NEWS| Browns Blog Takeover Day Five: Tui Lin

Day five of the VFS Browns blog takeover provided insight into one of fashion's most creative, and conceptual supportive outlets for new, and established talent: the world of editorial fashion within a magazine.

The industry insider imparting insight is Fashion, and Marketing editor of POP magazine, and Fashion Editor for men's fashion bi-annual, Arena Homme+, Tui Lin. Tui has been working with Vauxhall Fashion Scout for two seasons, selecting, and supporting fashion's future as part of the VFS Selection Panel; as well as reinforcing that support through her work with POP, commissioning shoots featuring many of designers' pieces- Raffaele Ascione, and Myrza de Muynck to name a few.

Exclusively for our Browns Blog Takeover, Day 5, we bring you an insider interview with Tui. 

We will be continuing our blog takeover this weekend - giving you an insight into the VFS office and a catch up with VFS co-founder and director Martyn Roberts - a must view for this August Bank Holiday!

DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT SS13| Emma J Shipley

Emma J Shipley is a luxury scarf label launched with the intention of blurring the lines between fashion and fine art. With a debut collection inspired by the Amazon jungle, mathematical equations and nature's patterns, Shipley's pieces are imaginative and beautiful. A Royal College of Art MA textiles graduate, the designer launched her label at London Fashion Week in February of this year and creates scarves from her own hand-drawn sketches. Although a relative newcomer to the fashion world, she's already stocked across London and has plans to expand internationally this season. To see for yourself how Emma J Shipley successfully merges fashion and fine art in the creation of detailed, wearable garments, then get yourself to our Freemasons hall, where the VFS exhibition will be held throughout the duration of London Fashion Week.

By Josh Walker

Follow him on Twitter @josh_walker_

NEWS| Browns Blog Takeover Day Four: Leutton Postle

We're over half way through our VFS Browns Blog Takeover and today we brought you an exclusive catch up with former Merit Award Winners Leutton Postle. Luxury knitwear designing duo Sam Leutton and Jenny Postle chatted with us about the honour of being stocked by Browns, the support they've received from Vauxhall Fashion Scout and the upcoming SS13 season...

"You're showing with Vauxhall Fashion Scout again this September, what can we expect to see from you this coming season? What's been the biggest source of inspiration with regards to Spring/Summer?

This season we are doing a salon show presentation, which is new for us. It will be very different to the wham bam boom of the last two seasons but we want to excite in another way. As for inspiration we're keeping everything under wraps until September, but we hope to raise heads with the direction we are taking. What we will say is we're working with introducing the idea of 'luxury' to Leutton Postle, which is both challenging and exciting!"

As always, read the full post on Browns Blog here!

ANNOUNCEMENT| Fashion Monitor launches 'Style Lounge' during LFW S/S'13

We're pleased to announce that official VFS media partner, and leading provider of fashion news, Fashion Monitor have launched an exciting new destination to head to during London's upcoming Fashion Week.

The Spring/ Summer '13 'Style Lounge' launches September 14th, in partnership with London Fashion Week's official hotel sponsor, The Mayfair, and online PR, and digital platform, Fashion GPS. 

The 'Style Lounge' serves as pre, post, and between-show retreat, held in The Mayfair's  'five star' luxury setting, for members of the British, and international fashion press.

Those heading to the retreat will have access to hair, and beauty treatments, whilst simultaneously keeping update with the latest London Fashion Week news.

For more information about the 'Style Lounge' sponsorship, and showcase opportunities, contact Fashion Monitor-Editor, Hannah White at hannah.white@fashionmonitor.com

Further details to be announced in due course.

NEWS| Browns Blog Takeover Day Three - Emma J Shipley and Yasmin Kianfar

For Day Three of the Vauxhall Fashion Scout Browns Blog Takeover - we take an in-depth look at two Vauxhall Fashion Scout designers that are stocked in Browns this season. Following in the footsteps of established VFS alumni David Koma, William Tempest and Hermione de Paula - Emma J Shipley and Yasmin Kianfar are the latest designers to be stocked in the eponymous store. 

We take a look over the press Yasmin has received since launching her label in 2010 and catch up with Emma J Shipley to discuss showcasing her collection at the VFS Exhibition this London Fashion Week.

To read the full story, head to the Browns Blog.

