Fashion Scout: London: September 2013

Picture: Sadie Williams, Central St Martins, Graduate Showcase.

It always terrifies me when the next fashion week rolls around and I realize that in the four and something months since the last one, I still haven’t covered everything I wanted to. One of our regular destinations for shows last season was Fashion Scout at Freemasons Hall. Fashion Scout houses international and local emerging designers as well as promising student collections. For me personally, it’s an exciting look at what’s new and innovative in fashion and a huge inspiration as for what we aspire to do here in Los Angeles with Los Angeles Fashion Council Collections.

Graduate Showcase

The work of Sadie Williams, Central St Martins graduate.

Maiko Takeda, Royal College of Art.

Lauren Smith, Edinburgh.

Xiao Li, Royal College of Art.

These were my favourites, from the Graduate Showcase. What I always find fascinating about graduate collections, and first collections of emerging designers is their vision. They’re finding their voices as designers – and this is where it’s speaking purely. Without the dilution of mainstream fashions and the need to make sales, it’s about the art form of fashion.

Xiao Li is a prime example of this. Her work – her own knitting samples used to create molds to create the silicone pieces above – is innovative, fresh and interesting. Seeing it here in it’s purest form is fantastic and yet one can also see ways in which this can be diluted for the retail market without completely degrading concept. This in fact has already been realized by H&M who selected Xiao Li as one of their eight Design Award 2014 Finalists. Xiao Li has also won the Fashion Scout Merit Award, the Diesel Award for International Talent and the Loro Piana Award for Best Knitwear. One to watch for sure! You can read more about Xiao Li in this i-D interview.

Ones to Watch

Helen Lawrence, September 2013

Helen Lawrence was featured in Fashion Scout’s “Ones to Watch” program in September. She graduated from Central St Martins in 2012 and worked for knitwear designer Craig Green. She has just been announced as one of the designers showing with Fashion East this season at London Fashion Week.