Interview with Ones To Watch Winner - A.Hallucination

Vauxhall Fashion Scout's Kenny Wang catches up with our Ones To Watch designers for this season in four exclusive interviews all this week. Here is Kenny's interview with Menswear designers, Hwan Sung Park and Chung Chung Lee from A.Hallucination...

How do you feel about winning a place in the Ones to Watch showcase at Vauxhall Fashion Scout?

Hwan: Very honoured and so proud of ourselves. Winning 'Ones to watch’ does mean a lot, because it was one of our major goals for this season. It was almost beyond description how excited I was when I heard the news.

Chung: It is fabulous! Actually, winning ‘Ones to watch’ was one of our main goals that we planed from the very beginning of our venture. I feel so honored that we’ve been selected.

What did you do to celebrate?

Hwan: After hearing the news, I jumped to Shoreditch (very close to our studio) for a couple of drinks with my girlfriend and buddies to celebrate the win!

Chung: When I heard the news, I couldn’t speak for little while. I was so happy that my partner, Hwan and I, kept shaking our hands for like five minutes! And then I called my family and had a celebratory dinner, which I haven’t done for a long time due to preparing our next collection.

Were you interested in fashion when you were growing up?

Hwan: I would say.. “Born to be a fashion designer” (sorry, just kidding!). I have been always very interested in fashion, clothing and drawing from my youth, so it drove me into the fashion world so naturally.

Chung: Yes always. I was born into a fashion family. My parents are both fashion designers, and my younger sister majored in fashion design where she now works in fashion PR in the US. The first fashion show I went to see was when I was only 8 years old. Fashion has naturally been a living experience for me growing up, playing with fabrics and the dummy. Also, I was always fascinated by the creativeness and energy of the catwalk by being able to look at it and watch it so closely.

What was your experience in the fashion industry before forming your own label? 

Hwan: I graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2008, majoring in menswear. Before CSM, I had majored in fashion design at the SEJONG University in Korea.

Professionally, I’ve worked for Burberry, Tom Ford and Alexander Mcqueen as a menswear design assistant. I have also worked for a design-consulting agency based in London as a menswear assistant designer for a short time.

Chung: I have had a variety of working experiences and positions including working for Lie Sang Bong Paris from 2002 - 2010. I started as an intern before becoming assistant designer for womenswear and finally menswear designer for their main collection line. After I graduated from a BA in Art & Design at Central Saint Martins in 2002, I worked there as an Art & Graphic designer before completing menswear design at CSM. Also, aside from working on collection and ready to wear line at Lie Sang Bong, I was involved in special projects such as fashion exhibitions and musical costume design.

In London, I worked for Ozwald Boateng and Savile Row. It was such a great experience learning how to create the infamous savile row suits.

Who is your favorite designer and why?

Hwan: I would love to say that I like all the great fashion masters like Alexander Mcqueen, Tom Ford, and Christopher Bailey, who I worked for.

Especially, I do admire the breakthrough creativity of Mcqueen, the strong identity of Tom ford, and the delicate emotion of Chirstopher bailey. Those are values I wanted to learn and am still trying to absorb from my work experiences with them. 

Chung: My favorite designer is Lie Sang Bong. Not only because I have worked for him for a long time but also for his continuous passion and creativeness towards fashion. I think what he does, his process of making each collection, inspires me to be the kind of designer I want to be. Lie Sang Bong thinks of fashion as an art form and I can’t agree more. 

If you were not a fashion designer, what would you do?

Hwan: I may have pursued a career as a doctor like my father if I were not a fashion designer.

My father is a doctor in Korea, and it runs in the family. My father wanted me to be a doctor after him, and I once wanted to be when I was a young boy.

Chung: To be honest, I always thought about being a fashion designer since I entered college. However, if I didn’t become a designer, I might have taken to traveling and working with animals.

What music do you listen to when you are designing?

Hwan: Usually, remakes of old classics! They sometimes inspire me to go forward with my designs and add interesting twists. But when I get stressed, I enjoy listening the old 80’s K-pop from you tube!

Chung: All kinds of music, because whenever I am designing I don’t hear anything, so it doesn’t really matter what I am listening to!

Where would you like to see your brand in a few years?

Hwan: I do hope to see our collection displayed on the menswear floor in Liberty, Browns, and Harvey Nichols in London.

Chung: I would like to see our brand at the well known shops in London, Paris, New York and Seoul. 

Have you been to any of our Mentoring Events? What are your thoughts of the sessions? Has it helped?

Hwan: I’ve been to the Mentoring Events organised by Vauxhall fashion scout and attended with Eudon Choi last March.

It was about production and how to find, run and fund production for a small label. I thought it was so helpful! And it put us in contact with production houses and gave advise on how to communicate with them and your buyers. I would love to attend that kind of Mentoring Event again.

