Textile graduates win inaugural Tengri Innovation Award 2018

London design house Tengri, a luxury fashion and lifestyle brand, has announced that designer Henrietta Johns has won its inaugural Tengri Innovation Award, launched this year to encourage the implementation of sustainable fashion and textiles working towards a more sustainable industry standard and future.

Henrietta John’s work is rooted in a deep exploration of natural animal fibres and innovative designs using traditional felting techniques, creating new fabric surfaces with 100% animal fibre.

Henrietta Johns, who graduated this year from London's Central Saint Martin with a First Class honours degree in Textile Design, specialising in woven textiles, was in Paris in September as one of the 24 finalists of TexSelect 2018 who showed in the Première Vision Designs - one of the main events of Première Vision Paris. 

Photos shown here are designs from Henrietta's "The Exploration of Wool" collection that was shown in the PV Designs in Paris as she aims to raise the profile of British wool as a sustainable fibre for contemporary, innovative apparel, opposing it’s traditional connotations.  Each design is visually inspired by rural British landscape, as well as farming scenery and practices, in correlation with the prospect of increased business for independent British farmers. Each fabric is composed of 100% British wool, natural dyes and natural sheep’s fleece colourings.

Last year Henrietta was the winner of another competition sponsored by jacquard weaver Stephen Walters & Sons.  This led to her developing innovative fabrics that featured in their A/W 18 menswear collection at the prestigious Premier Vision Paris fair in 2017, as well as production of a bespoke jacket for Turnball & Asser as part of its dedication to ‘the new generation of design’.

Henrietta Johns developed her own techniques to accentuate the natural qualities of wool to create innovative textures and surfaces, such as playing with the idea of contrasting shrinkages when pairing different fibres that felt and shrink differently.

As winner of the Tengri Innovation Award, Henrietta receives a one-year mentorship with Tengri, as well as a six-month paid internship supported with Tengri Noble Yarns for production and a cash prize.
The Tengri Innovation Award was open to final-year students of the Tengri Innovation Partnership, an initiative which includes some of the UK’s most influential academic and creative institutions. Designers were invited to present innovative and sustainable approaches to textiles, to meet criteria set to demonstrate forward-thinking conceptualisation of sustainable fibres and practices that rework cultural and traditional techniques. Critically, these practices would be set to demonstrate the preservation of heritage in fabrication, construction and production.

Three runners-up in the Tengri Innovation Award is each awarded Tengri Noble Yarns, fabrics and cash prizes and will be invited to join the Tengri design collective working on the brief for Tengri’s 2019/20 collection.  They are:
·       Christopher Ehrlich, graduate of Central Saint Martins’ BA Fashion Design Menswear, accredited for his conscientious approach to sustainability with ‘zero off-cut’ pattern cutting, reinventing a traditional tailoring technique used in the early 1900s.
·       Cecile Tulkens, graduate of Central Saint Martins’ BA Fashion Design with Knitwear, for her ability to combine traditional and industrial techniques, incorporating an ancient form of crocheting originated in Belgium into her work.
·       Zoe Atkinson, graduate of University of the Arts London, BA Textile Design, with her amour-like knitwear combining natural materials such as leather skins, wood and soft woolen textures, to create an inventive outlook of future materiality.

Since 2014 Tengri has championed the sustainable design and manufacturing of prestige noble yarns and was the first technology specialist to refine Khangai yak yarns in the UK.  Rare Mongolian yak fibres from the Khangai yaks are as soft as cashmere, warmer than merino wool, breathable and hypoallergenic, via a 100% transparent supply chain.   Tengri is listed in the Sustania100 2016 guide as one of the world’s leading sustainable business solutions, and its founder, Nancy Johnston, was presented with the Asian Women of Achievement Entrepreneur Award 2016.

Photos supplied by Tengri.

A grand tour through Italy to discover the essence of ITALIAN TAILORING

As a woman of a certain age, I have been observing men all my life.  Or I should say, I have paid attention to how men dress for decades.  And it’s often those in a distinguished well-cut suit, and a well put-together style that catch my eye.  It is not necessary for them to embrace trends, but he who recognises quality while looking sharp and polished gets high marks in my book.

Book cover of Italian Tailoring.
Photo by Lucia Carpio.

While we are on the subject, a book due to be out this month highlights the key essence of ITALIAN TAILORING – the title published by SKIRA.  Highlighting the very fabric of Italian sartorial excellence, the book by Yoshimi Hasegawa gives a “glimpse into the World of Sartorial Masters”.

As fashion today is pivoted on casualness and sportswear (thus the continued dominance of jeans and sneakers or trainers), the book is a reminder that tailored and bespoke clothing are works of art that the Italians have mastered for generations, although it was the English who gave us bespoke tailoring originating some 400 years ago hailed essentially from their expertise in providing military uniforms.

