Bombay born, Italian and L.A. trained (FIDM) designer, Deborah Sawaf, has taken her pro-woman stance and has made a statement with her fine accessories company Thale Blanc and her ready-to-wear collection Thale Blanc Statement this week during New York Fashion Week. Known for her handbags, leather goods and jewelry, Deborah Sawaf has taken her company to new heights by adding ready-to-wear designer to her resume.
New York Fashion Week marked the designer’s first showing of her debut collection and the first time her sportswear collection has been presented to the press and media. The collection’s label “Statements” was inspired by Sawaf’s belief that “every woman is a statement by her very being & what better way to pay tribute to women than by having my collection be a part of my customers’ everyday personal statement.” Sawaf’s couturier touches which are synonymous with her Thalé Blanc handbag collection were evident throughout the collection of dresses, coats, tops, skirts, pants and vests.
Finding inspirations from the 1920’s to French Renaissance, and Baroque, as well as from exotic lands with rich histories of textile and ornamentation Thale Blanc brand now caters to every mood of a woman from head to toe while still allowing the Thale Blanc woman to feel empowered. Thoughtful detailing like quilted panels along with logo and verbiage printed taping provided sporty edginess that married flawlessly with higher end touches like the most luxurious fabrications in the market today and whimsical plays on proportion that are more commonly seen in the efforts of her avant garde European counterparts.
The collection also seized the moment to embrace the ‘see now buy now’ trend that has been gaining momentum of late. Almost the entire collection is available on-line at www.ThaleBlanc.com either available immediately or as a pre-order with only a 5 week wait from order to delivery. Sawaf’s decision to show in NYFW during the first ever all virtual show week, are clear indicators that there is a new life at Thalé Blanc and it emanates from the sketch pad of the creator herself.
Maria Grazia Chiuri, artistic director of women’s haute couture, ready-to-wear, and accessory collections, at Dior, enlisted Italian director Matteo Garrone to produce a short film titled “The Dior Myth,” to introduce her Fall-Winter 2020 haute couture collection this season.
It’s London Fashion Week and things are going to look a lot different this season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. For the very first time, the London Fashion Week website will relaunch as a ‘digital platform’ beginning June 12, 2020, and ending June 14, 2020. Merging womenswear and menswear, and replacing men’s week, London Fashion Week has gone gender-neutral bringing the fashion community together front row from their very own homes.
Recently described as the “fashion Netflix,” the new digital experience will work as a global meet-up point, offering interviews, podcasts, designer diaries, webinars, and digital showrooms, providing the opportunity for designers to tell their stories and share their experiences from the last few months.
Over 100 designers will be present on the LFW digital platform this fashion season. Additionally, 34 retailers, 23 media, and 6 brand partners from around the world will also be present providing us with unique content on the platform.
Providing a little something for everyone to love, the new digital platform has three main streams, and here’s everything you need to know to get the most out of London’s Fashion Week.
First, The LFW Schedule. The LFW schedule is a number of specific timed events, which will take place from Friday, June 12th to Sunday, June 14th. Events can be added to your calendars in order to tune in at specific times and join in on the conversations, collection launches, and other events. Once the content has been published, it will be available to watch at any point. Below is an A to Z of designers and brand partners on the LFW June 2020 Schedule
8ON8 – Chinese designer Li Gong will present a short video celebrating his new sustainable hat collection.
Ahluwalia is creating an interactive and virtual gallery space to showcase the brand’s new book, Jalebi. The public will be able to explore the space and walk around this new digital world.
BIANCA SAUNDERS will be launching a new Zine and host a panel discussion with Joshua Woods, Jess Cole, and Matt Holmes.
CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS MA FASHION will present Class of 2021 Fieldwork material produced by MA Fashion students at a distance engaged in the process of design; in its purest, almost abstract form.
CHALAYAN – renowned designer Hussein Chalayan will be doing a live ‘In Conversation’ with Elise By Olsen as well as presenting a film with behind the scenes footage of the making-of his SS20 collection.
Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY – To celebrate the launch of a new capsule, acclaimed designer Charles Jeffrey will live-stream a LOVERBOY party 2.0.
DANIEL w. FLETCHER – Netflix’s Next in Fashion, Daniel w. Fletcher is launching a new collection available to buy immediately through his e-commerce and is discussing the collection with British Vogue’s Naomi Pike.
Hill & Friends – luxury accessories label Hill & Friends will present new content of their A/W20 Campaign, with Founders Emma Hill and Georgia Fendley giving an insight into the brand’s luxurious and subversive world.
James Massiah – LFW will host a performance by spoken word artist James Massiah.
JD.COM, INC & Hu Bing – LFW China Ambassador Hu Bing has created three films to celebrate and spotlight three key British brands, A-COLD-WALL*, Paul Smith, and Smythson which have flagship stores on JD.COM. All three films are also hosted on JD.COM, Inc., China’s largest online retailer by revenue and partner of London Fashion Week.
John Lewis & Partners and BFC have teamed up to celebrate fashion and the power of self-expression by asking the nation to dress-up in an outfit that brings them joy, and share videos of themselves creating their very own catwalk moment in their home to raise money for charity. Highlights will be made into a film that will be showcased on the LFW digital schedule on Sunday 14th June – this will be the first time a fashion show created with content generated by the public has been part of LFW. Anyone can enter by posting a video using the Hashtag: #LFWCatwalkChallenge and tagging @johnlewisandpartners on either their Instagram grid or stories. For every video entry including @johnlewisandpartners and #LFWCatwalkChallenge, the brand will donate £5* to the BFC Foundation Fashion Fund for the Covid Crisis.
JORDANLUCA – Jordan Bowen and Luca Marchetto will tease their SS21 collection through film.
KA WA KEY – the London-based label will premiere ‘There’s No Place like Home’. Inspired by The Little Prince, different fairy tale characters, and British nursery rhymes, the film highlights the journey of love, using only a green screen.
LAVAZZA is London Fashion Week’s Official Coffee Partner. LAVAZZA is bringing to you a ‘Coffee-tail’ video tutorial with Matthew Zorpas, showcasing how to make the most out of the best LAVAZZA coffee.
Lou Dalton – acclaimed menswear designer Lou Dalton will launch a new lookbook as well as a conversation with the creative minds working with her on her new collection, documentary photographer Mark Neville, Gordon Richardson, and Stuart Williamson fashion Editor Fantastic Man.
Louise Gray – An escort through the Louise Gray world, this film features new pieces to be launched online and for wholesale orders.
LYpH – Avant-garde clothing company LYpH will play with video, audio, and imagery to present its new collection and campaign.
Marques ‘ Almeida – acclaimed designer duo Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida will launch a detailed documentary showcasing their new capsule collection including the making of their new collection under a sustainable sub-brand.
Matthew Miller – menswear designer Matthew Miller will present a video presentation and campaign, exploring ‘The New Normal’ with exclusive product drops that are not produced until sold.
MTV – At London Fashion Week February 2020, BFC, MTV, ICEBERG and River Island announced the launch of the ‘Music Meets Fashion Competition’. Fashion students from the UK and select International Design Colleges were invited to design a collection by MTV that merges music, fashion, and sustainability. This season the LFW schedule will showcase an overview of the competition so far, including application highlights. The digital LFW platform will also host exclusive interviews with each of the competition judges.
Mulberry – British heritage brand Mulberry will host an exclusive performance as part of their virtual ‘My Local Series’ to celebrate LFW. Artist to be announced shortly.
NABIL NAYAL presents his tenth collection, Chapter X: The Archives in Blue with new unseen footage, taking a retrospective look at his archives and hero pieces.
Natasha Zinko x DUOltd will launch the SS21 Creatives presenting their new collection with models through film and is working with American luxury multi-brand boutique The Webster to create 3D renderings of the collection to be showcased within a three-dimensional space inspired by the aesthetic and architecture of their Miami and Los Angeles boutiques.
