introducing…
Chopova Lowena
Based in London, recycling folkloric fabrics, deadstock materials and utilising traditional craft techniques.
AHLUWALIA
Through her namesake brand, “AHLUWALIA”, Priya takes elements from her dual Indian-Nigerian heritage and London roots and lifestyle and explores the life of vintage and dead-stock materials, using textile techniques to give them a new life. A celebration of craftsmanship, Ahluwalia works with factories that applaud artisanal work and foster safe, fair and well-trained environments including Sewa Delhi, an embroidery social enterprise that works with rural women, and positions them into fairly paid and flexible employment.
Her often nostalgic collections look to community and history; for AW20, Ahluwalia looked deep into to the year 1965, the birth year of her step-dad. Sarah Mower commented, “It’s amazing to see designers like Ahluwalia, growing up in a time when streetwear is the norm, who are now lifting it to a higher design plane, bringing new cultural energies to fashion, and sewing positive change into everything they do.”
Sindiso Khumalo
Inspired by her mother who was an activist, Sindiso has been motivated to bring values of social equality and female empowerment into her brand. With textiles and craft at the heart of her collections, she works closely with NGOs and small workshops in South Africa and Burkina Faso producing unique handwoven and hand embroidered textiles for her collections.
Khumalo has also spoken on sustainability at the United Nations and the European Development Forum. Her interests lie in the representations of black women from the turn of the 20th century and up to the 1980s, with a focus on portraiture during that period. Each garment thus tells a story about Africa and Women Empowerment. She has recently collaborated with brands such as IKEA and Vodacom and has had her work presented at the Louisana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art in Washington, and at the Zeitz Mocaa Museum in Cape Town.
Tomo Koizumi
In February 2019, his very first runway show took place in New York with the support of the world-famous Katie Grand, Marc Jacobs, and KCD Public Relations, Inc. Two of his pieces were exhibited at the MET museum. The museum bought one of his works for its permanent collection.
In 2019, he was selected as part of BoF500 by the BoF.
Bright colors and bold silhouettes are the signature of his made-to-order collections and costumes, that international celebrities and artists love.
Supriya Lele
Her first standalone runway show in September 2019 lit up the London schedule; the months following have seen the label become one of the most talked about, relevant creative entities in the industry. Lele’s first campaign, shot by Jamie Hawkesworth, was released in September – with a follow-up campaign by Hawkesworth due to be unveiled in February 2020.
Lele graduated from the Royal College of Art in July 2016. After showcasing under the Fashion East scheme for three seasons, Supriya was awarded full NEWGEN sponsorship from the British Fashion Council.
Supriya Lele’s work is deeply rooted in her own cross-cultural point of view, associating her Indian heritage and British cultural identity alongside her passion for minimalism in design. Lele explores the materiality of her culture employing a deliberately lo-fi and subversive approach to textiles, cut and fabrication, elevating these visual codes through a sense of ‘new luxury.’
Casablanca by Charaf Tajer
Charaf Tajer is a Parisian born fashion designer, of Moroccan descent. He is a self-taught creative director and designer, having started and collaborated with brands from a young age. This ranges from the French creative collective Pain Au ChoKolat, to renowned streetwear brand Pigalle, a collection with Off White and consulting to Supreme. Applying an entrepreneur approach to reaching his passions, Charaf started his own creative agency, in tandem with being the Art Director of Paris’ iconic venue Le Pompon.
Through these experiences Charaf started his life-long dream fashion brand CASABLANCA in 2018: a menswear brand that combines elegance and comfort and is inspired by nature meeting architecture. Charaf deeply believes in idealism: “I want to spread beauty and self-confidence, to express what’s beautiful in the world and about the world, and in all of us. My wish is for CASABLANCA to join the legacy of French luxury brands and to signal a new wave of classic brands.”
Nicholas Daley
For the last six seasons Nicholas has been supported by The British Fashion Council’s Newgen designer program showcasing his collections during London Fashion Week Men’s. He was also the recipient of the 2019 International Woolmark Prize Semi-Final Award, presenting a custom collection entitled ‘Reggae Klub’. He has collaborated with iconic brands such as Adidas and Fred Perry, pursuing his creative narrative into new areas of the fashion market. Nicholas is stocked within notable stores such as International Gallery Beams, Browns, Mr Porter, SSENSE and Dover Street Market.
Peter Do
Peter Do was built on the internet and founded on tailoring and craftmanship with a “Made in NYC” initiative to support local crafts. Peter Do only produces to order, and reuses most of its fabrics season after season to prevent any wasted yardage.
“We are five friends who met on the Internet. We are each so different and inspire each other every day. We are always learning from each other, and that conversation is something that translates to the collections. We want to establish a community that is based on kindness and negate some less-than-desirable connotations that the fashion industry had previously held. We want to create a true fashion house in New York, complete with an in-house atelier. We want to show that youth, kindness, and luxury are not mutually exclusive.”
Peter Do is a uniform for the modern woman, founded on tailoring, construction, and fine textiles. “Every detail is considered. We are clean, but not minimal” the collective behind the brand states.
The Karl Lagerfeld Prize rewards a young designer with €150,000 and a one-year mentorship program. In addition, the Prize distinguishes three young fashion-school graduates who completed their studies in 2019/2020 by allocating them, as well as their school, a €10,000 grant. The prize-winning graduates join the creative studio of an LVMH Group Maison for one year.
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