Fabric swatches stored in the
Vitale Barberis Canonico samples room.
Photo by Luke Carby

In the early 1900s, the Italians brought the art of bespoke tailoring back home and developed their own unique cut and immediately recognisable style.  Italy’s coterie of grand tailors have long been a source of national pride.

As every good suit starts with quality fabrics, ITALIAN TAILORING opens with a chapter on Vitale Barberis Canonico an Italian fabric mill which started in September 1908 in Pratrivero, in the northern Biella region, 50 miles north of Turin.

Situated near the Swiss and French border, the region is blessed with an abundance of pure Alpine water from the Elvo, Cervo and Strona Rivers, with a rich cultural heritage of woollen textile production dating back to the Roman Empire, explains the author in her profile of Vitale Barberis Canonico.

The Master tailor Giovanni Barberis Organista shows off
an old fashion illustration from his private collection.
Photo by Luke Carby

Gennaro Formosa, owner of the
Neapolitan tailor house  Sartoria Formosa
while he showing off a detail of the typical “spalla a camicia”.
Photo by Luke Carby

Then author Yoshimi Hasegawa, who as a connoisseur of European men’s clothing, takes the reader on a grand tour of Italy.  From the north – covering Milan, Biella, Turin, Varese, Vicenza and Venice – to Central Italy – encompassing Florence and Rome, and continuing to South Italy, taking in Naples, Bari and Palermo of Sicily, the author offers remarkable characteristics of each region and city.

Over three years, Hasegawa visited and interviewed 27 historic tailor houses (from the most renowned to emerging talents, including Donnadio, Musella, Liverano & Liverano to Sartoria Napoletana; Rubinacci and Attolini to Caraceni, Ciardi and Pirozzi), providing an intimate profile into each celebrated name that gives the Made in Italy its reputable pride of place in today’s men’s tailoring industry.

The Master tailor Antonio Panico at work in his atelier in Naples, Ita;u
using tailor's white chalk to draw directly onto the fabric. 

Detailing family histories and traditions, revealed as if exposing the inside making of a tailored bespoke garment, the formidable traditions of their crafts and creativity, their ethos and philosophy, care and commitment passed from generation to generation and integrated into today’s modern world.    Often the master tailors give way to inner thoughts of the past but also heart-felt reflections on the future of the Italian industry.

The young Master Massimo Pasinato in his atelier in
Vicenza, Italy, sewing a suit with his mother.

Luke Carby’s excellent photography partners well with Hasegawa’s proficient words, resulting in a suitable tribute to the artisanal excellence of Italian high fashion tailoring.  As the title suggests,  ITALIAN TAILORING is a good promotion for Italian sartorial masters and a book for admirers of Italian craftsmanship.

Adeline Ziliox’s “Crystal Skin” collection unveiled at Paris Fashion Week

"What is Inside, See it Outside"

Where the clothing conceals the body of the woman, the designer Adeline Ziliox unveils it with her "Crystal Skin" Collection.

Transparency assumed, body unveiled and femininity affirmed, here is the DNA of the Collection.

The technical materials, which are often found in the work of the designer, like neoprene, 3D mesh fabrics reinforce this line ultra-feminine, elegant and with streetwear inspirations.

And now PVC confirms the contemporary and avant-garde look of Adeline Ziliox's Spring/Summer 2019 collection.

All photos by GREG ALEXANDER

French frou-frou thrills. Roger Vivier: Spring/Summer 2019 Presentation During Paris Fashion Week

Feminine, chic, elegant.  So thrillingly French. What’s not to like even for the woman who has everything; there’s always room for more footwear and frou-frou fun, if they are as desirable as  Gherardo Felloni’s new Spring/Summer 2019 Collection for the luxury Parisian footwear and accessories brand  Roger Vivier.

The new collection presented during Paris Fashion Week a few days ago is a “cinematic homage to Parisian Distinction”. 

Under the banner of Hotel Vivier, it is indeed an ode to women, carrying the essence of the brand in all their diversity and beauty, that started with a journey of exploration into the archives of the Maison, to inspire a new creative vocabulary for the Vivier woman.

Note the sparkle of the bejewelled buckles, the strategically placed feather, the ornate bows and the folds of the rose, from slippers to the kitten heel, the gamut of jewel and candy colours, and the matching or mix-and-match handbags.

According to Gherardo Felloni the creative director of the Parisian brand, women are like flowers in a garden - romantic but sometimes abandoned – where many varieties have taken their rightful place, in freedom.

But equally enticing for the modern woman are the sneakers and handy cute knapsacks that receive the same feminine treatment.  That very imagination and rich variety of women are at the heart of a living and breathing world for the presentation of the collection.