By Editor Cass Gowing 

DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT SS13| Hana Cha

The first collection of VFS's One To Watch Hana Cha found inspiration in the difference between social classes and the ideas revealed by the way one dresses. The pieces themselves are a collaboration of fabrics, colours and structures that embody just that. With an MA in womenswear fashion design and technology from the London College of Fashion, as well as a BA in fine art under her belt, the Korean born designer is right at home in her field. Having won 'Womenswear Collection of the Year', her work was featured at a V&A catwalk show and being a runner up of South Korea's Project Catwalk equivalent, Cha's future seems an exciting one. To see the work of this skilled designer first hand, make sure you visit the VFS exhibition, running during London Fashion Week in our Freemasons Hall, as well as seeing her SS13 collection on the runway as part of the OTW showcase catwalk presentation.

By Josh Walker

Follow him on Twitter @josh_walker_

NEWS| Browns Blog Takeover Day Two - Jessica Bumpus

Day two of the Vauxhall Fashion Scout Browns Blog Takeover sees an exclusive interview with Vogue.com's Jessica Bumpus. Jessica has worked closely with Vauxhall Fashion Scout through our selection panels and mentoring events for the past five years therefore it was vital that we chatted all things VFS with her. 

"What is the importance of Vauxhall Fashion Scout as a platform to emerging designers to the fashion sphere – and particularly British fashion?

Vauxhall Fashion Scout is a bit of a fashion gem really – there’s so much great talent there and if you trace back various designers’ fashion history, you’ll see they showed with VFS. I think they’re very supportive in a very down-to-earth way and that’s important for young designers starting out who don’t know what lies ahead."

For the full article, please head to the Browns Blog. Don't forget to follow us and Browns Fashion on Twitter all this week for exclusive updates. 

By Cass Gowing, Editor

DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT SS13| Yifang Wan

Continuing our insight into our recently announced designers, we take a look at Yifang Wan.
Making waves with both her BA and MA Central Saint Martins collections, Yifang Wan’s designs have won her the L’Oreal Professionel Young Designer Award in 2010 and built her up as a designer to look out for.

The young designer from southern China presented a collection of bold shapes with oversized wooden belts at the Central Saint Martins MA AW 12/13 show. The collection which Yifang has described as starting from the idea of optical illusion takes us on a journey that explores geometric shapes, scale, and 60s minimal art.

Interning at Preen gave the designer an insight into pattern cutting and techniques which she has brought into her own work. In the future Yifang Wan hopes to develop her own label aswell as an art studio. She will be showcasing her new collection at Vauxhall Fashion Scout’s exhibition space across LFW in September and her designs on the catwalk on Saturday 15th September.

By Vanessa Omoregie, follow her on Twitter @wewearblack 

Imagesfrom Yifang Wan and 1granary.com

NEWS| Browns Blog Takeover Day One - Heohwan Simulation

"What am I looking at?", you might ask? Well, if you've been following #TheTakeover hashtag on Twitter, and keeping up to date with us @FashionScout, you'll have seen we've been busy as of late with the #VFS Browns blog takeover. That's right, we've been handed the reigns of the blog of one of London's leading independent fashion boutiques, Browns.

That's #VFS sandwiched between international design success, Christopher Kane, and revered couturier, Azzedine Alaia.

Day one's seen us feature another "great"- handpicked as a 'One to Watch' by us, and British, and Italian Vogue, and now next season's Merit Award winner- Heohwan Simulation. The guest-post features an exclusive insight into the head, and studio of designer, Hwan Heo, so be sure to head over to the Browns blog now, and let us know what you think on Twitter.

DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT SS13| Hellen van Rees

In the run up to fashion week, we're taking a closer look at some of the new faces to the VFS line up. First up, we look at Hellen van Rees. Hellen is one of our four Ones to Watch designers for SS13 and will be showcasing her work with a catwalk presentation and exhibition showcase. 

Quickly gaining a reputation for her unique use of fabrics and creation of silhouettes, London based designer Hellen van Rees certainly knows how to impress. Graduating with both a BA in Fashion Design at ArtEZ Institute of the Arts in 2009 and an MA in Fashion Womenswear at Central Saint Martins in 2012, VFS's One to Watch launched her own label. Producing handmade pieces and wasting nothing, the designer prides herself on her sustainability. With collections inspired by Chanel tweed fabrics and 3-dimensional artworks, animals with exoskeletons or the flow of water, Rees is a designer with a truly imaginative approach to her work. For a chance to step into the world of Hellen van Rees, be sure to attend the Ones to Watch show on Saturday 15th September 2012 or the VFS exhibition - which runs the full five days of fashion week - in Freemasons Hall.

By VFS Contributor Josh Walker

Follow him on Twitter @josh_walker_

Images from Hellen van Rees