The fourth International Fashion Showcase will open to the public this Friday during London Fashion Week.
The International Fashion Showcase (IFS) is the largest free public fashion exhibition of its kind, with 110 emerging designers from nearly 30 Countries.
The central exhibition at Brewer Street Car Park is designed by Robert Storey of Storey Studio and covers 25 countries from four continents that will each showcase a curated static installation of emerging designers that represent their culture. Countries include Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Ireland, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Scandinavia (Denmark & Norway), South Africa, Spain, and Tanzania.
Solo installations from Argentina, Canada, Chile, Lithuania, Morocco, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Thailand and Trinidad and Tobago will form ‘Next in Line’, curated by Lee Lapthorne, Founder and Director of On|Off. These will be displayed on a Bonaveri Aloof mannequin, inspired by the fashion imagery of Avedon and Beaton and made in its factory in Italy.
In addition Japan, Korea, Romania, Switzerland will showcase in satellite exhibitions across London.
THE COUNTRIES
A full guide and film are available to download here
AFRICA
• Morocco presents a menswear collection based on the modern intellectual dandy
• Nigeria presents five men's and womenswear designers whose collections reinterpret the fabrics, print and shapes of traditional costume with classic and contemporary western silhouettes
• South Africa presents three designers - in the exhibition, Futraspective, which represents the next wave of South African self-expression.
• Tanzania presents Serengeti Sirens; an exploration of femininity created by five designers and inspired by regional nuances and exposure to global ideals
THE AMERICAS
• Argentina presents a womenswear collection based on raw fibres and refined hand knitting techniques
• Brazil presents five designers who have taken ‘infinite’ blue waters as a starting point for the inspiration behind the collections
• Canada presents a designer that approaches pattern cutting using mathematical concepts
• Chile presents a collection that re-interprets the poncho
• Colombia presents a scaffold installation that represents construction and progress paralleling the collections that each reinterpret traditional basket weaving, print and quilting techniques
• Trinidad & Tobago presents minimalist art- inspired collection that reinterprets Caribbean culture
ASIA
• Japan presents two extremes: the minimalist sensibility of traditional clothing and the interpretations of Western-style dress through a durational performance to represent the ever changing nature of fashion
• Korea presents the symbiotic relationship between British and Korean style; comparing and contrasting concepts of classic ‘Britishness’ and ‘Hallyu’, the western popularity of South Korean culture
• Pakistan explores similarities between human body curves and the country culture
• The Philippines presents six young designers that have used Filipino folklore to investigate new forms
• Thailand presents a collection based on lace and handcrafts techniques
EUROPE
• Austria presents its rising fashion scene through a conceptual exhibition themed around text and literature and its relationship to fashion and art
• Czech Republic presents menswear, womenswear and accessories re-creating fairy tale landscapes by weaving poetic stories into fabrics, furs, metals, skins and gems
• Georgia presents a conceptual fashion project centred on the reconstruction of the historic State Academy of Arts building where the European façade and the Baroque interior co-exist with Classicist and Iranian styles
• Ireland presents six designers with a shared, minimal aesthetic based on innovative approaches to the body through tailored construction and craft details
• Lithuania presents fashion as harmony between past and present combining a traditional and modern approach
• The Netherlands presents the tensions between normality and abnormality, the functional and non-functional, the seductive and abject
• Poland presents three installations; couture pieces in an apartment setting; ready-to-wear presented in a street scene; and a Polish “night out”
• Portugal presents five designers under the moniker Bloom, who will continue to explore the greenhouse they presented at IFS 2014 but with the focus on the sun’s energy at the heart of the installation
• Romania presents clothing, accessory and jewellery that reimagines the traditional Romanian blouse as an organic structure, honoring its distinctive local background and visual history that has in the past been celebrated by Matisse, Yves Saint Laurent, Jean Paul Gaultier and Emilio Pucci
• Spain presents Bilbao as an example of how innovation transforms urban physiognomy. It uses light as a central element by interacting with visitors in a game of light and shadow
• Scandinavia presents a display featuring designers from Denmark and Norway that underlines the relationship between creator and creation by showing photography of the designers wearing their own pieces
AWARD CEREMONY & COMPETITION
At an award ceremony on Sunday 22 February industry experts will select a winning country, curator and designer; awarding them each a trophy designed by emerging Brazilian jeweller Fernando Jorge, a BFC Rock Vault graduate who participated in IFS 2014. The panel is chaired by Sarah Mower MBE, BFC Ambassador for Emerging Talent and European Editor-at-Large of Vogue.com who commented:
“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.”
Vicky Richardson, Director Architecture, Design, Fashion at the British Council, added:
“The repeated success of the International Fashion Showcase continues to build London’s global reputation as a centre for emerging fashion design talent. This global initiative showcased during London Fashion Week opens up the possibility of new international collaborations overseas; forging new business and creative opportunities for British designers and institutions and contributing to the cultural and economic prosperity of the UK.”
The public can enter into a prize draw to receive a pair of VIP tickets and £250 for Vodafone London Fashion Weekend in September 2015. To enter the competition, simply post a photograph of your favourite look at the International Fashion Showcase on Instagram with the hashtag #IFScompetition. The winner will be announced on Friday 13th March 2015 on the British Council’s Instagram feed @British_Design
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/IFS2015/
The London College of Fashion (LCF) will bring together a network of LCF affiliated academics and researchers for the Designer Support Programme 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 IFS designers the opportunity to show their work in a group catwalk show.
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/IFS2015/
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 its support in the exhibition.
The British Council and British Fashion Council would like to thank the generosity of our suppliers for the International Fashion Showcase Official Launch and Award Ceremony: blk Water UK., The Colombian Coffee Company, model.me Propercorn, Scavi & Ray and VII Hills Gin.
Event details
20-24 February, 10.00-18.00
3rd Floor Gallery,
Brewer Street Car Park,
32 Brewer Street,
London W1F 0LA
For more information visit:
http://design.britishcouncil.org/projects/IFS/IFS2015/
For images, 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
For more information visit
http://design.britishcouncil.org/projects/IFS/IFS2015
The International Fashion Showcase is directed by Anna Orsini, Strategic Consultant British Fashion Council and Niamh Tuft, Programme Manager British Council.