New Gen Top Shop
New Gen Top Shop

LONDON, Dec 18, 2008 / FW/ — While 8 designers received catwalk sponsorships, 18 young talents were awarded New Gen sponsorship for The Exhibition at London Fashion Week to showcase their Fall 2009 collection.

Anna Vince, Borba Margo, Craig Lawrence, Cooperative Designs, David David, Emilio de la Morena, Felder•Felder, Fred Butler, Hannah Marshall, House of Holland, KTZ, Krystof Strozyna, Louise Gray, Mark Fast, Mary Katrantzou, Meadham Kirchhoff, Nicholas Kirkwood and Peter Pilotto all received grants from the BFC New Gen program.

First time exhibitors are knitwear designers Craig Lawrence and Mark Fast both of whom take a craft-based sculptural approach with very different results, KTZ by design duo Sasko Bezovski and Marjan Pejoski, props stylist and accessories designer Fred Butler, and ready to wear and previous Fashion East designer Louise Gray.

Anna Vince
Anna Vince

The BFC established New Gen in 1993 and since then it has become the most internationally recognized talent identification scheme in the UK. Its alumni includes many great British designers including Alexander McQueen, Matthew Williamson, Julien Macdonald, Boudicca, Sara Berman, Giles Deacon, Jonathan Saunders and more recently Christopher Kane and Marios Schwab. Topshop continues its support of the New Gen scheme for the fifteenth consecutive season.

Commenting on the new crop of talents selected this season, Mary Homer, Managing Director of Topshop said, “This season we are delighted to be sponsoring the New Generation scheme for the 15th consecutive season. In the current economic climate, support of emerging designers and creativity is more important than ever and remains at the centre of our brand ethos. We are especially excited about the breadth of talent we are supporting this year which amongst others includes milliners, shoe designers and knitwear specialists.”

London Fashion Week will run from Friday 20February – Tuesday 24February 2009. The Exhibition at London Fashion Week will run from Saturday 21– Tuesday 24February 2008 and is located in the grounds of the Natural History Museum, London SW7.

For more information visit www.londonfashionweek.co.uk

Anna Vince

While training as a saddler at London’s prestigious Cordwainer’s College Anna Vince developed an affinity for leather and craftsmanship, which have become her signature. The later first class Fashion with Textiles degree from Ravensbourne College lent her work a contemporary edge. In addition to producing her own ranges Anna has worked as a freelance designer and consultant for clients including Marks & Spencer, Karen Millen and Robert Cary Williams. She has also created two acclaimed, sell-out capsule collections for Topshop.

Her appeal lies in an ability to blend heritage with modernity through accessories. She uses home-grown manufacturers to produce her wares and sells in some of the world’s most cutting edge outlets.

www.annavince.com

Borba Margo
Borba Margo

Borba Margo

Established in 2004, the label is the collaborative love child of Brazilian-born Anderson Borba DaSilva and Swedish-Polish Jessika Margo Goransson. Mainly self-taught, Anderson moved to London in 1995 and gained his practical skills whilst working as a tailor for Her Majesty’s Royal Guards. Jessika left Sweden in 1997 to study a BA in Fashion at London’s Middlesex University. Borba Margo began as a womenswear label, but its focus has gradually been re-directed toward accessories, usually made from leather, metal and fabric.

Craig Lawrence
Craig Lawrence

Craig Lawrence

London based and Ipswich born Craig Lawrence’s approach to knitting can only be described as extreme: reinventing this ancient craft through unexpected use of both materials and form. Over six seasons, all before graduating from Central Saint Martins, Craig produced knitwear for conceptual design icon Gareth Pugh and has also made accessories for Pugh’s Paris Fashion Week showroom. Lawrence’s other high profile collaborations include work with Levi’s as a Levi’s Original, with Cassette Playa, Patrick Wolf and for Alexander McQueen’s McQ internet campaign.

Cooperative Designs

Annalisa Dunn and Dorothee Hagemann met on the MA Fashion course at Central St Martins in London 2007, whilst both specializing in knitwear. Upon graduation they joined forces to create Cooperative Designs, a platform for like-minded creative people. Cooperative Designs has created one-off pieces for stylists Jane How, Sarah Richardson, Jodie Barnes and for designers Hussein Chalayan and menswear label SOAR.

Cooperative Designs
Cooperative Designs

David David

David David
David David

David came to fashion via fine art after graduating from Chelsea College of Art in 1999 and has since been hailed as the ‘poster boy for the London crossover between art and fashion’ (Sarah Mower, American Vogue). An installation at the MAN show during London Fashion Week in 2005 was a turning point in developing the brands celebrated unique style -his hand painted brightly coloured kaleidoscopic patterns, have become synonymous to the design and intrinsic to his collections. This season David continues to explore geometric prints in bright, bold colourways on modern sportswear and traditional tailored pieces for men and women. David David’s clients include Samantha Morton, Alice Delall, Agyness Deyn, Sam Taylor-Wood, M.I.A, Daisy Lowe, Santogold, Block Party, Patrick Wolf. Stocked at Dover Street Market & Matches London, Seven New York and Edition Japan

Emilio de la Morena
Emilio de la Morena

Emilio de la Morena

Spanish born Emilio de la Morena studied sculpture before he came to Britain in 1993 and gained a first class honours degree in Business. In 2002 studied fashion design at Central Saint Martins and has since been appointed by some of the industry’s most innovative designers including Rafael Lopez and Jonathan Saunders.

