London Fashion Week Archives

Jimmy Choo’s JCA London Fashion Academy hosted debut London Fashion Week City Wide MA show

October 29, 2022 by Editorial Team

The world famous pioneer of handmade luxury shoes and Creative Director of JCA | London Fashion Academy, Professor Jimmy Choo OBE, invites aspiring fashion design innovators to develop their own unique style at his brand new Academy and Incubator. Prof. Jimmy Choo’s Mayfair based JCA | London Fashion Academy hosted its debut London Fashion Week … Read more

The Modern Artisan project: How artisans can train on small batch luxury production and heritage craftsmanship skills

October 13, 2021 by Editorial Team

The Modern Artisan is a unique partnership between YOOX NET-A-PORTER and The Prince’s Foundation, the educational charity established by HRH The Prince of Wales, designed to create a sustainable luxury capsule collection of menswear and womenswear as part of a new training initiative to strengthen textile skills training.

@The Prince’s Foundation x @YOOX NET-A-PORTER

The Prince’s Foundation and YOOX NET-A-PORTER present new intake of trainee artisans for second edition of The Modern Artisan at launch event in Milan.

The Prince’s Foundation and YOOX NET-A-PORTER unveil the new artisans in training for the second edition of the responsible luxury training programme, The Modern Artisan project.

Selected from a competitive pool of applications, this year’s programme will bring together eight artisans, four British fashion and textiles graduates, along with four Italian graduates from the leading Italian design school, Politecnico di Milano. The trainee artisans will embark on a collaborative ten-month paid training programme, with design training guided by experts from YOOX NET-A-PORTER and industry mentors, and training on small batch luxury production and heritage craftsmanship skills to help build capacity in the UK delivered by The Prince’s Foundation.

The training programme, which commenced in September, focuses on responsible design and sustainable luxury textile craftsmanship. Together, YOOX NET-A- PORTER and The Prince’s Foundation will support the eight trainee artisans through the end-to-end process of designing, handcrafting and bringing to a market on a global scale a luxury collection with sustainability at its heart. The resulting womenswear capsule collection will debut to customers on NET-A-PORTER and YOOX in late Summer 2022. Profits from the sale of the collection will be donated to The Prince’s Foundation to support the charity in developing and delivering training programmes that will help preserve traditional textile skills.

The artisans are starting the programme by undertaking a four-month period of immersive design training guided by industry experts at YOOX NET-A PORTER headquarters in London and Milan for the British and Italian groups respectively. As they are supported through the design process, trainees will have the opportunity to explore designing for sustainability and circularity, including the application of data insights for customer relevance and to prioritise longevity of their final collection.

In January, the eight artisans will come together at The Prince’s Foundation’s Dumfries House headquarters in East Ayrshire, Scotland, where they will undertake six months of intensive training in luxury small batch production and gain the skills to handcraft the collection to the highest of standards.

Over the course of the programme, trainees will benefit from industry visits in the UK and Italy. Throughout the programme, they will receive ongoing mentorship from YOOX NET-A-PORTER, The Prince’s Foundation and brand partners, initial brand mentors include Gabriela Hearst, Giuliva Heritage, Nanushka, VIN + OMI, Johnstons of Elgin, Tiziano Guardini, Flavia La Rocca and ZEROBARRACENTO.

“We were absolutely delighted to gain places on The Modern Artisan programme. Our whole team feels so privileged to be part of such an exciting project. The collaboration across borders has opened us up to so many fresh ideas and ways of working. We have learnt so much already and look forward to all the opportunities the programme will bring. The future of our industry will be defined by the next generation of talent, so we are delighted to partner again with The Prince’s Foundation to support an ambitious group of graduates across Italy and the UK for the second edition of The Modern Artisan. The hands-on skills, experience, knowledge, perspectives and contacts that they are building will serve them well for years as they develop long-term careers and drive forward the sustainable solutions that will revolutionise fashion and luxury. Reflecting a shared heritage of innovation and craftsmanship in the UK and Italy, our YOOX NET-A- PORTER teams in Milan and London, in partnership with The Prince’s Foundation in Scotland, will support this group as together they define what it means to be a Modern Artisan in today’s evolving world. We cannot wait to see what they produce. ” – Geoffroy Lefebvre, YOOX NET-A-PORTER Chief Executive Officer.

