NEWS| OTW Charlotte Simpson listed in hClub100

A humongous congratulations to Charlotte Simpson for being listed in the h.Club100 (in association with Time Out London) list under the sector of fashion. The list which seeks influential individuals within the creative and media sectors was voted by industry experts as well as general public votes. 

Ones to Watch designer Charlotte Simpson, graduated this year with an MA in ‘Fashion Design Technology’ from London College of Fashion, having previously completed a BA Fashion degree at Northumbria University and showcased her S/S13 for the first time as part of our S/S13 catwalk show to rave reviews. 

"Charlotte Simpson: designer and founder of Charlotte Simpson brand

Having recently established her London-based luxurious Strewomenswear brand, Simpson was announced as one of Vauxhall Fashion Scout’s Ones to Watch designers for spring/summer 2013. "

Read the full hClub100 list on Time Out London's website here. 

By Cass Gowing, Editor

NEWS| VFS designers nominated for The Hospital Club 100

Two Vauxhall Fashion Scout designers have been shortlisted for The Hospital Club and Time Out London's THC100 list.

The 100 list represents the best in innovative and unique talent. From Fashion to Theatre the list brings forward people who have made excellent achievements over the past 12 months in their field. Featuring emerging talent as well as the more established, the prestigious list looks at talent over status, money, or fame.

Vauxhall Fashion Scout’s Ones To Watch Charlotte Simpson and Merit Award Winner Heohwan Simulation make the Fashion list amongst established designers including JW Anderson and Jonathan Saunders and esteemed stylist Rebekah Roy. With amazing careers between the two of them, Charlotte Simpson and Hwan Heo have gained fans for their stunning designs signature aesthetics. 

Graduating from London College of Fashion, Charlotte Simpson has worked with designers such as Julien Macdonald and been awarded the Zandra Rhodes Textiles Award. Winning the Umbro Sportswear Project is one of many achievements from designer and RCA graduate Hwan Heo whose S/S’13 collection wowed audiences at the Freemason’s Hall in September. Their skills and talents have shown potential and earned them their spot on The Hospital Club 100.

Special mentions also go to stylist Rebekah Roy, Nick Knight and VFS alumni designer Peter Pilotto who are also nominated. 

The shortlisted nominations are now open for voting until the 28^th of October and anyone can get involved and vote! The final 100 will be announced on the 12^th of November and featured in Time Out magazine, representing the future of Britain’s creative industries.

By Vanessa Omoregie. 

Image edited from Hospital Club's website

EXHIBITION| One's to Watch Charlotte Simpson S/S13

Featured in prestigious publications Elle, Vogue and i-D, Charlotte Simpson, winner of the Zandra Rhodes Textile Award, seduced the Ones To Watch audience as her understated designs graced the SS 13 catwalk. Vauxhall Fashion Scout spoke with the British designer after the show to gain an insight into her inspirations and developments.

Your current collection shares the same inspiration as your ‘Biological Dimensions’ show, what made you continue in this direction?

I still get a lot of inspiration from the same imagery, there’s a lot of interesting microscopy photography out there so there was still a lot for me to explore, and there still is.

Will we see this inspiration transpiring into future collections then?

Probably a development of, but in a different direction.

What initially attracted you to researching biological images?

It was research when I was at university into a specific subject – the imagery really caught my attention.

Can you talk us through the beautiful colour palette you have chosen to work with?

Yes! The colour palettes are based on scientific imagery as well so there’s a lot of … well.. they take the photos in black and white and then add the colours afterwards so it’s normally quite vivid. So that’s why the pastels and quite bright citrus come in.

How do you feel you have developed as a designer since studying at LCF?

My last collection, my MA collection, was specifically done for show purposes so it wasn’t really that feasible. Now I’ve had the chance to do a collection I’m really gearing towards sales.

How have people reacted to your collection?

There’s been really good feedback - a lot of people come to the VFS shows. It’s been really positive so far, everyone seems to have really like it – which is great!

How do you feel about being a Vauxhall Fashion Scout Ones To Watch designer?

It’s been really great; I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s been wonderful to have the show and to gain that experience and to get the exposure. I was really pleased to find out I was a Ones To Watch designer, it was really great to get the chance to show.

What can we expect to see from you next?

Hopefully another collection! A development on but with a similar aesthetic. But it won’t be the same thing!

Freya Hill (@Freyahilltalkin)
Images by Rebecca Andrews

CATWALK| One's To Watch: Full Catwalk Looks

Hellen Van Rees

Charlotte Simpson

Charlotte Simpson / Hana Cha

Hana Cha

Ming Pin Tien

The full line-up of Vauxhall Fashion Scout's One To Watch is here; Hellen Van Rees, Charlotte Simpson, Hana Cha & Ming Pin Tien took to the catwalk on Saturday 15th September for the first time ever, showcasing the best in innovation British design talent. 

Hand-picked by the VFS Selection Panel of industry experts including Vogue.co.uk, Browns, CFE, Avenue 32, Not Just A Label and POP Magazine, the One's To Watch designers highlight the potential of emerging design talent. 

For an in-depth Catwalk summary on each designer, click the names above. 

Images by Simon Armstrong

ONES TO WATCH| Charlotte Simpson S/S13

One To Watch: Charlotte Simpson SS13 Catwalk Show from VAUXHALL FASHION SCOUT on Vimeo.

Simpson graduated this year with an MA in ‘Fashion Design Technology’ from London College of Fashion, having previously completed a BA Fashion degree at Northumbria University.  Demonstrating the subtle beauty that can be achieved with a pastel colour palette, Charlotte Simpson’s debut collection for Vauxhall Fashion Scout was a celebration of understated elegance and wearable-luxury.  

