Fashion East

FASHION EAST, London’s very own Fashion Week spawning ground, announces DANIELLE SCUTT, LOUISE GOLDIN, and MEADHAM/KIRCHHOFF as the chosen designers for their Spring/Summer 2007 group show this September.

“FASHION EAST has helped support and promote a slew of talents over the years including: Jonathan Saunders, Gareth Pugh, Roksanda Ilincic, Emma Cook, Richard Nicoll, Jens Laugesen and Marios Schwab, chosen by an influential group of panelists. Lulu Kennedy founder of the project is a passionate supporter and organiser believing in the expression of creativity, fun and beauty. Many of the designers have gone on to create truly successful businesses and are recognised for their craft and influence globally. FASHION EAST is a wonderful creative laboratory and nurturing ground.” Harriet Quick, Fashion Features Editor, VOGUE (UK)

Supported by TOPSHOP* for the 5th consecutive season, FASHION EAST has showcased a wealth of design talent over the last 6 years - many now forming the backdrop to London Fashion Week. FASHION EAST’s fastidious panel of industry insiders, who include VOGUE US Contributing Editor Sarah Mower and i-D Fashion Editor Erika Kurihara, again vote in MEADHAM/KIRCHHOFF and throw 2 seriously cool new contenders into the mix:

DANIELLE SCUTT This Central Saint Martins MA Womenswear graduate stole the limelight with her triumphant finale at her MA graduate show last year. Selected by Phoebe Philo to win the Chloe Award for best designer, also picking up the Lancôme Award for Modern Femininity, she draws inspiration from the starched impersonality and incongruous femininity of Margaret Thatcher to Newton women and asserted sexuality. Key pieces include: fitted jackets and coats with elegant puff sleeves and colossal pussybows that engulfed the shoulder line, pleated pencil skirts, high-waisted narrow trousers, spray-on catsuits, and second-skin silk jersey leotards. Described by the designer as "clothes you can have a fight in," she delivers more than a derivative pastiche of 80’s power dressing; the predatory confidence of the oversized prints that camouflaged the entire collection including the matching hosiery and shoes, and the belts that cinch in the super skinny silhouettes even further and cause a languid yet purposeful prowl in the wearer. Banishing traces of 90’s deconstruction and dysfunction, her aesthetic also harks back to the halcyon days of the 50’s – as her looks requires total commitment.

LOUISE GOLDIN Welcome to the highly sophisticated, luxe knitwear of LOUISE GOLDIN, who also appeared in the Central St Martin’s MA show last year, graduating with a distinction in Fashion and Knitwear. Her graduate collection was exclusively produced and ordered by London’s Selfridges. Last year she was awarded The Deutsche Bank Pyramid Award for Fashion & Textiles, and earlier this year, she exhibited her first collection at London Fashion Week, having been awarded a New Generation stand. Her collection for next summer which will appear in the FASHION EAST show, will feature her highly technical knitwear inspired by the work of architect Antonio Gaudi; his colours, shapes and structures, the initial source of her research. Lurex yarns are combined with the finest cashmere blends.

MEADHAM/KIRCHHOFF Benjamin Kirchhoff and Edward Meadham met at Central St Martins, and launched their menswear label soon after graduating. They debuted their first womenswear collection at FASHION EAST in February 2006, impressing the panel who have invited them back for a second season. Developing from a gothic design aesthetic that has influenced their work in the past, MEADHAM/KIRCHHOFF womenswear AW2006/07 shows a more sombre side to their designs, with a mature and glamorous feel. Nipped-in waists and layering produce an ultra feminine silhouette while paying homage to film noir classics of the 1940s.

Never overt, rather than revealing the body, the clothing cloaks and drapes, subtly altering and changing the focus in each look. Corseting draws in the waist to create an hourglass shape, and floor length chiffon skirts elongate the body. The colour palette of shades of dark greens, blues, browns and black are accentuated by light blues and capture the melancholy tones of winter. Their first womenswear collection will be stocked by: Opening Ceremony in New York, Side by Side in Tokyo, and Two See in London. Kylie and Courtney Love are part of a growing coterie of fans.

*Many designers who have shown as part of FASHION EAST have gone on to develop ranges exclusively for TOPSHOP.

PRESS ENQUIRIES

www.fashioneast.co.uk