Inside Fashion East, the Most Sought-After Show in London

Simone Rocha, JW Anderson, Martine Rose, Kim Jones and Craig Green. What do they all have in common? Yes, they represent the British fashion industry on the international scene. They are also alumni of Fashion East, the London-based designer incubator that has helped talented designers find recognition among industry insiders. Here is everything you need to know about one of the most sought-after shows of London Fashion Week.

WHAT IS FASHION EAST?

Created by Lulu Kennedy, MBE, and the Truman Brewery in the East of London, in 2000, Fashion East has been nurturing talents ranging from JW Anderson, Roksanda, Kim Jones, Nensi Dojaka, and Simone Rocha to Maximilian Davis, KNWLS, Grace Wales Bonner, Chet Lo and Marine Rose among others for the last two decades. The most recent graduates include Johanna Parv, Karoline Vitto and Standing Ground, who are now all part of the London Fashion Week schedule, with the latter winning the inaugural LVMH Savoir-faire prize in Paris this September.

WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT?

With a proven record of discovering the talents of tomorrow, Fashion East is one of the hardest tickets to get during the busy LFW schedule. All of the top editors and buyers are there to see the new designers emerging on the fashion scene with their own eyes.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Fashion East is a non-profit incubator. Young fashion graduates (fashion University qualification is not essential but preferable) with some industry experience send their portfolios for review by an ever-changing panel composed of industry insiders, then the winning designers show with Fashion East on a season-by-season basis (for seasons max) at London Fashion Week.

Not just a talent incubator, but also a creative agency, Fashion East helps emerging designers build bridges with bigger brands (that's why Karoline Vitto showed in Milan with the support of Dolce & Gabbana), and curate unique projects across fashion, culture and art.

WHO IS SHOWING NOW?  

This season, Central Saint Martins graduate Olly Shinder returned to the Fashion East catwalk for the third time with his eye-catching conceptual styles, redefining the notion of Boy Scout uniforms and workwear (Shinder founded his label in 2022 after graduation and you can already spot his designs at Dover Street Markets all over the world). He was joined by two new names: Nuba and Loutre. Nuba is a menswear label co-founded by a duo of designers: Cameron Williams and Jebi Labembika, who pay homage to their Afro-Caribbean and West African identities. This season, on the Fashion East catwalk they played with the concept of authenticity, trying to understand how city-dwellers identify themselves when they come from a mixed background with a clash of cultures through a wardrobe of draped tunics, satin loose trousers and leather trenches. Another newcomer, Loutre for their inaugural Fashion East show, celebrated the energy of the youth and created a perfect wardrobe of statement wear for cool London kids, mixing grunge and poetic romance.

Courtesy: Fashion East

Text: Lidia Ageeva