“Hotel Vivier is a place like no other, where women reveal all the richness, complexity, beauty and intensity of their personalities. Just as I went on a journey of discovery over the years to capture their many facets, my guests will make their own discoveries at every turn and inside every room, meeting the characters who inspire me every day.”  – Gherardo Felloni

Stepping through the doors of the ‘Hotel Vivier’ is like walking into a sequence of scenes from a film. At the intersection of fiction and reality, the experience feels both familiar and unexpected. It is a fascinating place where visitors are invited to discover the world of Roger Vivier.

According to their press release, Gherardo Felloni creative director of Roger Vivier believes that the essence of Roger Vivier can be distilled into three fundamental pillars: silhouette, colour and exclusivity.

Each one is articulated in new ways. The distinctive silhouette is enhanced by a low kitten heel creating a modern look with couture flair. When it comes to colour, Felloni never shies away from it. The rich colour palette carried through the collection is not just a bold style statement, it is a powerful vehicle to project the joie-de-vivre and positivity that have always been part of Roger Vivier’s DNA.

Exclusivity, the final essential ingredient articulated by the designer in his collection is a nod to Monsieur Vivier’s creations, unique works of art commissioned for special occasions that showcased exceptional craftsmanship, unbridled creativity, elaborate shoes embellished with feathers, crystals, knotted threads.

At the heart of the collection, the Très Vivier creations continue a long tradition of unapologetic elegance, displaying the same head-turning qualities as the legendary pumps that took the fashion world by storm in the 1960s.

The large square buckle in polished metal pays tribute to the aesthetics of the original pump, while a myriad of materials and textures brings Vivier sophistication, and the new Très Vivier bag with an oversized buckle is designed to be perfectly paired with the pumps.

The Très Vivier Strass Pump

All photos by Francois Durand/Getty Images For Roger Vivier - taken at the Roger Vivier Presentation Spring/Summer 2019 during Paris Fashion Week on September 27, 2018 in Paris, France. (Photos 

British Fashion Council Launches China Partnerships Strategy in Shanghai with Ambassadorial President David Beckham

What has David Beckham been up to in Shanghai this week?
For one thing, he's been helping the British fashion industry to break into the vast Chinese market.
So Victoria is not the only one with global fashion credentials in the Beckham camp these days.

In his new role as the British Fashion Council’s (BFC) Ambassadorial President, David Beckham has launched the organisation’s China Partnerships Strategy supported by Stephanie Phair, BFC Chair; Dylan Jones, BFC Chair of Menswear and Caroline Rush, BFC Chief Executive.

The strategy was launched at a lunch attended by existing and potential new key partners, invited by the BFC and Mr Beckham. Guests included Xia Ding, President of JD International Fashion; Paul David Haouzi, President & Executive Director Trinity Group; Claire Chung, China General Manager Yoox Net-A-Porter, Patrick Tsang, Chairman Tsang Group and Judy Liu, Managing Director China Farfetch.

The lunch, hosted at The Middle House Shanghai confirmed £500,000 worth of deals including JD.com and Ruyi’s co-sponsorship of the BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund, JD.com’s support for the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund and support from Britain’s Department of International Trade.  In addition to deals done, the BFC continue to explore the next stage of their innovative partnership with VIP.com and their long-term partnership with Fung Retailing Group.

The development of the BFC’s China Fashion Business Network is a key pillar of development for the next 12 months, and many attendees at the lunch pledged their support to assist the BFC create a network of credible partners across investment, licensing, manufacturing, property, communications and retail in China.  As Stephanie Phair, BFC Chair commented: “China has always been a key market for British designers, from emerging businesses to established brands. There is a growing appetite for British fashion in China."

David Beckham, BFC Ambassadorial President said: “Promoting the British fashion industry in China is an important part of my new role with the British Fashion Council. I hope that through events like today we are able to shine a light on the incredible creative talent we have in the UK and promote that talent on a global scale. The opportunity in China for connecting creatively and driving investment into British fashion is huge. Today we are able to show real commitment from Chinese businesses to future fashion leaders in the UK and in parallel, share our experience, knowledge and platforms with emerging Chinese designers.”

The BFC’s China Partnerships Strategy is focused on three key areas and solidifies the organisation’s commitment to making access to the Chinese market easier for British designer businesses: 

Support for emerging talent with mentoring on the Chinese market Partnerships of Fashion Weeks; stimulating demand through content and access, in relevant cases supplying that demand through retail partnerships in the UK and China.Network development of investors, creatives, influencers, media, retailers and high-net worth individuals to partner with British designer businesses on local growth strategies.