Nicholas Daley is presenting ‘The Abstract Truth’, a behind-the-scenes film of his AW20 collection by Amy Douglas.
palmer//harding – Levi Palmer and Matthew Harding will host an Instagram Conversation, talking the audience through their inspiration and design process for their AW20 collection.
Per Götesson will show a stop-motion film by Patrick Waugh on key looks from the Per Götesson archive, the backdrop is created by Tony Hornecker and styled by Gary Armstrong.
Preen by Thornton Bregazzi will present a pause in time, a refresh, a season-less campaign.
PRONOUNCE – Founders Yushan Li and Jun Zhou will present a self-made conceptual video focusing on AW20 and also previewing their new SS21 collection.
RÆBURN – RÆBURN Connects: RÆSTART acclaimed designer Christopher Raeburn will be in conversation with Editor-in-Chief of British GQ Dylan Jones.
RIXO will present a behind-the-scenes film of their Resort 21 lookbook shoot on-schedule.
ROBYN LYNCH will present a one-off capsule collection supported by Rapha with a film documenting the making of the collection with a lookbook in collaboration with Joe Cruz and styled by Ben Schofield.
SHOOP – alternative contemporary fashion label SHOOP will present a 3D video of their capsule collection in partnership with the footwear brand ASICS.
St James’s & Regent St. – London destinations St James’s and Regent Street will host a panel discussion about the future of retail and how looking to our heritage can help futureproof industry decisions.
Stephen Jones – world-renowned milliner Stephen Jones will release a film the making-of his SS21 collection.
Teatum Jones – British brand Teatum Jones will release four films highlighting the story of their brand.
TÍSCAR ESPADAS – Royal College of Art graduate Tiscar Espadas will introduce a small capsule collection with a film made during the lockdown exploring the narrative of her brand.
TONI&GUY is London Fashion Week’s Official Haircare Partner. TONI&GUY and LFW celebrate their 15 years of partnership with a retrospective film of the brand’s involvement at London Fashion Week, styling the hair for some of London’s most iconic shows.
University of Westminster MA Menswear graduates will present their collections digitally.
Xander Zhou will present a campaign film of his AW20 collection.
XU ZHI will unveil a film for his recent AW20 collection.
Second, The Explore Section. The home of London Fashion Week Digital, Explore tells the story of London’s individuals and businesses, rich in creativity and culture. The Explore section is made up of content created by BFC, the designers, and a number of brand partners, media, and retailers. Make sure not to miss the below highlights:
British Fashion Council Fashion Forum Podcast – The first BFC podcast includes some of the biggest and most current names in fashion, art and culture, promoting British creativity on a global scale kicking off with BFC Ambassador and entrepreneur Tinie Tempah in conversation with Dylan Jones, BFC Menswear Chair. Tune in here.
DREST – To celebrate London Fashion Week Digital – June 2020, DREST, the world’s first interactive luxury styling game, asked its users to enter daily challenges and submit fashion creations showcasing the best of British designers. The winning looks were handpicked by DREST’s Fashion Director, Candice Fragis, and spotlight designers including Burberry, Roksanda, Erdem, and Emilia Wickstead to name a few, each featuring in a short campaign video and representing self-expression in a virtual world.
Edward Enninful, Editor-in-Chief British Vogue and Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London discuss the global outcry against systemic racism, and how London’s recovery from COVID-19 must address this and other inequalities in our society.
Farfetch – Leading global luxury fashion platform Farfetch has collaborated with London Fashion Week to create four interviews of some of the most exciting British designers in conversation with four leading Chinese influencers. 16Arlington, Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY, Erdem, and Roksanda speak to Sunni, Dipsy, Anny Fan, and Fil Xiaobai respectively in a series of four films.
