LONDON FASHION WEEK 2010: New Designers

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of sleek top-knots, it was the age of messy quiffs, it was the epoch of vast wooden wedges, it was the epoch of tiny leather loafers, it was the season of spring/summer inside, it was the season of autumn/winter outside. It was London Fashion Week. Our very own Central Saint Martins and London College of Fashion graduates showed the world their designs, some for the first time, so we caught up with a few to find out about their new collections.

Viking Wong

Hong Kong-born womenswear designer Viking Wong says he takes his inspiration from old photographs, people’s struggles and daily work. His Fashion Week collection, Work in Progress II is a continuation from his A/W 10 collection Work in Progress I, both of which concentrate on workwear with new and old details, but with the second installment tailored towards spring. Viking told me: “I use inside-out or rolled up detailing, but balancing the look with strong tailoring.” He likes ‘interactive’ Margiela-inspired fashion, something he concentrated on for his London College of Fashion graduate collection, but says that it’s difficult to balance creating with marketing. “You need to create something practical for people to wear”.
Viking’s clothes are stocked at youngbritishdesigners.co.uk.

Laura Theiss

Lithuanian-born knitwear designer Laura Theiss graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2009, with a signature structural design style. Her graduate collection, ‘The World, the Flesh and the Devil’, focused on juxtaposing shapes and fabrics using pleating, layering and twisting. I met up with Laura in Fashion Week’s On/Off exhibition and she told me about her inspiration for this season: “I’m really interested in Asian, especially Chinese, legends. The costumes of the Far East are so ethnic and colourful. There’s a legend I’m especially using for inspiration – it might sound silly but - in the story, a thousand years before Christ, aliens came to Asia. I’ve incorporated futuristic fabrics with traditional Chinese costumes for this collection. I think it is important to have these kinds of fantasies and fancies – fashion designers need some illusions and daydreams.” This is Laura’s second season – she showed in Paris last year – but this time she is concentrating on the details and high quality of her pieces: “I’ve incorporated a futuristic feel by using metallic yarn, but while still using traditional Chinese tassels, ribbons and hand-knits.” Laura tells me that she loved studying at Central Saint Martins: “It was a very good experience. The methods of teaching – there’s no theory, just projects, so you’re learning by doing, you can be as creative as you wish.” Is this why the college produces so many stars? “Yes, you are looking at your classmates, wondering who it will be for this year. Obviously winning something like the Newgen award is your goal.”
Laura is currently selling her collection at Oxford Circus’s Beyond the Valley.

Partimi

Over at the Esthetica exhibition, cutting-edge ethical designs are being showcased. Partimi, set up by Central Saint Martins graduate Eleanor Dorrien-Smith, is a womenswear label that focuses on print and silhouette. Eleanor started at the design studios of Mary Katrantzou and John Galliano before setting up Partimi, which uses fair-trade fabrics in a fashionable and desirable way. Eleanor told me “The name Partimi comes from the architectural term parti, it’s the starting point of a design project. It’s important where the materials and fabrics of a garment come from.” Her S/S 11 collection is a homage to the ballet costumes Eleanor grew up around – her grandmother collected Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes costumes since 1969 and the designer has drawn inspiration from the bold graphics, hurried repairs and repeated wear-and-tear from over a century. “I used some of the prints and details of worn-out areas” – she points out a dress inspired by fabric from a Firebird costume – “These markings and costumes are no longer used, it’s like we’re reviving them.” The physical manufacture for the collection is also a process of revival; Eleanor uses scrap leather, organic cotton and wool, while accessories designer Joanna Cave creates jewelry from recycled silver, slate and bullet holders. Eleanor tells me: “We use bullet holders, faded paint and bits and pieces. It’s definitely about bringing stuff back to life.”
Partimi collections are also on sale at Oxford Circus’s Beyond the Valley.

Nicole Murray

London College of Fashion MA graduate Nicole Murray’s graduate collection was picked up and sold exclusively by Harrods, as part of a platform for young designers. For this season, the womenswear designer concentrated on a bronze palette of oranges and nudes. She told me: “I made it more metallic, so that it is current for summer, and focused on a particular kind of smocking embroidery technique, where you use a hand grid system to alter and fold the fabric.” Nicole is becoming a bigger name this season, with rave reviews from Grazia and high sales at Harrods. Is it hard to balance being creative with being sellable? Nicole nods, “I’m doing my press myself at the moment, it’s important to have a good online presence as well, especially when you are starting out.”
Nicole’s A/W collection is on sale at Harrods.