INUIKII x Niamh Emily Foster launch limited-edition sassy footwear and hand-knits

Swiss sustainable footwear brand INUIKII have teamed up with London-based knitwear designer Niamh Emily Foster to create a limited-edition collection of hand-knit sweaters and bootie-styled sneakers. The "one-of-a-kind creations" were conceptualised through experimenting with yarn, mohair and leather.    

The INUIKII and Niamh Emily Foster collaboration has been two years in the making,
and the results are born out of a shared love for the unexpected.

After graduating from London College of Fashion, Niamh turned a lockdown hobby to a full-time passion, hand-crafting wearable art created from re-used yarns to produce a range of sassy garments  with raw handcrafted sensibility.

INUIKII was founded in Zurich by Cinzia Maag and her sons Danilo and Alessio in 2013, initially as a brand for the colder months, when both style and function is key.  INUIKII has since gone on to make state-of-the-art curated footwear for all seasons, combining durability and style, while having sustainability and practicality in mind. 

The INUIKII and Niamh Emily Foster collaboration has been two years in the making, and the results are born out of a shared love for the unexpected.  With this year marking INUIKII's 10th anniversary, they are pleased to be introducing their first ever UK collaboration of this kind.  

Founder Maag said, “I discovered Niamh’s art on  @mimimoocher and immediately fell in love with the raw handcraft and the sassiness of Niamh’s designs. We always had this idea in mind to support young artists, their energetic spirit and unexpected way of thinking. To start this kind of project era and this new kind of HERE I AM — which is one of the INUIKII pillars — with Niamh, made perfect sense. 

"Our brands are aligned, since we support womanhood, standing out, being bold and believing in what each of us is capable of. On the INUIKII side, we dived into the world of knitting, which was very interesting for us and is something that we want to take up in the future. 

We are now excited to see how many heads our collab pieces will turn!” said Cinzia Maag, INUIKII Founder & Creative Director. 

The collection is available at INUIKII.com.

Photos courtesy of INUIKII x Niamh Emily Foster

London's Textile Council names Carlo Volpi their new member

Texprint, the London-based charity that nurtures, supports and promotes UK textile design graduates and organises an annual competition for new talent, has announced that one of their alumni - Italian knitwear designer Carlo Volpi - as the newest member on the Texprint Council which meets twice yearly to monitor and review how the charity is performing against its aims an objectives.

Volpi, who was a Texprint designer himself in 2012, loves vibrant clashes of colour, creative stitches and textures.  According to Texprint, there is a joyous and celebratory element to his work, describing Volpi's work as upbeat, exuberant, happy.    Barbara Kennington, honorary chairman of Texprint, says: “Carlo is such an original talent. We’re delighted he brings his energy and passion to the Texprint Council.”

Every year, Texprint invites one alumnus to present his or her work at the entrance to the Texprint London Preview event.  Carlo Volpi was the designer of choice for  the 2017 event held in July.

Volpi has already achieved wide ranging success.  While working to build his own label, he also collaborates with leading brands, and is a consultant for the Research Area at Pitti Filati. 

Among his recent achievements was winning first prize in the prestigious Who Is On Next? Uomo competition, promoted by Vogue Italia and Pitti Immagine (Italy's fashion trade fair organisers). 

The judges highlighted his “marked technical and innovative skill combined with a brilliant interpretation of Italian manufacturing traditions in a unique knitwear project with an international look.”

Vogue Italia raved about Volpi’s Autumn/Winter 17/18 collection, calling it “totally wild – a concentrate of youthful enthusiasm.” Volpi commented “My point of reference is irreverence. I am interested in the parameters we use to define what we consider attractive or ugly.”

All photos © Lucia Carpio 2017. 

Ekaterina Kukhareva SS17 fashion knitwear in a class of its own.

© Lucia Carpio 2016

Ekaterina Kukhareva takes inspiration from the sea in Greek Mythology for her new Spring /Summer 2017 collection previewed during London Fashion Week at the Bronte restaurant on The Strand, London.

© Lucia Carpio 2016

Entitled 'Nereids', the fun, carefree range is made up of airy knits in fluid shapes that are at once sporty, but also feminine and versatile - for day into evening, lounge to resort wear.  Each piece features intricate patterns, each ensemble showcase clever use of knitted fabrics, juxta-positioning between light and heavy weight intarsia knits.

© Lucia Carpio 2016

Now London-based, Ekaterina Kukhareva was born in Ukraine and has grown up moving between Denmark, Ukraine and England.  Ekaterina has studied Textiles at Central Saint Martin's whilst working for Temperley London.

Each collection comprises of different patterns which are a signature and the DNA of the brand, colours,textures and yarn combinations.   The manufacturing process and the structure of Ekaterina's business has allowed to provide her customer with unique 'Made to Measure' and personalized product.      

Hair for models by Toni & Guy team led by Efi Davies uring label.m Professional Haircare.
Make-up by Yin Lee using Weleda Skincare & Ellie Faas Cosmtics.
All photos here by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect Global.
Venue: Bronte restaurant with interiors design by Tom Dixon.

© Lucia Carpio 2016

Coming from a textile background and being trained as a technician on the industrial knitting machine STOLL, Ekaterina has a freedom of experimenting with the fabric design. Each season she designs exceptional and unique fabrics suitable for all climates. 

                   

New exhibition on Knitwear this autumn at the Fashion and Textile Museum, London

You may or may not realise it but knitwear is a very important part of our life and a new exhibition to be staged at the Fashion andTextile Museum in Bermondsey, London, will focus specifically on the this important genre of apparel and will chart its journey in the 20^th anniversary that has shaped our lives and helped written much of Western culture.

Entitled Knitwear – Chanel to Westwood, the exhibition will be held from September 19 2014 to January 18 2015.  It will present 150 inspiration knitwear pieces from the collection of Mark and Cleo Butterfield, on show to the public for the first time. 

To read more, click HERE.

Photos by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.