie."

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York duo Emma Bone, 18, and Chloe Greenaway, 19, are both heading to Northumbria University to study fashion design in the autumn, with ambitions to become professional designers.

Emma's final collection is inspired by the Winter Olympics, especially the body skins worn by speed skaters, while Chloe gives historic dresses a 21st century twist with her mini-crins, which are see-through and stop at the thigh.

Chun-Yin Chan, 20, from Hong Kong, is one of the few males to come through the fashion department. His all-white dress pays homage to the Snow Woman, a character in a Japanese folk tale. He is staying put, returning to York College for the foundation diploma in fashion next year.

Emily Shillito and Rachel Askey are literally putting Yorkshire on the map – each has taken their home town as inspiration. Emily, 23, has tried to replicate in fabric the petrifying well at Mother Shipton's Cave in Knaresborough which turns ordinary objects into stone. Rachel, 21, took photos of rundown areas of Driffield for her Urban Decay theme and had them digitally printed on to fabrics.

Emily Morris, 21, keeps six Zwartbles sheep at her family farm at Seaton Ross and sheared their wool to use in her designs, which also incorporates fabrics from Yorkshire wool legends Abraham Moon.

Monica Ip, 21, from Goole, turned to the coral reef for her designs, incorporating light-weight fabrics and lots of textures in vibrant oranges and reds.

Natural Disasters is the title of Jo Roberts' work, which has drawn interest from the Tear Fund charity. Jo, 22, of York, said: "Look what's happened in Nepal, we hope to use this to raise awareness." Volcanoes, tornadoes and earthquakes inspired her designs, lending shape and volume to her garments, while the cracked earth became an image she incorporated onto her fabric.

At 46, Cheryl Roberts is one of the most mature students on the course. She gave up running a boutique and making a few garments in Leeds for her college place, determined to learn "to do it properly". "I used to sell little pieces I made in my own shop, but didn't know if they were good enough to go into anyone else's shop," she says.

Fully skilled and bursting with confidence, she is about to relaunch her career making occasion wear.

York College fashion tutor Marie Neal-Smith said: “Fashion design students have once again worked very hard to produce collections of garments which reflect creativity and technical skill. They have shown immense commitment and dedication, enthusiasm and strength of character in working towards the show.”

The students will show off their final year designs tomorrow at the Knavesmire Stand, York Racecourse, with an afternoon show at 1.30pm and an evening show at 7.30pm.