With London Fashion Week just around the corner, a lot of us begin to wonder how the successful designers of today gained their status. Ellie Dyson explores the rise of five top-tier designers ahead of their London Fashion Week 2018 catwalk shows.

JW ANDERSON

JW Anderson is a British fashion label established by Jonathan William Anderson. Originally, Anderson was in pursuit of a career in acting, but whilst working at a theatre in Washington, D.C, he became more interested in the costumes. From there, he went on to study menswear design at the London College of Fashion, graduating in 2005.

He then worked for Prada as visual merchandiser, having already worked as a window dresser for the brand during his time at LCF.

Anderson set up his own brand in 2008, focusing on menswear, but by 2010 he moved onto designing for women, too. Shortly afterwards, he received a sponsorship from the British Fashion Council committee, which made it possible for the brand to present its first fashion show at London Fashion Week.

Anderson secured a second sponsorship from the British Fashion Council, in addition to winning the Emerging Talent award in 2012. His success continued to rise after a collaboration with Topshop that same year, and it was taken up another notch when Vogue covered his 2012 Spring/Summer collection, featuring paisley pyjamas which resultingly sold out soon after their launch.

LVMH procured a minor percentage in the brand, and as part of the agreement Anderson was named as the new creative director for brand ‘Loewe’.

Style – A cross-over between men’s and women’s design, an eccentric twist on the essentials.

Catwalk show – 15th Sept 2018, 16:00.

 

DELPOZO

Jesús del Pozo was born in Madrid, Spain.

He studied furniture and interior design, and after a period of travel, went on to open his own men’s clothing store in Madrid in 1974. Two years after this, he presented his first men’s collection in Paris, with women’s ready to wear collections following in 1980. His fashion house grew steadily from there, creating new, rewarding lines such as perfume and wedding dresses, but it gained little recognition outside of Spain.

Sadly, Jesús del Pozo passed away in 2011. The Perfumes & Diseño SA group recognised the beauty in his craftmanship and purchased the brand to preserve its legacy. They relaunched it as Delpozo in 2012, appointing Josep Font as creative director. Font had initially trained as an architect, but he always had a high interest in fashion. He began his career by designing collections for his own namesake brand.

His first move as creative director was to fight for a place in New York Fashion Week. This was a difficult task, because the name had barely spread outside of Spain. He wanted to make sure everyone knew Delpozo’s intentions were international.

Style – Honouring traditional couture techniques, Font uses creative ways to add volume and form to dresses and coats, using bold and bright colours in statement pieces.

Catwalk show –  16th Sept 2018, 14:00 

 

VICTORIA BECKHAM

Victoria Beckham will be celebrating her tenth year by participating in an anniversary London Fashion Week show. Winner of the 2011 Designer Brand of the Year, Beckham usually showcases her collections at New York Fashion Week, but this year’s catwalk will be taking place near her Dover Street store.

Although the brand has benefitted from the fame of her time as a Spice Girl, which certainly gave her both the funding and the exposure to make a good start, the brand’s collections are aesthetically successful on their own merit, catering to the style needs of the modern woman.

Style – A high-fashion take on essentials of power-dressing, Beckham’s collections are the perfect mixture of strong meets feminine.

Catwalk show – 16th Sept 2018, 09.30 and 10.30

 

GARETH PUGH

Gareth Pugh is an English fashion designer. At age 14 he began working for a national youth theatre as a costume designer. He continued on to study a degree in fashion design at Central Saint Martins, which he completed in 2003. He also spent some time interning for Rick Owens.

His final year collection in CSM used balloons to emphasise the models’ joints, which has now become one of his trademarks. The collection attracted the attention of publication Dazed & Confused , and shortly after it placed one of his designs on the front cover.

Only a couple of months after graduating from University, he was selected to take part in a reality show called ‘The Fashion House’, which he left before filming was completed, later describing the experience as ‘horrible’.

Pugh continued to participate in fashion events, making his solo debut at London Fashion Week in 2006, and he opened his first boutique in Hong Kong in 2010.

Style – A futuristic take on gothic, costume meets couture meets David Lynch.

Catwalk show – 15th Sept 2018, 18:00

 

CHRISTOPHER KANE

Christopher Kane is a Scottish designer who is part of the Kering group, with other members including the likes of Gucci and McQueen. He has been an award-winning designer from a young age, winning the Lancôme Colour Award whilst still in college, attracting the attention of Donatella Versace.

Kane also took home the Harrods Design Award for his MA Graduate collection, causing Versace to snap him up, hiring him to work on their Atelier couture collection.

In 2006, the same year he graduated from CSM, he set up ‘Christopher Kane’ with his sister, Tammy, who ran the financial aspects. His first collection in 2006 received international positive critique, and he continued to release one successful collection after another, on top of a stream of awards.

In 2007, reportedly 23 pieces were stolen from his collection days before being showcased on the catwalk. Somehow, Kane still managed to orchestrate another celebrated collection, going on to win New Designer of the Year two months later. Still a recent graduate, he not only worked as a consultant for Versace and had his own fashion line, but he also created collections for Swarovski.

Style – An eclectic array of texture, colour and fabric, Kane keeps garments close to the form, with the birth of a stimulating concept every season.

Catwalk show – 17th Sept 2018, 13:00