Leggera Nell’Aria Supporting New British Fashion Designers

London boutique on King’s Road, Leggera Nell’Aria, is offering young designers shop windows to showcase their graduate work this September.

The three designers launching a pop-up at the shop are:-

• Sade English featuring her androgynous, edgy outerwear;

• Lucy Jane Gray who cuts biker jackets out of multicoloured pony skin;

• Roxanne Cassandre Europe Scudier, designs adverse effects with nuclear fallout as inspiration, creating a variety of asymmetric pieces.

Roxanne Cassandre Europe Scudier

Lucy Jane Gray

The fashion graduates are from institutions like London College of Fashion and Ravensbourne, and they will have whole windows devoted to their pieces.

Leggera Nell’Aria means ‘lightness in the air’ in Italian and ‘aria’ is also a play on the name of the owner, Arianna Cefis, who has accumulated two decades as a leader in the global theatre of advertising (her last job was global director of Lowe & Partners), before starting her own high-end boutique on King’s Road, regularly stocking new designers from Europe, Africa and North America.

Arianna also support local arts & crafts initiatives in Kenya and by showcasing the fine artisanal skills of African designers.  For example, hand-rolled newspaper necklaces at £50 for three strands sold out this summer, and all the proceeds went to the children who made them in a small village in Kenya.

Leggera Nell-Aria has featured a roster of talented designers, whose pieces are either unavailable in the UK or in less than 3 stockists.  They include:
• British-African Anita Quansah whose bohemian tribal neckpieces areinspired by her Nigerian-Ghanaian roots. Anita who has collaborated withChristian Lacroix and Donna Karan is a storyteller who weaves folktales withher statement jewellery and fashion accessories;• Finnish designer Teija Eilola who was snapped up to work for MichikoKoshino after graduation in 2006; singer Kate Nash is a fan;• Eclectic Spanish designer David Delfin who came to fashion from the finearts route, painting on cardboard, wood and clothes; he shows in Madrid andNew York and has designed the interiors of two hotels so far;• Edward Achour whose hand-finished accessible French style has earnedhim praise from the fashion houses of Yves Saint Laurent and Guy Laroche;• Istanbul-born Derya Copur who is now based in London half the time isknown for her weave-worked designs and leather pieces;• Persian-Canadian, London-trained Golnaz Ashtiani whose signature styleis a mixture of sporty classics made of unusual luxury fabrics precision cut with draping techniques;
• Portuguese designer Alexandra Oliviera whose brand Pe de Chumbo has afollowing for designs made from knitted, woven fabrics which she producesusing a handmade process.

Leggera Nell’Aria also hosts a seasonal pop-up for the well-known Italian brand Aspesi, showcasing their chic basics and luxe casual wear to the London shopper; the 70-year old Alberto Aspesi, once called an anti-fashion player by Wallpaper magazine, is only available in this boutique in London.