Galeries Lafayette Champs-Elysées celebrate British Fashionwith a collaborationwith the BFC and bring to Paris ten of the most exciting British designers. Starting on Tuesday 9th June, Galeries Lafayette Champs-Elysées will celebrate ten British designers in store for a week with special installations and on Friday 12th June, the BFC will screen exclusive content straight from London Fashion Week. The designers are: A-COLD-WALL*, A.W.A.K.E. MODE, Alighieri, Craig Green, Martine Rose, Molly Goddard, Rejina Pyo, RIXO, Simone Rocha, and Wales Bonner.
GR8 Japan – Iconic Tokyo luxury boutique GR8 has created three films with Japanese painter Motoaki Higashino and Musician and Rapper TOHJI spotlighting their favorite British brands, Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY and Martine Rose.
JOYCE Podcast: Live Connected – The eponymous concept store JOYCEwill host two episodes from the second season of their podcast series, featuring conversations from some of the world’s most creative minds including multidisciplinary polymath Trevor Jackson who talks to David Hellqvist of Document Studios about three decades of prolific creative output and noted fashion writer and editor David Hellqvist, speaking to Jonathan Anderson about society’s generational shift, how fashion has to ‘eat itself’ and the importance of making mistakes.
Justine Simons’ Digital London – The Deputy Mayor of Culture and the Creative Industries selects her top digital cultural choices to enjoy during London Fashion Week, highlighting some of London’s world-class museums, theatres, venues, and artists. Through clever combinations of 360 videos, photos, interactive timelines, and live streams, they have all created content that allows you to take in some of the unmissable cultural highlights without leaving your home.
LFW Creative Conversations – a YouTube series hosted by Bruce Pask, Men’s Fashion Director Bergdorf Goodman, and Neiman Marcus featuring Anatome, Bianca Saunders, Country of Origin, Drakes, and Grenson. The content focuses on interviews of the creatives and their brands, delving into their worlds and enabling viewers to discover new and exciting brands.
LFW Designer Diaries – a series of Designers Diaries, giving the audience an insight into the life of various LFW designers and sharing unique stories through still and moving images, featuring Bethany Williams, DANIEL w. FLETCHER, Lou Dalton, Preen, Rixo, and Roksanda.
LFW Handbook – your guide to LFW, with contributions from the editors of British GQ and Evening Standard. An essential read to take you behind the scenes of the digital event.
LFW Highlights – BFC is working with Smartzer, an interactive technology that will be used to convert regular video content into clickable experiences. Viewers will be able to click on items featured in the videos to unlock a deeper in-video experience and discover the designers.
LN-CC ‘Late Night-Conscious Campaign’ is an initiative designed to support luxury brands to produce sustainably while shining light on the issues faced by the industry and offering a real alternative for their customers. The campaign is in partnership with ‘The Bear Scouts’ who will be providing their expertise in sourcing and the first issue to be highlighted is ‘WASTE’. Poet and activist Kai Isaiah Jamal will be part of the performance.
Mount Street celebrates British fashion featuring Erdem, Roksanda, Roland Mouret.
The Class of 2020 – as part of its ongoing commitment to supporting education and fashion students, BFC asked 13 colleges and their students, along with BFC graduating scholars, to create content to tell their stories. Participating Colleges are Bath Spa University, Central Saint Martins, Edinburgh College of Art, Kingston University, Leeds Arts University, London College of Fashion, Manchester Fashion Institute, Manchester School of Art, Middlesex University, Sheffield Hallam, University of Brighton, University of Leeds, University of Westminster, UWE Bristol. Participating scholars are Alexandra Sipa, Andrea Brocca, Christopher Nullens, Ciara Di Salle, Dominic Huckbody, Elizabeth Lowe, Emma Grieshaber, Halina Edwards, Jake Treddenick, Lee Hurst, Louis Shangtao Chen, Margaux Lavevre, Matthew Needham, Min Lee, Paolina Russo, Paolo Carzana, Raquel Cueto, Rhiannon Davies, San Kim, Subah Iqbal.