“The first edition of The Modern Artisan project culminated with the launch of the YOOX NET-A-PORTER for The Prince’s Foundation collection in November 2020, which sold around the world and attracted global media attention for the artisans at the very beginning of their career. Since graduating from the programme, all the trainee artisans from the UK and Italy have used the experience as a springboard to secure employment in the industry or start their own fashion and manufacturing businesses. We are very much looking forward to working with this year’s intake of talented artisans and seeing where the project takes them. ” – Jacqueline Farrell, Education Director for The Prince’s Foundation.

The eight trainee artisans are:

Emma Rose Atherton, 28, from the Wirral in North West England. Emma is a graduate of the University of Chester and launched her own size-inclusive label at London Fashion Week.
Adam Benbarek, 21 from Turin, a graduate of Politecnico di Milano. Adam is passionate about art and literature, where he finds most of the inspiration for his designs.
Emily Dey, 23, from Middlesbrough. Emily is a recent graduate of Teesside University, and since graduating put her sewing skills to good use volunteering at a local charity to upcycle clothes.
Francesca Garrone, 22 from Turin, a graduate of Politecnico di Milano. Francesca hopes to one day build her own brand using only discarded materials.
Merie Macdonald, 49, from South Lanarkshire in Scotland. Merie has recently retrained and completed a HND in Fashion Technology at Cardonald College in Glasgow, having previously held various positions across the fashion sector including accessories designing.
Isabelle Pennington-Edmead, 24, from Cheshire. Isabelle is a graduate of Nottingham Trent University and Manchester School of Art, and during the pandemic volunteered to sew PPE for the NHS in her spare time.
Arianna Safayi, 22 from Perugia, a graduate of Politecnico di Milano. Following the programme she hopes to be able to use fashion to spark conversation on themes she deeply cares about such as sustainability, diversity and inclusion.
Zhenqi Weng, 26, from Milan. Zhenqi studied pattern making at the Istituto di Moda Burgo Milano and fashion design at Politecnico di Milano. He was born in China and moved to Italy at the age of 7, where he began to develop an interest in fashion and tailoring.
photo source @YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP

Priya Ahluwalia is the recipient of The Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design 2021

March 2, 2021February 23, 2021 by Editorial Team

The recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design was unveiled on Tuesday 23rd February during London Fashion Week 2021. The fashion design award was initiated in recognition of the role the fashion industry plays in society and diplomacy. It recognises young fashion designers that are both talented and make a difference … Read more

Tod’s x Central Saint Martins MA Fashion

March 4, 2021February 22, 2021 by Editorial Team

Tod’s Legacy; @Tod’s x @Central Saint Martins MA Fashion:

The new generation of creatives needs to be supported and promoted, especially now. 35 students from the MA Fashion Course got the chance to reinvent Tod’s iconic pieces, guided by 26 expert mentors from the fashion industry.

Tod’s Legacy is an initiative which was launched on February 19th, during the opening of London Fashion Week with a digital project which was unveiled on a dedicated platform.

In the awareness that in such a complicated moment the new generation of creatives must be supported and promoted, Tod’s announced the collaboration, initiated last July as part of Tod’s Academy, with the prestigious Central Saint Martins – University of the Arts for a special project in which young creativity dialogues with Tod’s values and expresses itself in total freedom.

Tod’s Academy is a laboratory of ideas based in the luxury brand’s headquarters in the Marche region of Italy. It is conceived as a place for doing and thinking, in which artisans accompany and support students, offering them ways and techniques to materialize ideas. Tod’s Academy is the expression of the highest culture of Made in Italy and the excellence of the luxury group’s shoemaking artisans and is designed with a view to generational continuity, mixed with the modern and personal point of view of each creative.

Thought by Diego Della Valle and coordinated by Fabio Piras, course director of Central St Martins MA Fashion Course, the project was presented during the London Fashion Week, through a big digital exhibition.

The 2021 Tod’s Legacy project includes 35 young designers from all corners of the world, chosen directly by Central Saint Martins: a borderless selection which enriches the Tod’s universe with further facets; of new points of view, visions and values. Through this collaboration, with a view to social sustainability, each creative receives a scholarship, which means an effective support in both studies and professional development.