Her use of light materials allowed for clean draping, and a fluidity as the models progressed along the catwalk; this movement was retained throughout the collection.  Combined with the plunging necklines, the femininity of the material perfectly offset the androgyny of the trouser suits and square-cut dresses.  

Describing the collection as “...a development from last season”, Simpson mirrored the idea of progression within the show itself.  As the climactic ‘final look‘ became increasingly imminent, panels of bold gold material interjected the muted serenity of the previous looks.  Embellishment and beading were slowly integrated into the pieces; emphasising the ‘luxe‘ nature of the collection, yet maintaining its consistent wearability.  ‘Day’ looks slowly progressed to ‘Night’,  until the dramatic final piece; a floor length gown, saturated with gold beads and a deep V-neckline.  

Of her inspiration, Charlotte explained, “I have focused on the taste system, taste mapping of the tongue, and taste buds”, in accordance with her fascination with organic biology.  The whole collection was, admittedly, a show of palpable sensory delight.

Text by Abigail Gurney-Read

Images by Kevin Chesnais

BACKSTAGE| Ones to Watch

Four designers; Charlotte Simpson, Hana Cha, Helen Van Rees and Ming Pin Tien watch over the hair and make-up being done to suit their uniform aesthetic. Ming's collection is an array of leather and metal armour style designs and statement shoes that gives the collection the sense of a 'fashion warrior' in beautiful tones of maroon and beige. Helen's structural, chanel inspired collection brings a sense of sophisticated fun to the room and some beautiful tweed's which impressively are made from recycled yarn remnants.

The challenge for the teams of Tony & Guy and The Body Shop is to style the models in a way that fits all four collections. Celia Vincent, Head of Hairstyling for this show explained that “luckily all of the designers liked similar things, so the issue was to decide on the shine on the hairline. We found the texture that we liked and then we worked on the knotting at the back, trying a few variations.” The result is a sophisticated knotted bun that is simple but beautifully woven into place. The make-up similarly had to be kept simple;LAN Nguyen-Grealis, head of The Body Shop make-up explained that the look was “controlled nude, using bronzes, browns and taupes to contour eyes and cheekbones”.

VFS caught up with Charlotte Simpson, whos beautiful cream statement pieces are embellished with pastel yellows and greens, who explained “The collection is a development from last season but instead of focusing on increased surface area, I have focused more on the taste system, taste mapping of the tongue and taste buds.” We also spoke to Hana Cha who explained that her stunning graphic collection is inspired by “combining different classes from the proletariat so it is basically mixing different styles from upper class and lower class”. The collections from the designers really are stunning and it is clear why they have been identified as the 'Ones to Watch'.

Text by Katie Agar (@katie_agar)

Images by Asia Werbel and Kevin Chesnais

EXCLUSIVE| Ones to Watch: Charlotte Simpson

Charlotte Simpson is a young designer who is no stranger to success, being featured in publications such as Vogue, Elle and i-D Magazine as well as going on to win the Zandra Rhodes Textiles Award at Graduate Fashion Week. She is an unstoppable force, being announced as one of Vauxhall Fashion Scout’s Ones To Watch designers for SS13.

Studying fashion at Northumbria University Charlotte has worked with some of fashion’s brightest stars such as DKNY, Amanda Wakeley, Julien Macdonald and Olivia Rubin gaining experience in the fashion industry. Working as a freelance print designer, it was her study on the prestigious Fashion Design Technology master’s course at London College of Fashion that had her shortlisted for the Womenswear of the Year Award at the famed LCF Victoria & Albert show.

Titled “Biological Dimensions” Charlotte Simpson showed raw talent with her MA 2012 collection showcased at Vauxhall Fashion Scout in London as well as Paris earlier this year. The collection which is inspired by organic patterns and features interesting embroidery techniques brings science together with fashion with a focus on optimising the surface area of the garment. A subtle interpretation of the biology of plants as well as a unique exploration of pattern cutting methods, the collection is a testament to Charlotte Simpson’s true potential.

When the Editor Cass Gowing caught up with Charlotte to congratulate her on her success, she was very excited to have been selected!

It is a great place to be able to showcase my second collection. I really enjoyed exhibiting with Vauxhall Fashion Scout in London and Paris last season and it's amazing this time around to have such an exciting show as well. I am really looking forward to show day already! To me, most importantly it means that I have some invaluable support and guidence behind me and my label at such an early and crucial stage of my career. Couldn't be better really. 

We tried to prise information about the highly anticipated SS13 collection from Charlotte, but she wasn't giving much away!

There will be a little more colour in this collection and there is still plenty of embroidery giving that little bit of shimmer to the palette.

Charlotte will show her new collection at Vauxhall Fashion Scout’s 13^th season alongside other Ones To Watch Designers in September 2012.


Text by Vanessa Omoregie
Images from Charlotte Simpson's MA collection

PARIS| Designer Interview - Charlotte Simpson - Paris Showroom

Only three weeks since showcasing her graduate collection, Charlotte Simpson has upped-sticks with us to Paris to shed more light on her bio-inspired wears, and how it feels to have travelled so fast from student to overseas-showroom.

“A lot of my work is based on an interest in increased surface-area in internal biology; which has been worked into the collection with the embroidery, and everything being entirely covered. The point was to increase the surface area of every garment, so everything this season is very long, and very column-like: everything just continues as one fluid piece. There are so many great things, and so much great imagery in biology, so [as a source of inspiration], I think that will continue.

It’s really great to be in Paris, and this is my first season, so it’s been such a whirlwind showing in both London, and here. I’m really enjoying being here with Vauxhall Fashion Scout, and learning, and soaking in as much information as I can.”

Interview by Blog Sub-Editor Sara McAlpine

Follow her on Twitter @sara_mcalpine