Sccop London draws European brands such as Mhudi and Kyomai

London is an aspirational market for emerging European brands.

At Scoop, held at Saatchi Gallery this week (until July 23)  in the heart of London, Italian label Mhudi's designer Francesca Passeri hopes her own range of headwear made with selected fabrics will bring Italian know-how, culture and crafts from to London, a city she loves.  Her speciality lies in her ability to choose coordinating or contrasting fabrics for reversible designs which would give the wearer flexibility.  Some of the designs are shaped like a beanie hat, another is like a turban with interesting twisted fabrics and decorations.  Others are like headbands.


Another brand eyeing the British market is French label Kyomai, which uses traditional Obi belts or sashes to created clutch bags handmade in France. 

Nicolas Amouroux, president of the company, had lived in Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital, for some years and was a collector of the Obi fabrics worn traditionally with kimonos.  Since his return to France, he had decided to turn his passion to good use.

His communication manager Julia Drouet was happy to showcase a couple of designs to coordinate with her kimono-inspired jacket she was wearing at Scoop.  The bags come with a chain for added functional flexibility.

Each Obi belt features uniquely jacquard silk woven with gold, silver and platinum threads.  One belt can be transformed into 3 - 5 clutchbags.  Each bag is also numbered and thus limited editions thus ideal as collector's items.

All photos© Lucia Carpio 2019.

FatFace launches new Sustainable Swimwear range this summer

Just the answers for this heatwave we are having in the UK and much of Europe, if you  can get away to somewhere nice to take a dip and keep cool.  And they are kind to our planet too. 

UK multi-chain retailer FatFace has launched an eco-friendly swimwear range made from recycled fibres.

The printed and colourful swimwear - designed to flatter the wearer from pool side to the beach - are produced  using a special fibre from Korean company Hyosung. 

Its MIPAN® regen fibre is made from recycled nylon  which significantly reduces energy consumption.

MIPAN® regen is a reclaimed nylon yarn made by recycling pre-consumer waste, an eco-friendly product that has acquired CONTROL UNION's Global Recycle Standard (GRS) certification.  

MIPAN® regen is one of Hyosung’s portfolio of sustainable nylon, polyester fibres, energy saving products to meet the consumer’s need for multi-functional and eco friendly clothing.

FatFace presently has more than 200 stores and a fast growing e-commerce website to serve domestic as well as international markets.

All photos from FatFace/Hyosung.

Saying it with Fairtrade flowers!

This bouquet from ethical florist Arena Flowers, mixes peach and yellow roses with hot pink carnations 

and elegant eucalyptus, projecting a vibrant summer vibe.

Every order received is arranged and hand-tied by their florists to create a unique bouquet.

Photo by Lucia Carpio

Received recently a lovely bunch of flowers of which I was told was provided by Arena Flowers, a UK ethical florist that carries an official FAIRTRADE mark which means they adhere to strict Fairtrade Standards on economic, environmental and social requirements.

For more than a decade, Arena Flowers has been working directly with growers in UK and the world and only sources ethically to bring flowers that is Fairtrade, or British, or directly from the farmers themselves to their customers.  The company has been ranked as the UK's most ethical florist, with a perfect 100 score in 2019 on the Ethical Company Index.  And for every bouquet sold, Arena Flowers plant one tree in countries experiencing deforestation.

Floor cushions inspired by Moroccan terracotta tiles

Silk twill and velvet zellige print Moroccan floor cushion

BIVAIN, founded by Megha Lohia and Rachel Fong, are celebrating the rich culture of Morocco by capturing the distinctive patterns of Moroccan terracotta tiles on silk Zellige Indigo tasselled cushions featuring coloured circle overlays on the zellige design.

The design was inspired by Moroccan Zellige floor tiles.   The cushions comes in three colourways. 

With dimensions of 25” x 25” (63 cm x 63 cm) the cushions can be used as floor cushions or oversized cushion

Irregular shade variations and geometric flaws in the tiles give character to the pattern.

