The British Council and the British Fashion Council will present 130 emerging designers from 30 countries in the largest public fashion exhibition of its kind. The annual exhibition now in its fourth year, is free of charge and will take place at Brewer Street Car Park in London during London Fashion Week between 20-24 February.
Now in its fourth year, the first joint collaboration between the British Council and the British Fashion Council is the only BFC initiative which is open to the public during London Fashion Week, allowing you a first glimpse of some of the most exciting new international designers working today.
The exhibition covers four continents and is arranged by country, with each presenting a curated static exhibition. Highlights of the exhibition will include:
• Liliana Sanguino will curate an exhibition for Colombia that reinterprets the country’s traditional basket weaving, print and quilting techniques. The clothes will be displayed in a scaffold installation which represents the processes of regeneration and development in Colombia
• Japan will present collections that explore two extremes of contemporary fashion in Japan: the minimalist sensibility of traditional clothing (wafuku) and Japanese interpretations of Western-style dress (yofuku). The exhibition will work as a durational performance to represent the ever changing nature of fashion
Five designers from Nigeria - including Lagos Fashion Week Young Designers alumni Kenneth Ize and Adebayo Oke-lawal, the designer behind LVMH Prize shortlisted label, Orange Culture - will present men's and womenswear collections that reinterpret the fabrics, print and shapes of Nigerian traditional costume. The exhibition, presented by Lagos Fashion and Design Week, will be designed by WhiteSpace, a Nigerian based creative agency, and UK based Foxall Studios
• The Poland Showcase will present an installation recreating three scenes, including couture pieces in an apartment setting; ready-to-wear presented in a street scene; and a Polish “night out”
In a prize-giving ceremony during London Fashion Week industry experts will select a country, a curator and a designer awarding them with a trophy designed by emerging Brazilian jeweller Fernando Jorge. The panel is chaired by Sarah Mower MBE, BFC Ambassador for Emerging Talent and European Editor-at-Large of Vogue.com. Sarah said: “The International Fashion Showcase is a unique project and the first to promote the work of emerging young designers from all over the world on such a large scale. It builds on London's reputation for shining the spotlight on young talent and celebrating diverse fashion cultures.”
Also running throughout February will be a public programme of talks and events, including a designer mentoring programme facilitated by London College of Fashion. The Designer Support Programme will bring together a network of LCF affiliated academics and researchers, to help designers prepare for the showcase by offering them mentoring opportunities and seminars on business development during IFS. A collaboration with Fashion Scout will offer designers involved in IFS the opportunity to show their work in a group catwalk show.
The exhibition will also feature a ‘Ones to Watch’ area curated by On|Off with countries including the Netherlands, Morocco, Pakistan and Thailand.
Over the course of the exhibition there will be programme of talks open to the public. For more information visit: http://design.britishcouncil.org/projects/IFS/
The British Council and the British Fashion Council would like to thank London College of Fashion and Fashion Scout for the mentoring and showcasing opportunities offered to the International Fashion Showcase designers; and Bonaveri for their support in the exhibition.
For press and media enquiries about the International Fashion Showcase and information about the British Council contact:
Mary Doherty, Arts Press Officer
+44 (0) 207 389 3144
mary.doherty@britishcouncil.org
For information about the British Fashion Council contact:
Sophie McElligott, PR Manager
+44 (0) 20 7759 1986
sophie.mcelligott@britishfashioncouncil.com