Chung: Not yet but I am very excited for the new programme and to meet the guest speakers you have.

Are you looking forward to your show in London Fashion Week?

Hwan: Of course!! Very excited and somewhat nervous!

As you know, we are just starting up something from last fall-winter season. We studied menswear and completed work experiences for many years in London. So it really means something special for us to do our first catwalk show as a menswear label based in London during London Fashion Week. Furthermore, I strongly believe this opportunity should be a great boost to expose our label this season.

Chung: Yes, yes and yes! I’ve always dreamed of participating at London Fashion Week even before I decided to come to London to study. This is a great opportunity and I will try my best to present who we are as designers and the brand.

Vauxhall Fashion Scout's Ones To Watch designers will make their London Fashion Week Catwalk debut during London Fashion Week this September.

Kenny Wang

David Longshaw in Fashion 156

Kirsty Ward

LF Markey

Holly Fulton

Fashion Scout designer and illustrator extraordinaire, David Longshaw, has wowed us all over again with his adorable menagerie of make believe animal friends. This time featuring on the super directional site, Fashion 156, Longshaw, through the guise of a rather snooty little rabbit, interviews four of fashions hottest designers about their summertime tales of camping. Holly Fulton, Louise Markey of LF Markey, Kirsty Ward and David Longshaw himself feature in the unorthodox interview, alongside some beautiful fashion illustrations.

Clever, funny and imaginative as always, it’s an interview not to be missed.

Fiona Anderson

Una Burke in Ozzy Osbourne's new video

Fashion and music have combined once again when Vauxhall Fashion Scout designer, Una Burke, was asked for one of her pieces to be featured in Ozzy Osbourne’s latest music video for new single ‘Let Me Hear You Scream.’ The piece in question is the same structural basque that also helped Burke in becoming a finalist in the accessories category of the international fashion competition, ITS#EIGHT. With a MA degree in Fashion Artefact from LCF, Burke’s work has been described as ‘carcass-like’ as each artefact is hand crafted from vegetable tanned leather, resulting in a colour and quality that is representative of human flesh…No wonder Ozzy loved it!


Sarah Barlow

Ones To Watch Designers Announced for SS11

Charlotte Taylor

Young LiLee

A.Hallucination

Georgia Hardinge

The wait is over… the selection has been made… and today here at Fashion Scout we are extremely excited to reveal the fresh faced designers who have been chosen to show with us at our renowned Ones To Watch show. Congratulations to Charlotte Taylor, Young LiLee, A.Hallucination and Georgia Hardinge; the selected four whom will all present their Spring/Summer'11 collections back-to-back at the exclusive Vauxhall Fashion Scout venue during London Fashion Week this September.

Since its conception in February 2009, Ones To Watch has helped launch the careers of many new budding designers including Hermoine de Paula, Alice Palmer, David Longshaw, Dean Quinn and this season's Merit Award winner Eudon Choi.

Presenting together, this latest lineup of innovative designers, whose signature styles range from men’s tailoring to elegant feminine dresses, promise an exciting and eclectic catwalk… A show not to be missed!

Sarah Barlow

Wolf & Badger Concept Store Summer Party

Wolf and Badger, which opened its doors earlier this year in Notting Hill, held an exclusive summer party to a bustling fashionable crowd last night.

The concept store, owned by bag designer Zoe Knight and her husband Samir, allows designers to rent hanging or shelving space with a focus on nurturing innovative talent by giving them 90% of the profits from sales.

Unique pieces from some familiar designers, as well as many up and coming, adorned the store with a real mixture of mens and womenswear collections all set amongst unusual art pieces and accented by incredible hat lighting installations by Jake Phipps.

An array of glass cabinets filled with striking jewellery, including my personal favourite Gisele Ganne, immediately caught my attention and I came away wanting so many things including the £200 silver soldier rings.

If you don’t live West I would recommended taking a trip here after a weekend visit to Portobello and if you cant manage that you can now shop online.

Emma Drinnan

Backstage at Masha Ma's Harpers Bazaar China October Issue

Masha Ma has caught the eye of the global press; having already been featured in publications including French Playboy and Vogue Japan, the label will once again appear in Harper's Bazaar China October issue. The photo shoot, which presented garments from Masha's beautifully tailored AW 10/11 collection took place last Tuesday. Also present in the studio was stylist, Andrej Skok, who also styled for Masha's latest look book.


Sarah Barlow

Vauxhall Motors Bowling Club

Having previously attended the Vauxhall Ice Skate event I was even more excited when the Vauxhall Motors Bowling Club invite turned up on my desk. A weighty envelope included tickets, a bowls rulebook, an inscribed pencil (its most important to keep score) and a material badge to sew on my blazer.

Who wouldn’t want to spend a Sunday afternoon sat by a bowling green on a picnic blanket, sipping on homemade lemonade or licking an ice cream. With the ever humorous Rick Edwards hosting and incredible dj sets from Toddla T and (the rather good looking in real life) Matt Horne, it was a good day had by all.

