Among the mainstays and cult favourites that we are all familiar with are a crop of young designers making an impact on the fashion industry. Here we have compiled the ten top on-the-rise brands set to be tomorrow’s leaders.
LRS Studio
Designer: Raul Solis
ABOUT: Raul, a designer, artist, and stylist from Mexico, may be an alum of Proenza Schouler’s design team, but his clothes strike a chord all on their own. The pieces articulate the wearable and the conceptual, in a blend of organic and synthetic fabrics. Making refined clothes, with unexpected, dramatic touches, like an extra-long sleeve or ultra-high split.
Koché
Designer: Christelle Kocher
ABOUT: Couture quality meets normcore at Koché, where Christelle applies the haute techniques she practices at her day job at Maison Lemarié bringing amazing craft to everyday items like hoodies and tee-shirts. Kocher is a second-time LVMH finalist this year.
Alyx
Designer: Matthew Williams
ABOUT: As a creative director, founder Matthew has played a large part in shaping the visual identities of Kanye West and Lady Gaga, and is now in his third season with luxury basics label Alyx. Named after his young daughter the brand offers graphic tees, biker jackets and flares.
AV Robertson
Designer: Amie Robertson
ABOUT: As a former assistant at Marc Jacobs, Amie scored Katie Grand to style her Fall 2016 collection and had Jacobs seated in her front row. Endorsements aside, her updates to traditional evening staples like suiting stripes and beaded embellishments are noteworthy for their real-world appeal.
R13
Designer: Chris Leba
ABOUT: In 2009, Chris launched R13, a cool-girl denim brand, only, not a lot of people knew he was behind it, because until December, he had a full time job as a VP at Ralph Lauren. The debut runway show made an impression with vintage-looking T-shirts, deconstructed jeans and floral maxi dresses with choker necklaces.
Ground Zero
Designer: Eri and Philip Chu
ABOUT: Founded by brothers Eri and Philip, the brand hails from Hong Kong. With 13 collections currently in its fashion archive, the duo’s signature is a combination of bold street style and more subdued ready to wear, accented by unique graphic prints.
This is the Uniform
Designer: Jenna Young
ABOUT: UK based Jenna merges youth culture with urban sportswear for a very British collection with a quirky vibe. Sportswear silhouettes are combined with feminine fabrics and lots of handwork. The brand is all about using fabric in a precious way that might not have actually been seen as precious in the first place.
Anna K
Designer: Anna Karenina
ABOUT: Ukrainian designer Anna started in the industry as a fashion model and launched her clothing line when she was just 16. She gained international acclaim with her cheeky slogan t-shirts and her first collection was praised by the editor of Italian Vogue.
Area
Designer: Beckett Fogg and Piotrek Panszczyk
ABOUT: Maybe you know their signature, braille-like embossing techniques and Lurex-laced flares. Now it’s time to get on board with the increasingly disco-glam style of dressing proposed by this power pairing, who respectively have runs at Chloé and Calvin Klein on their CVs.
Aalto
Designer: Tuomas Merikoski
ABOUT: Start with a stark, Scandanavian sensibility and add in street culture and you have Aalto’s graphic creations. An LVMH Prize finalist, Tuomas has been quietly expanding his fashion footprint throughout the past two years.
By Eliza Scarborough