The Designers To Look Out For At London Fashion Week AW17
By Something CuratedLondon Fashion Week, one of the ‘Big Four’ along with New York, Milan and Paris, takes place twice a year in February and September, platforming over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers. It is estimated that orders of over £100m are placed during each edition of the biannual event. In the lead up to London’s AW17 presentations, taking place from 17th – 21st February, Something Curated takes a look at some of the most exciting designers to keep an eye out for this season.
MARQUES’ALMEIDA || Marta Marques & Paulo Almeida
Both trained in womenswear, Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida’s aesthetic evokes raw effortlessness, with the pair’s technical sensibilities revealed in the construction of each piece. Cutting their teeth at Vivienne Westwood and Preen respectively, Marques and Almeida took the natural course of combining talents while on the MA at Central Saint Martins. In May 2015 MARQUES’ALMEIDA were awarded the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers. In 2015, the design duo staged their first independent on-schedule show for SS16, following years of support from Fashion East and NEWGEN.
DORATEYMUR || Dora Teymur
Dora Teymur first began making shoes whilst studying at the London College of Fashion. With his cult label, Teymur has deconstructed and reinterpreted the square toe and chunky low heel, bringing the style together with mules, Cuban inspired boots and ankle huggers. His offering is notably comfortable whilst avoiding feeling conventional, featuring elegant textiles and glistening patent leathers, alongside signature metal details.
Claire Barrow || Claire Barrow
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Following collaborations and exhibitions with designers such as Gareth Pugh, Jeremy Scott and Vivienne Westwood, Galeria Melissa hosts a launch event for an upcoming exhibition featuring integrated art, film and clothing from designer Claire Barrow. Barrow is a fashion designer and artist known for her hand-painted unisex leather designs. Originally from Stockton-on-Tees, her London Fashion Week debut was presented as part of Fashion East in September 2012. Celebrated for her DIY punk aesthetic, Barrow aims to “provide people with a piece of art which they can wear and keep forever like they would a painting on a canvas.”
Marta Jakubowski || Marta Jakubowski
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Born in Poland and raised in Germany, Marta Jakubowski graduated with an MA from London’s Royal College of Art, and gained experience with Hussein Chalayan, Alexander Wang, Jonathan Saunders and Bruno Pieter, before setting up her own label in 2014. Her colourful, draped aesthetic, evident in the red and pink cut-out dresses and dropped hems of her SS17 collection, has become somewhat of a signature. Her work offers a theatrical vision, which could possibly be credited to her days working as a costume intern in opera houses.
J.W.Anderson || Jonathan Anderson
Northern Irish designer Jonathan Anderson established J.W.Anderson in 2008. The success of this debut collection earned both critical acclaim and commercial success for Anderson, whose label is now regarded as one of London’s most innovative and forward thinking brands. Its unique design aesthetic offers a modern interpretation of masculinity and femininity by creating thought-provoking silhouettes through a conscious cross-pollination between menswear and womenswear elements.Significant investment from LVMH, and a position as Creative Director at Loewe, further cement Jonathan Anderson’s status as a seminal designer.
Central Saint Martins || MA Fashion Graduates
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MA Fashion at CSM has an international profile with an unrivalled record for sending the best professional talent into the international fashion industry. MA Fashion is the only course that shows at London Fashion Week on the official schedule. Alumni from the programme who have built reputations under their own labels or influencing fashion as design directors include Alexander McQueen, Alistair Mackie, Ashish, Craig Green, Christopher Kane, Mary Katrantzou, Peter Jensen, Phoebe English, Regina Pyo, Roksanda, and more. We eagerly await this year’s offering from the celebrated school.
Ryan LO || Ryan Lo
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Romantic fantasy is the consistent theme in Lo’s work, drawing inspirations from current pop culture and childhood nostalgia. Born in Hong Kong, he spent a significant part of his formative years in London, where he attended university. Interestingly, Lo crafts his designs with an unconventional DIY approach having taught himself to knit from online video tutorials. Since launching his label the young designer has acquired a new level of sophistication, though his maximalist sensibilities still see him send a unique and contemporary wardrobe down the runway.
Matty Bovan || Matty Bovan
Bovan launched his label in 2016 after graduating from Central Saint Martins where he showed an amalgam of handmade textiles, juxtaposing cashmere and plastic lacing together with clay adornments and sculptural silhouettes. He received the 2015 LVMH Graduate Prize which was followed with a position as a Junior Designer at Louis Vuitton. This season, following his LFW debut last year, knitwear graduate Bovan will be presenting his latest offering once again with the support of Lulu Kennedy’s Fashion East.
Erdem || Erdem Moralioglu
Established in 2005, Erdem has come to be synonymous with a powerful femininity. Founder Erdem Moralioglu trained at the Royal College of Art in London. Known for his use of experimental textiles, vibrant prints, and detailed craftsmanship, Erdem has received numerous accolades over the years, including the 2014 British Fashion Council’s Womenswear Designer of the Year Award. His SS17 offering was inspired by the discovery of a 17th century dress found in the Wadden Sea, belonging to Jean Kerr, lady in waiting to Queen Henrietta Maria. Flowing gowns in lace and crumpled silk gave the show a sense of elegant historicism.
Faustine Steinmetz || Faustine Steinmetz
Parisian-born Faustine Steinmetz began her studies at Atelier Chardon Savard in Paris before moving to London to complete her Masters at the prestigious Central Saint Martins. Having worked for the likes of Jeremy Scott and Henrik Vibskov, Faustine set up her label in early 2013 after acquiring her first handloom. All of Faustine’s pieces are made in accordance with her belief in craftsmanship over trend. Last season, Steinmetz explored the possibilities of denim, creating pieces that suggest jackets and jeans, but with abstract twists like hand-woven details and unusual dying processes.
Molly Goddard || Molly Goddard
Central Saint Martins graduate and west London native Molly Goddard has gone from strength to strength since her AW15 Fashion Week debut. Her subsequent collection for SS16 was picked up by NEWGEN, and she attracted attention from notable stockists including Dover Street Market. Goddard brings to life those awkward coming-of-age moments that define modern femininity, portraying something that is at once fragile and beautiful and also inherently grounded. Her intricate, dream-like designs are balanced with a refreshingly real approach: each one of her designs is hand-crafted by Goddard in her London studio, and she often recruits friends or street-casts models for her shows.
Simone Rocha || Simone Rocha
Simone Rocha, born in Dublin, graduated from the Fashion MA at Central Saint Martins in 2010, and debuted at London Fashion Week the same year. Her collections have gained her some of the most prestigious stockists in the world including Dover Street Market, Browns, Colette in Paris, Bergdorf Goodman, New York, and 10 Corso Como in Milan. For SS17, Rocha was inspired by the work of Jackie Nickerson, specifically her photographic series documenting African farmers, as well as Paul Henry’s painting of Potato Diggers, and 18th century Dutch masterpieces. Rocha’s collections are often imbued with religious symbolism, underpinned by a curious sense of subversion.
Ashish || Ashish Gupta
Ashish Gupta first showed at London Fashion Week in 2005 and went on to win the New Generation award three times. Born in Delhi, he studied Fine Art in India, and then moved to London to complete an MA at Central Saint Martins. Last season, Gupta was eager to celebrate Indian culture in the UK. A sitar player provided live music, which built to a crescendo as a male model came out in a sequined gold dress, holding a python. The makeup concept, created by the talented Isamaya Ffrench, was inspired by club kid looks merged with traditional Indian glamour and the vivid faces of Hindu deities.
Feature image: Claire Barrow AW16 (via CARRO Studio)