NEWGEN

It won't be long until Somerset house is packed with bloggers and fashionistas for the exciting buzz of London Fashion Week! Its running from Friday 13th- Tuesday 17th September, but who are the ones to watch this year?!

In 1993 BFC created New Generation, to showcase and promote up and coming designers with huge talent. The scheme has been sponsored by Topshop since 2001.  The scheme is internationally recognised and offers designers financial support towards their show, the opportunity to showcase their collections on the BFC catwalk space, to support and mentor them and not to mention give them the recognition and publicity they deserve.  NEWGEN has previously launched the careers of designers such as Alexander McQueen, Christopher Kane, Meadham Kirchoff and Mary Katrantzou.  The scheme attracts the international fashion media, and buyers attending London Fashion Week eager to see the collections that have been chosen and take a peak at the future of fashion. So lets take a look at the 'NEWGEN' this year . . 

The four labels below are the winners for a sponsored catwalk show..

JJS LEE

By Jackie Lee, a Korean born designer who studied at Central Saint Martens, describes her work as "Chic,minimalist and modernist tailoring." She describes Tilda Swinton as "Embodying the spirit" of her brand.

LUCAS NASCIMENTO

 Born in Brazil and graduated from London College of Fashion in 2008.Has spent last three seasons showing at Rio Fashion Week. Will be showcasing his innovative knitwear collection. He likes using knit unexpectedly and creating silhouettes that are not typical of knitwear. 

MARQUES' ALMEIDA 

Made up of Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida, the duo met at CITEX fashion school in Portugal,where they both graduated with a distinction. Moved to London and have gained industry experience at Vivienne Westwood. Their signature style is described as "Raw,young,effortless and lived-in."

SISTER BY SIBLING

 Collaboration made up of three British designers, Sid Bryan,Joe Bates and Cozette McCreery. Before setting up SIBLING the designers gained experience working for many brands and design houses. We can expect colour,sparkle,humour and lots of kint. They have said they "like mutating classic,traditional knitwear designs or techniques.  Their garments are usually outrageous,colourful and fun, I love this brand and can't wait to see what they show!

The three labels below are winners of a sponsored presentation..

1205

1205 is an androgynous label focused on tailoring by designer Paula Gerbase. Gerbase studied womenswear at Central Saint Martins. She has also trained in the womenswear atelier of Hardy Amies, followed by 5 year working in Savile Row for tailor, Kilgour. She certainly has an impressive lot of experience behind her and is known for her contemporary tailoring. She specialises in "restrained modern tailoring."

NASIR MAZHAR

Nasir Mazhar is a British fashion designer of Turkish Cypriot descent. He is best recognised for his inventive headwear. He has impressive clientele consisting of Lady Gaga and last year created hats for a scene in the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. Mazhar believes Lil' Kim embodies the spirit of his brand. We look forward to vibrant and cultural headwear alongside Autumnal accessories.

SOPHIA WEBSTER

Sophia Webster is a shoe designer who studied at the Royal College of Art and Cordwainers. She has been working as a design assistant to Nicholas Kirkwood since graduating in 2010.Her signatures are single soles, feminine lines and strong silhouettes.   Rita Ora, Solange Knowles and Liv Tyler have been spotted wearing Sophia's designs. She's known for her quirky, colourful shoes and i would REALLY love a pair!

And lastly the winner of a sponsored exhibition..

LIAM FAHY

Liam Fahy, an innovative shoe designer from Zimbabwe, who specialises in luxury ladies shoes and studied at DeMontfort University. He was once an assistant to Rupert Sanderson and an ex-psychology student.He has previously won the Linea-Pelle footwear design award and the Drapers Footwear designer of the year award. We are told his next collection is inspired by 1970's vinyl umbrellas, aristocratic embroidery, steam trains and classic 50's movies.. 'expect  a lot of subtle details and our signature dark ethos."

I think NEWGEN is such a brilliant platform for designers to gain publicity and recognition as well as for us to see the future of fashion and I can't wait to see what they've produced at this years LFW!

Erwin Blumenfeld at Somerset House

Today I went to Somerset House to view Blumenfeld Studio: New York, 1941-1960, exhibit the portraits and photographs of fashion photographer Erwin Blumenfeld. Blumenfeld was a very sought after photographer and shot for fashion magazines such as Harpers Bazaar and Vogue. He was known for the playful and imaginative photographs he produced. The exhibition features colour originals of Blumenfeld's work including covers for Vogue he had produced. I really enjoyed the exhibition and found the methods he used to add effects to his images really interesting. Some of his images looked like they had been taken underwater but in actual fact had been shot through frosted glass which gave a really strange effect to the photo. Obviously in those days there was no photoshop so it's really imaginative of him to think of ways to manipulate his photos. A lot of his photographs also had an element of repetition to them which i liked. I think Blumenfeld's work was really ahead of it's time in terms of how he would manipulate or customise his images, some of them i would definitely experiment with such as the photographs distorted behind glass. The exhibition is free and definitely worth a trip to this Summer as it continues until 1 September.