Tod’s Academy Students 2021; @academy.tods.com/legacy/students.html

Each student was asked to give his or her own interpretation of one or more Tod’s codes, focusing on the creative process that led to the final proposal. The objects of this study have been the icons as well as the techniques of the brand: D Bag, Gommino, T Timeless and the handmade craftsmanship. This proposal was read through very personal lenses:deconstructed, taken apart, patchworked, embroidered, made in sustainable materials or assigned to new functions. In this process of analysis, which was carried out with inventive means, each student has been supported by a mentor and sparring partner, by a fashion master, in order to evaluate choices and make suggestions

The roster of mentors involved in Tod’s Legacy includes some of the most prestigious international editors, journalists and designers: tastemakers such as Hamish Bowles and Gianluca Longo; editors in-chief such as Emanuele Farneti and Simone Marchetti; critics such as Sarah Mower, Alexander Fury and Angelo Flaccavento; stylists like Francesca Burns; designers such as Simone Rocha and Charles Jeffrey; talent scouts like Sara Maino.

The result is a personal interpretation of the very idea of legacy, meant as cultural and creative baggage. Starting from Tod’s own heritage to interpret it in innovative and spontaneous ways, this generation of creatives blends their own personal legacy – one of culture, studies and family – with the brand. Some of them will also have the opportunity to further enrich their knowledge through an internship at the Tod’s Academy.

“This is a beautiful project that supports students and at the same time brings unusual and innovative points of view to Tod’s. Thanks to all the mentors who have helped us and thanks to Central St. Martins and Fabio Piras for their valuable contribution” explained Diego Della Valle.

@academy.tods.com/legacy/students.html

Bethany Williams gender-neutral capsule coat collection dives into antique wool blankets

February 22, 2021February 22, 2021 by Editorial Team

@Bethany Williams Capsule Collection @Selfridges

This London Fashion Week, Bethany Williams will present her gender-neutral capsule coat collection, exclusively for Selfridges.

As with every collection and project Bethany Williams works on, the social and environmental issues go hand in hand.

“This particular project was inspired by our ongoing work with The Magpie Project, a charity that supports women and children under five in temporary, unsuitable or no accommodation. The Women’s Institute community creates a personal blanket for every baby born into the Magpie Family. A blanket is so much more than a piece of fabric, it is a feeling of comfort and shelter and I wanted that feeling to be at the heart of this capsule collection.” – Bethany Williams

Drawing on her inspiration, the collection saw Bethany dive into the historical heritage of vintage and antique wool blankets from across the UK. All the blankets are carefully sourced from vintage sellers, whether that’s Antiques Markets or car boot sales.

Steeped in history, each blanket sourced tells a story from the textile and weaving techniques to the county, town or village it was made in. One of her favourite pieces sourced for the collection was found on a pitch-black frosty morning at Sunbury Antiques Market at Kempton Racecourse. With her phone touch as her only source of light, she came across a rare and usually very expensive Welsh, patterned wool blanket with brightly coloured pink and orange patches.

With this collection, the story continues, as each blanket is given a new lease of life through Bethany’s artistic vision and mastering of design-led upcycling techniques, which created this capsule collection. Shapes for the details on each garment come from historical research into childrenswear that she explored with the V&A Museum of Childhood. The complimentary colour palettes, slightly oversized fit and skilful patchwork techniques all create a unique, bespoke-feel to each garment.

Handcrafted in London, the nine upcycled blanket coats are available in three different jacket styles.

Each garment is conceptualised by allocating a specific blanket to each style of jacket based on its weight, thicknessand colour. The outer material is the blanket wool for optimal insulation with a 100% organic cotton lining, sourced from Wales.

This collection is part of Selfridges sustainability initiative, Project Earth, committed to putting sustainability in the heart of the business and reinventing the way we shop.

“We are so thrilled to be continuing our partnership with Bethany Williams. Bethany joined the Selfridges menswear editas part of our Bright New Things programme, and we are so excited to now be launching this collection straight from her LFW presentation. She was a clear choice to be included as one of our key Project Earth partners due to her innovative approach to sustainable and socially conscious work – Jack Cassidy, Head of Menswear at Selfridges.