At the lunch hosted by BFC Ambassadorial President David Beckham at The Middle House Shanghai, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Dylan Jones, BFC Chair of Menswear and Editor of British GQ, Caroline Rush, BFC Chief Executive, Xia Ding, President of JD International Fashion and Francis Srun, Executive President of Ruyi International Group that confirms funding, mentorship and additional opportunities to develop partnerships for the shortlisted designers into China.

Xia Ding, President of JD International Fashion said: “The UK is now increasingly recognized by Chinese people as a global fashion centre and JD is proud to serve as the most convenient channel for British designers to reach China’s many discerning fashion consumers.”

Francis Srun, Executive President of Ruyi International Group commented: “Aside from a range of joint initiatives in offline retail and e-commerce, Ruyi’s extensive collection of global brands are already working closely with JD and we are confident that this network will give a strong boost to designers supported by the BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund.”

The BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund is the UK’s biggest menswear prize for emerging talent.  The prize was established in September 2013 following the success of the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund providing one designer with a £150,000 grant to provide necessary infrastructure to take them to the next stage of their business and significant value in kind services as part of a bespoke, high level mentoring support programme over a twelve-month period.

Craig Green for Moncler, unveiled in Milan for 2018-19.

Dylan Jones, BFC Menswear Chair and Editor of British GQ, commented: “We are delighted to re-instate the BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund thanks to JD.com Inc. and Ruyi who have committed to two years of support for our brilliant emerging menswear designers.

The last British designer to win the BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund was Craig Green, a talent and business that has gone from strength to strength.”

Rado announces the winner of Rado Star Prize UK

David Knowles named winner of the Rado Star Prize UK

The various shows and events including designjunction that marked this September’s London Design Week have come to a close but for one designer, his design journey continues after winning a prestigious prize from the Swiss watch maker Rado.

This year, a panel of distinguished judges have awarded the second edition of the Rado Star Prize UK to David Knowles who impressed the judges with his entry “GC18” – a coffee table inspired  by  the   Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland, a unique landscape of stunning natural beauty. 

The inspiring place features interlocking hexagonal columns of ancient black basalt staggering out of the ocean, forging a majestic pathway of multi-faceted levels.

Knowles’ GC18   coffee  table responds  to  that landscape’s  aesthetic elements resulting in a furniture piece that is tactile, intriguing and thought-provoking; consequently inspiring mindfulness. 

“It has been a great opportunity to showcase my design at Rado Star Prize UK.  I am honoured to  win  the award, especially to have been judged by a panel I admire  so much.  I hope  this  will  be  the  start  of  setting  up  my  design  career”  comments David Knowles,  winner  of  Rado  Star  Prize  UK  2018. 

Knowles, a  3D  Design  student  from Northumbria University received £5,000 and a True Thinline Plasma as a prize for his winning project. GC18 was selected from a shortlist of ten designs, with each entry responding  to  the  theme  ‘On  Time/Time  Off’.

David Knowle, left, with Hakim El Kadiri, Bethan Gray
and Will Sorrell.

 The  theme  explores  the  concept  of passing  time,  enriching  life,  and  products  that  enhance  user’s  awareness  of  where they spend their time. 

Rado CEO Matthias Breschan commented: “The creativity and thought present in this year’s Rado Star Prize UK entries is very impressive. I am pleased that Rado can help to promote the work of young designers such as David, the Rado Star Prize UK is a great example of Rado’s continued dedication to design.” 

“This  second  edition  of  the  Rado  Star  Prize  UK  has  challenged  the  judges  with  a fantastic selection of projects.” commented designjunction Event Director, Will Sorrell.  The stellar line-up of judges who selected the winner included award-winning designer Bethan Gray; Head of Design at John Lewis Philippa Prinsloo; Vice President of Product Management at Rado Hakim El Kadiri; Founder of Arts Thread Katie Dominy and designjunction Event Director Will Sorrell. 

LONDON show ROOMS Paris at TRANOÏ WEEK / SS19

LONDON show ROOMS Paris at TRANOÏ WEEK  for the Spring/Summer 2019  season opens on Wednesday 26th September until Tuesday 2nd October 2018 at a New Venue: 22 rue de la Roquette, 75011 Paris, France
Hours: 10.00 – 19.00 (closing at 18.00 on 02.10.18)

Here are the fashion designers showing there: -
Alighieri | BITE | CAMILLA DAMKJAER | Edeline Lee | Eudon Choi | ISOSCELES
Luna Del Pinal | Marta Jakubowski | NABIL NAYAL | PHOEBE ENGLISH | Räthel & Wolf
Roberta Einer | Sabry Marouf | Supriya Lele
Fashion East: ART SCHOOL | ASAI | Yuhan Wang