NEW BLOOD: In line with its ongoing commitment to champion young talent, Soho boutique Machine-A hosted a showcase to open London Fashion Week Men’s and shine the spotlight on the most exciting fashion graduates.
The work on display was part of a long project spearheaded by Stavros Karelis, co-owner and buying director at Machine-A, alongside the Central Saint Martins’ media platform One Granary, and its fashion education platform Void.
Earlier this year, Karelis curated an exhibition for Void that traveled to New York, Paris and Copenhagen’s International Fashion Fair to showcase the works of some of the most promising design students, who graduated from schools such as Parsons The New School in New York, Central Saint Martins in London and the Fashion Academy in Antwerp.
Five of the graduates went on to work with Machine-A on producing their first commercial collections for the retailer.
“We are showcasing the graduates that have been selected throughout the year and who we believe are going to do very well in the future. They all have very promising talent,” said Karelis of the students he chose for the project, who include Bianca Saunders, Eftychia Karamolegkou, Arnar Már Jónsson, T/Sehne and Camilla Damkjaer. “The idea was to offer them exposure in an international sense, introduce them to buyers from across the world and give them a first-hand experience on how to sell a collection.”
Karamolegkou, a Greek-born London-based designer, stands out for her innovative approach to tailoring where she incorporates two-dimensional, origami-like structures to rework relaxed women’s suits.
Saunders, also a recent addition to the British Fashion Council’s Newgen scheme, is best known for experimenting with volume and oversized structures, while Damkjaer focuses on producing abstract prints and incorporating wiring into her pieces in order for the wearer to be able to manipulate its structure.
T/Sehne’s Stephen Piel is known for reworking classic men’s tailoring silhouettes by splicing them or playing with proportion, while Jónsson, an Icelandic brand, is building his aesthetic around more tribal references.
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