Tomfoolery, a London based writer, performance artist, and filmmaker will present What Are You Drawing, a new piece commissioned for VOGUE Italia June Edition that dedicates itself to children around the world, their purity and rebirth into a new society. His latest work includes The Great Realisation, a bedtime story of hope and optimism for the future, which has now been viewed over 60 million times around the world.
What Does Fashion Sound Like? A series of curated LFW playlists from designers, DJ’s, media titles and retailers, exploring themes behind their work including ARTSCHOOL, BEAKER, Bianca Saunders, BOONTHESHOP, Browns, DJ Fat Tony, ELLE, Glamour, GOODHOOD, GQ Korea, H.Lorenzo, HERVIA, Highsnobiety, Hudson’s Bay, i-D, Jodie Harsh, LUISAVIAROMA, Mimi Wade, MTV, Mulberry, Nicholas Daley, ODDA Magazine, PORT, Robyn Lynch, Selfridges, Smets, SUGAR, The Face, Wolf & Badger, WOOD WOOD, WORKSOUT. Tune in and listen on Spotify here.
Wonderland Magazine & BFC have created five “How To Become” videos, highlighting careers in fashion in the forms of a Q&A with model Cindy Bruna, stylist Solange Franklin Reed, photographer Bogdan Plakov, make-up artist Mona Leanne & designer Bianca Saunders.
Third, The Designer Profiles. Over 100 designers will be activating their profile pages from 12th June with introductions to the brands, their latest work, their social media activity, and with links to line sheets and contacts for sales and press requests. A number of them will also produce new content to be hosted both on their Profiles and in Explore. These are:
1X1 Studio, 8IGB community clothing, AV Vattev, Ben Osborn, C2H4, Cristiana Alagna, DAVID KOMA, Di Petsa, Duran Lantink, E. Tautz, Feng Chen Wang, Fiona O’Neill, FYODOR GOLAN, GALL, HANNA FIEDLER, hiz-st(ə)ri, Joshua James Small, Kaushik Velendra, LUEDER, LUNA DEL PINAL, Mariah Esa, MATTEO BIGLIARDI, Maxime Black, Olubiyi Thomas, PONDER.ER, Renata Brenha, Rose Danford-Phillips, Sabry Marouf, Sinéad O’Dwyer, SWEETLIMEJUICE, TEIJA, VANASSIBARA, ZILVER
Alongside longstanding Official Partners of London Fashion Week, British GQ, Evening Standard, JD.COM, INC, LAVAZZA, Mercedes-Benz, The May Fair Hotel, TONI&GUY, BFC welcome a new Official Partner, JOOR, to help British designer businesses reach new trade audiences. BFC has also engaged several digital pioneering brands and BFC Patrons, including John Lewis & Partners, MTV, Smartzer and Beats by Dre, who will all be activating content in unique ways over LFW. The LFW June 2020 platform was built by Red Apple Creative with the Creative Direction of Wednesday.
Relive the #Collection1 2020 runway show held at Rockefeller Center in New York City on Friday, May 31, 2019. Open to the public, the runway show marked the first that Rock Center has ever held
It was a pleasant New York Saturday, the perfect New York day that postcards are made of. The energy in the air was one that the main characters of “Sex And The City” would have approved of. As the character Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) stated, “Every year the women of New York leave the past behind and look forward to the future…this is known as Fashion Week.” The Son Jung Wan’s Spring Summer 2020 collection highlighted the glamour of vintage wear in a modern twist with the splendor of color. The color palette evoked the feeling of renewal, a feeling that is often associated with Spring after surviving the harshness of winter.
Born and raised in South Korea, Son Jung Wan, majored in Industrial Craft at Sookmyung Women’s University. After graduating, she attended design school at International Mode in Seoul. In 1993 Son Jung Wan earned the “Golden Needle Award” from the Korea Fashion Editor Association and in 2005, was named “Designer of the Year” by Seoul Metropolitan.