Founded in 2016, BIVAIN is a contemporary interior and accessories brand offering objects of desire with an edge, according to the Central Saint Martins-trained designers Megha Lohia and Rachel Fong, who worked for brands including Agent Provocateur and Zac Posen prior to launching the London-based brand BIVAIN  derived from the words ‘to be vain’

Specialising in cushions and pocket squares, the collections are exclusively produced by highly-skilled craftsmen using the finest materials, said the designers who "draw inspiration from the sensory experiences of international wanderlust."

Madrid Fashion Week from 5 - 10 July was a festival of Spanish fashion

A new edition of the  Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid held 5 - 10 July was regarded as the great festival of Spanish fashion, organised by IFEMA, bringing together the best of current Spanish design. This year the event includes 42 leading designers and Spanish brands- including Palomo Spain, Devota&Lomba, Maria Escoté, Maria Ke Fisherman and Oliva -  and three emerging international firms, which for six days will star in a veritable celebration of Spanish fashion, highlighting their different aesthetic approaches, as well as their richness and creative diversity.

The event will be held at IFEMA-Feria de Madrid and at other venues in the city. It will start on 5 July with events in different parts of Madrid, and from Saturday 6 July to Wednesday 10 July at IFEMA-Feria de Madrid Pavilion 14.1, with almost every day ending with shows in other locations and the direct participation of leading designers and brands, as in previous years. On Sunday 7 July the IFEMA designers' shows will begin

Among the new attractions this year, the growth and internationalisation of the Samsung Ego platform stands out, giving room to three brands, two of which are international, a benchmark in the world of fashion for their ground-breaking proposals. 

On 5 July the shows and presentations will be held in different parts of the city, while from 6 July IFEMA-Feria de Madrid's Pavilion 14.1 will be the main stage, with each day concluding with presentations in other locations. 

Among the highlights, the Samsung EGO shows will open the catwalk calendar on Saturday 6 July at IFEMA Pavilion 14.1.  On July 8 at 1:45 pm, MBFWMadrid will pay homage to Leonor Perez Pita, better known as Cuca Solana, the recently deceased catwalk director for over thirty years.   Another development is the implementation of the L'Oréal Paris-Because You're Worth It, that the cosmetics firm will stage to celebrate 20 years of support for Spanish fashion. The winning designers from these two decades of the Awards will be taking part.

Premiere Vision Paris takes over the reins of TexSelect to support textile creation and design

Premiere Vision Paris takes over the reins of TexSelect to support textile creation and design

Première Vision Paris attracts some 60,000 trade visitors, fashion and textile professionals from around the world and international members press and media to each of their bi-annual seasonal events.
The next PV Paris will take place 17 - 19 September 2019 in Parc des Expositions, Paris.
Photo by Lucia Carpio.

A couple of  months ago news got out that the not-for-profit organisation TexSelect (previously known as TexPrint) was to  wind up after more than 40 years of nurturing, mentoring and supporting British-trained textile and design talents due to funding challenges and the retirement of long-standing management executives. 

Now industry professionals can feel a sense of relieve with the announcement that the Paris-based Premiere Vision Group, organiser of the world's leading sourcing events for fashion professionals, will continue its support for emerging textile designers through an agreement with TexSelect that will build on the talent search programme's legacy with an international perspective from 2020.

The P.V. Group will take over as champion of new graduate talent when TexSelect completes its voluntary winding up at the end of the year.  Further announcements will be made about the future structure of the talent selection scheme under Premiere Vision's auspices during the September 2019 edition at Premiere Vision Paris in Parc des Expositions.  The two organisations have run in parallel for nearly 50 years, share a common objective of supporting creativity in textile design.

"Both Premiere Vision and TexSelect view knit, print, weave and mixed media innovators as being a vital, creative force in the advancement of textile and apparel design, "says Gilles Lasbordes,  (at left) managing director of Premiere Vision Group.  "Premiere Vision is committed to giving new designers space and support between university and the launch of their professional practice."

