FashionZoot hears
NEWGEN WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR SPRING/SUMMER 2012
The British Fashion Council have now announced the 17 names of London’s biggest emerging fashion design talents who are set to receive exclusive NEWGEN & NEWGEN MEN sponsorship, supported by Topshop for the 20th consecutive season, and will show at the next London Fashion Week in September 2011.
NEWGEN is an internationally renowned fashion platform for young designers, recognised for their identification and support of the best new UK design talent. The chosen catwalk designers will receive much needed financial support as well as the BFC Catwalk Show Space at London Fashion Week to present their collections, while other winners receive presentation or exhibition space to showcase their collections, providing them with the important opportunity to gain exposure to press and buyers from around the world. The 2011/12 winners are as follows:
CATWALK SPONSORSHIP:
David Koma – Renowned for his creation of ultra body contouring silhouettes and after a succesful A/W collection featuring lots of polka dot, the next Spring Summer collection will be inspired by aboriginal culture, femininity and lines.
Holly Fulton – This young designer takes her Spring/Summer 2012 inspiration from “shell grottoes, casinos and early Versace”, marking her 6th season at LFW and continuing to provide her colourful Art Deco take on fashion.
Louise Gray – After graduating from Central St Martins and having made several successful collaborations, such as with Cotton USA, Judy Blame, Nicholas Kirkwood, the Smiley Company and Crown Paint, Gray is proud to be presenting her new creative SS12 collection at LFW.
Michael van der Ham – Michael sums up his new SS12 collection simply; “Very special textiles and unusual prints as well as intricate pattern cutting. I can’t give too much away!”
PRESENTATION SPONSORSHIP:
Christopher Raeburn – Provides a collection inspired by literary reading, including ‘The Man of Aran’ by Robert J. Flaherty, a black and white depiction of the hard life of islanders on Aran off the Western coast of Ireland, and Charlie Hailey’s book on camps, as well as the extensive research carried out on functional fabrics.
Craig Lawrence – This young designer focuses on contemporary knitwear and for SS12 presents a collection inspired by “stolen innocence, ‘five daughters’ and vajazzling”
Dominic Jones – Trained as a fine jeweller, this designer has already secured global stockists including Net-A-Porter worldwide, Liberty and Harvey Nichols in London, and L’Eclaireur in Paris, amongst others. His SS12 collection is inspired by Gothic cathedrals, abandoned Soviet sculptures and colour.
J.W. Anderson – After the success of his previous men’s collections, Anderson began to develop the J.W. Anderson Women line, which he desribes for SS12 as “monochromatic, rich meets poor and man meets natural.”
Nasir Mazhar – With his aim to “reintoduce the practice of hat wearing”, Nasir Mazhar builds his next fantastical collection on the image of “cultures in London, nightclubbing and sexy, slutty girls”.
INSTALLATION SPONSORSHIP:
Jordan Askill – Combining references to the nostalgia of youth and the world around us, Askill will present a contemporary jewellery collection inspired by fire, noise and detail.
SISTER by SIBLING – This knitwear brand will be launching its first womenswear collection taking its inspiration from dodgems, walterz and hot dogs, with reference to particular English humour.
EXHIBITION SPONSORSHIP:
Felicity Brown – Brown’s SS12 collection combines themes of vintage Laura Ashley, silk jersey manipulation and tribal looks.
J. JS Lee – Lee simply describes her next collection in three words, “magnifier, rain and light.”
James Long – Long launched his womenswear line last season at Fashion East and is receiving NEWGEN sponsorship for the first time with his SS12 collection which takes inspiration from the film Casino, Sissy Spacek and ginger.
Palmer/Harding – These designers, made up of design duo Levi Palmer and Matthew Harding, are also receiving NEWGEN sponsorship for the first time to present at LFW, yet their most recent collection was stocked in Topshop and has been worn by celebrity icons such as Lady Gaga and Naomi Campbell. The SS12 collection is inspired by Nico, Madame Grès and Aaron Huey.
Thomas Tait – After completeing a technical degree in womenswear at Colllege LaSalle in Montreal, Tait moved to London to study his MA at Central St Martins and will now proudly present his latest collection at London Fashion Week.
Tim Soar Woman – Tim Soar will showcase his first stand-alone womenswear line at LFW, building upon his past SHE:HIM project which he launched for SS11, where he reworked elements of his menswear into the womenswear. His SS12 collection focuses on deconstruction, layering and inside-out tailoring.
London Fashion Week will run from Friday 16th September – Wednesday 21st September 2011 and will be located at Somerset House, Strand WC2.
For more information on the NEWGEN designers visit www.britishfashioncouncil.com/newgen
By Lucy Mclean
