The British Fashion Council has announced the 2017 NEWGEN recipients who will receive financial support and the opportunity to showcase their work at a dedicated pop-up showroom space at The Store Studios.
NEWGEN takes a new format this year, with fourteen womenswear and menswear designers being combined under a single initiative. Designers are also now selected annually rather than seasonally.
Newcomers A-COLD-WALL*, Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY, Halpern, Nicholas Daley and Richard Malone will receive support from the platform for the first time this year.
They join designers COTTWEILER, Kiko Kostadinov, Liam Hodges, Phoebe English MAN, Marta Jakubowski, Molly Goddard, Paula Knorr, Sadie Williams and Wales Bonner who will continue to receive support. ‘One to Watch’ support has been awarded to Richard Quinn.
Charles Jeffrey’s LOVERBOY has already received attention for his work which brings queer club vibes to couture. Nicholas Daley, who studied at Central Saint Martins, has previously used DJ Don Letts as both inspiration and model, and Irish designer Richard Malone’s designs incorporate ideas from his upbringing such as his mother’s Argos uniform, the stripes of corner-shop plastic bags, and the clothes he used to wear working on building sites. As for A-COLD-WALL*, designer Samuel Ross just scored a spot on the Dazed 100.
With designers like Gucci and Vetements choosing to show womenswear and menswear together, this move to combine the two shows the BFC is reacting to the changing attitudes towards what once were two distinct categories.
These designers join an illustrious list of names who have previously received NEWGEN funding, including Alexander McQueen, Christopher Kane, J.W.Anderson, Erdem, and Simone Rocha.
Congratulations everyone!