Known for her playful twist with mixes of colors, fabrics, and silhouettes, Son Jung Wan’s SS2020 collection featured embroidered dresses full of different layers of iridescent fabrics, a rose gold gown entwined with floral print, an array of electric blue gowns, and a neon mint dress, all screaming the splendor of new beginnings while taking the men and women in the room on a vibrant retro journey.
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Disclaimer: A version of this article also appears on the World News Network
Fashion Designer Anna Sui is one of New York City’s most beloved and accomplished fashion designers, known for creating contemporary original clothing inspired by in-depth research into vintage styles, cultural arcana, art history, graphic design, European and Asian decorative arts, film, and more. Sui is a first-generation Chinese born in Detroit, Michigan, and by the time she was four years old, Sui knew she wanted to be a fashion designer.
Opening during New York Fashion Week, the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) will present a major retrospective of the iconic American fashion designer Anna Sui, The World of Anna Sui. The exhibition will run from September 12, 2019, through February 23, 2020, and will feature 75 looks from the designer’s archive. Fashion enthusiasts will have an opportunity to see iconic looks from Sui’s groundbreaking inaugural fashion show of 1991 to her Spring 2019 collection. From the “Backless Chaps” worn by Naomi Campbell in the Fall 1992 runway show to the “Silver Peruvian Ensemble” from Spring 1994 to one of the iconic “Babydoll Dresses” worn by Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, and Christy Turlington. All looks featured will be shown in context with the original backdrops from Oliphant Studio used in Sui’s fashion shows.
“Born and bred in Detroit, Anna Sui is a fascinating American design success story,” said Chris Scoates, MAD’s Nanette L. Laitman Director. “Season after season, Sui translates popular culture and artisanal making into collections that pulse with excitement, reflect and expand on the creative spirit of the times, and move the needle for what fashion can and should be for a diverse, global market. We are extremely excited to welcome our visitors for an unforgettable immersive experience of Anna’s design universe.”
The World of Anna Sui follows other important MAD fashion design exhibitions of recent years, including fashion after Fashion (2017), Counter-Couture: Handmade Fashion in an American Counterculture (2017), and Ralph Pucci: The Art of the Mannequin (2015). Notably, Sui’s visit to the Museum to view Counter-Couture, which celebrated the handmade fashion and style of the 1960s and 1970s, provided inspiration for Anna Sui’s Spring 2018 collection.
To celebrate The World of Anna Sui, the fashion designer herself along with the exhibition’s curator Dennis Nothdruft will share behind-the-scenes stories of The World of Anna Sui in a panel discussion moderated by MAD Assistant Curator Barbara Paris Gifford on Saturday, September 14, 2019 – 4:00 pm. For more information, visit madmuseum.org.
Commissioned by the museum especially for this exhibition, Marit Ilison’s monumental piece “77 chintzes” will be on display till 4th of August at KUMU Art Museum. The piece consisting of 77 printed cotton dresses is resembling a modern take on the Soviet woman’s uniform and representing a selection of 89 patterns from the museum archive from 1967 to 1992.
Initiated by Marit Ilison’s personal memory of a hot and sweaty summer day at the end of the 1980s – the artist sitting on her grandmother’s lap, who is wearing a floral chintz dress, making hay on a horse rake – Ilison is deeply fascinated by how a floral chintz dress was a real soviet workwear that was worn everywhere, even at dirty works, being a very feminine phenomenon and opposing heavily to Western-European (mostly) monochrome or white uniforms.
Following her previous piece “70 cotton smocks” (2008-2011), Ilison is continuing her path on nostalgia and personal memories, collaborating this time with the not yet discovered archives of now-defunct Krenholm Textile manufacture in Estonia.
Ilison had worked with the archives before when leading an experimental form course at Estonian Academy of Arts, but it is the first time that Krenholm collection has been worked with and publicly presented in such vast volume. All of the used 89 prints were digitalized one by one and reprinted on contemporary cotton canvas. Only one dress and a tote bag were made out of each fabric and these will not be reproduced. One-of-a-kind hand-numbered tote bags are available at www.maritilison.com.