Barbara Kennington, TexSelect's honorary chairman (at right) explains:" Over recent years, we have had a tough time raising the funds required to run the scheme.  At the same time, many of our loyal management team are retiring."

"As a major sponsor and host of the TexSelect design village, we spoke with our colleagues at Premiere Vision about our intention to windup the charity at the end of 2019.  We are delighted that Premiere Vision has been so forthcoming and will create new opportunities for young designers when TexSelect in its current form closes."

Premiere Vision Group is the global leader in upstream, creative fashion trade shows.  From 15 Lyon-based weavers in the early 1970s to more than 2,000 exhibitors at PV Paris today, the group's strategy has remained to support the development of the international fashion industry and major market evolutions through its services and 12 events per year, to which has been added a unique online sourcing tool:  Premiere Vision Marketplace, managed by the company's subsidiary, Premiere Vision Digital.

The next PV Paris will take place 17 - 19 September 2019 in Parc des Expositions, Paris.  The show encompasses textiles, leather, yarns, fabric design, haberdashery and accessories,  knits finished goods and manufacturing. 

All photos by Lucia Carpio.

Li-Ning on the international stage at Paris Men's Fashion Week

In China, Li-Ning is an iconic  and successful sports brand named after their star Olympian.

China's iconic sports brand Li-Ning, named after the Chinese star Olympian,

will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2020.

And now its ambition is to conquer the world, especially after a successful introduction in its home country at retailers like Lane Crawford. Li-Ning’s elevated runway collection, now in its fourth season, continues to expand its global distribution at a range of high-end retailers and specialty sneaker boutiques including KITH, SSENSE, LN-CC, Slam Jam, END Clothing, Oki-Ni, Selfridges, and END Clothing to name a few.

The sports brand has now presented for the second time at Paris Men’s Fashion Week. This season the event was in a show space inside the Lycée Turgot in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris.  Within the custom set, graphics from the collection adorned the hyper-colour, multi-layer walls; with seating arranged in a maze-like format.

Models walked the labyrinth to an eclectic Chinese soundtrack, ’90s hip hop, and abstract Jazz, revealing the collection to a front-row crowd that included world champion skier Eileen Gu, Chinese performer Ayunga, singer Can Chengyu, and Lucas Jagger, as well as Mr. Li-Ning himself, who took in the show alongside his daughter Xiaoyan.

Mr. Li-Ning at the Paris catwalk alongside his daughter Xiao-yan.

Li-Ning finds the inspiration for its latest collection in ping-pong—or simply known as table tennis in the West, the Chinese national sport that commands a fervor greater than basketball, baseball, or soccer and one in which China has won 28 of 32 Olympic gold medals since its introduction in 1988.

For Spring/Summer 2020, the simple ping-pong polo informed the design direction of the entire collection, which offers easy shapes and voluminous silhouettes cut away from the body.

For an airy look, Li-Ning has used a set of new, ultra-lightweight fabrics for an array of coats and shirts, trousers and shorts, bags and accessories and footwear. 

In its styling and coloruways, the collection fused nostalgia and futurism.

SS20 highlights include deconstructed, zip-away Mackintosh coats trimmed in contrasting piping and affixed with patches, layered paperweight anoraks in contrasting tones of khaki and yellow, oversized polo—short or long-sleeved, striped, patterned, patched, piped, open V-neck, or zip-neck with vintage-inspired circular pulls. The breezy look carried through to the women’s range: females wore long tennis dresses darted with contrast stitching, as well as zip-away track coats and waisted track dresses. And for all genders, Li-Ning reimagined its signature garment—the track suit—in a wild range of colors, materials, and techniques, each of them at home on the ping-pong courts of yesterday or today.

Across all apparel, Li-Ning made strong use of vintage-inspired graphics including repeating paddle prints, abstract collages, comic book sketches, and the critical number 11, which was assigned to Mr. Li during the 1984 Summer Olympics.