This season he receives the prestigious New Generation award for the fourth time. Emilio’s devotees include Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Moss and his collections have been featured in publications such as Vogue, Vogue Italy, i-D, Dazed & Confused, Numero, Muse, Purple, Plastique, Bon, Dansk and Nylon, Emilio’s idée fix is creating something fresh from modernising old and obscure craftsmanship techniques. His collections can be found in some of the world’s most celebrated boutiques including Browns, Henri Bendels, Villa Moda and Beams.

www.emiliodelamorena.com

Felder Felder

Felder Felder
Felder Felder

Daniela and Annette Felder launched their womenswear line FELDER • FELDER whilst studying at Central Saint Martins. The German twin sisters behind the label swiftly won the attention of the international fashion press with their signature style and developed a strong following from key influencers, including Simon Robins of Russian Vogue and photographers such as Lorenzo Agius. Their first show gained respect and was quickly admired by top buyers including Selfridges and Browns Focus who both stock the label. The label’s collections feature dramatic dresses in finest silks and chiffon finished and embellished with contrasting details using leather, metal and embroidery. The directional yet feminine silhouette is toughened with chunky knitwear and a range of bold accessories.

Fred Butler

Fred Butler graduated from the University of Brighton in 2003 launching her website featuring art direction in 2006. Her specialism is creating props as accessories for stylists such as Nicola Formichetti, Patti Wilson and Francesca Burns. Commissions for costumes has also created a network with numerous musicians including Patrick Wolf , Bishi and Sigur Ros. Other clients include Selfridges & Co. for whom she has previously made headwear for mannequins across the window scheme. As a regular contributor to SHOWstudio she was commissioned to make a movie clip for this year’s political fashion season. AW 2008 saw Fred Butler launch her first official fashion collection of inspirational creations with which to decorate and adorn.

Fred Butler
Fred Butler

Hannah Marshall

Hannah Marshall
Hannah Marshall

Since gaining a First Class degree from Colchester School of Art & Design in 2003, Hannah has gone on to establish herself internationally as designer, entrepreneur and coveted luxury brand. Her talent and wealth of experience with leading London fashion designers attracted the attentions of the first ever Creative Pioneer Programme to come from NESTA (The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts). At the age of twenty-one, Hannah was the youngest of 30 young entrepreneurs, to receive personal and business training to help transform their ideas into a business. Featuring body conscious, dynamic and voluminous silhouettes, Hannah incorporates signature tactile Braille messages into her collections which are centered on the iconic LBD.

House of Holland: see Eight Designers Awarded New Gen Catwalk Sponsorship for London Fashion Week

Krystof Strozyna

Krystof Strozyna
Krystof Strozyna

26 year old Krystof graduated in March 2007 from Central Saint Martins with an MA in Womenswear. He was invited to display his collection in Harrods as a second-place winner of the Harrods Design Award. Sculptural shapes of sharply tailored pieces with oversized lacquered-wood jewellery earned him a positive response from the press with editorial in Vogue UK, Vogue Russia, Wonderland, Vogue Italy, Plastique and Harrods Magazine amongst others.

Louise Gray

Following a critically acclaimed degree show at Central St Martins, Louise was snapped up as part of Fashion East for the first time in September 2007 where she furthered her growing reputation for colourful embroidered feminne shift dresses, geometric blouses and multi-layered silk chiffon jackets. Her first Fashion East collection was immediately picked up by Liberty.

Louise Gray
Louise Gray

KTZ

KTZ
KTZ

“KTZ” is created my Sasko Bezovski and Marjan Pejoski, who have accumulated their experience and talent as buyers, designers, DJs and general arbiters of good taste to create the sublime “KTZ” collection. The Autumn Winter 2009 collection draws inspiration from a post apocalyptic futuristic tribe with a nod to the Aztec and Mayan symbolism. Expect an explosion of colour, print and embellishment, with an added level of intricacy, stemming from the design touch of Marjan Pejoski, a previous New Gen winner under his own name, now an artistic director of “Dress Camp”.

Mary Katrantzou: see Eight Designers Awarded New Gen Catwalk Sponsorship for London Fashion Week

Meadham Kirchhoff: see Eight Designers Awarded New Gen Catwalk Sponsorship for London Fashion Week

Nicholas Kirkwood
Nicholas Kirkwood

Nicholas Kirkwood

An alumnus of prestigious design schools Central Saint Martin’s and Cordwainers, Kirkwood’s eponymous collection launched Spring 2005. The collection comprised of architecturally inspired pieces with a blend of genres subverting the relationship between femininity and modernity. This won Kirkwood the attention of Grace Jones and Cecilia Dean of celebrated art-house publication Visionaire as well as design stint at Chloé. Kirkwood has collaborated with Swarovski resulting in a sub-collection of black evening shoes, all featuring a sliced in to heel with a large black sphere-cut crystal suspended in it. Seasonal trends appear in Kirkwood’s work unintentionally and are always at the zeitgeist rather than following or emulating it. SS 08’s collection won him the prestigious AltaRoma Vogue Italia award for accessories design in July and the commendation of American Vogue’s Editor at Large André Leon-Talley.

Peter Pilotto: see Eight Designers Awarded New Gen Catwalk Sponsorship for London Fashion Week

One Response

  1. ravi baniya

    February 1, 2010