Even after a lesson from the on hand experts I wouldn’t say I was ready to turn up to a bowls club and show off, but I am much improved with a set of woods (the name for the balls for those of you that don’t know.)

I cant wait to see what inventive and fun filled event Vauxhall come up with next!


Emma Drinnan

BoF: In Conversation with Natalie Massenet

BoF Fashion Pioneers from The Business of Fashion on Vimeo.

Natalie Massenet in conversation with Imran Amed

If you are reading this blog, you are undoubtedly a follower of all things fashion and so most likely tuned into Business of Fashion last Thursday night along with myself and thousands others world wide, to watch the widely acclaimed live interview between BoF Editor-in-chief, Imran Amed, and Natalie Massenet, the founder of innovative fashion e-tailer, Net-a-Porter.

The conversation between the two took place up on the top floor of London’s Westfield shopping centre in Net-a-Porter’s vast new office space. Amongst the spectators present, were Style.com’s Sarah Mower and fashion designers Gareth Pugh and Jonathan Saunders, along with various other industry figures, journalists and guests all of whom took copious notes through out the evening.

It has been an eventful year for Net-a-Porter; As well as marking its 10^th anniversary, 2010 also brought with it a look to the future when the business was bought by prestigious luxury goods group, Richemont, for a staggering £350 million. However, Massenet reassured Amed and viewers that the recent acquisition has not changed the company at all and her agreement with the new owners was that “Net-a-porter has to remain independent… so we are going to be left alone to our own devices and hopefully to Prosper.”

So how did Net-a-Porter get to where it is today? The simple answer is that an intuitive Natalie, back in 2000, set up a shopping business on the web, not only because it was something new and fresh but also because it was what the consumer required… Bringing the store to the customer, instead of the other way around, was key at the beginning of the new millennium and is even more so today: “Women are working, they are making their own money” says Natalie, “by moving the store to the desk, we were able to create the future of shopping.” Always one step ahead, Ms. Massenet realised that in today’s technology-savvy world, even a web based shop isn’t enough, stating that now “the consumer is in the back of a cab, with her iPhone or her Blackberry, on her iPad...” which of course brought the conversation to Net-a-Porter’s most recent news; a collaborative project with Apple Inc to create the Net-a-Porter iPad application, which was debuted during the interview.

The iPad app provides customers with the same ease and convenience of shopping that the website has but is presented in a more visually engaging way, with page layouts that literally look like those belonging to a high-end style publication: “This is really what we always hoped Net-a-Porter would be, because the dream was always to make a shopping magazine,” says Natalie. “With the iPad you can actually merge the magazine experience with shopping.” Massenet has obviously put her knowledge and experience from working as a journalist and editor at magazines including Tatler and WWD into good use. In fact, she states that she still sees her role within the company as an editor: “Editing is the most important thing.” She continues, “A successful retailer thinks like an editor.”

Net-a-Porter has another exciting year ahead of them as January 2011 sees the launch of the site’s equivalent for men’s luxury fashion, Mr Porter. BoF editor, Imran Amed, asked the question that has been on everyone’s mind since the new project was announced in June; ‘‘why did you choose to create a separate men’s site with a separate brand?’ of which Natalie answered “We’ve done a lot of research and we’ve got a great team behind Mr Porter, many of whom are men, who are sharing insights into how they shop and its entirely different [to women]. The service is going to be different, the brand is going to be different, the packaging is different, the voice, the tone is going to be different…” she then revealed “Why? Because we’re thinking about the customer.”

Sarah Barlow

Eudon Choi in ELLE September Issue

Eudon Choi AW10/11

With popularity from his Ones To Watch debut still mounting, Eudon's latest collection, now stocked in Harvey Nichols Hong Kong & Dubai and Debut New York, has just be featured alongside fashion greats D&G in the forthcoming September issue of Elle. We can't wait to see what Eudon has in store for us this season when he unveils his Merit Award collection at Vauxhall Fashion Scout this September.

New lookbook from Masha Ma

Receiving a designer’s latest Lookbook, is always exciting but is even more so on this occasion, as the designer in question, Masha Ma, is amongst an array of new talent who will be showing with us for her debut solo show at London Fashion Week this season. I use the word ‘new’ loosely as Masha is certainly not new to receiving recognition when it comes to her design talent: After graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2008 with a MA in Women’s wear design, Masha was selected amid her peers to showcase her graduate collection at London Fashion Week, which was then bought by Saville Row’s trendy B Store. Following this, the Chinese-born designer has successfully grabbed the attention of press worldwide, having had her work featured in leading style publications such as Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Pop and French Playboy.

Looking at the Autumn Winter 2010/11 collection, you can tell that at the Masha Ma label, shape and cut is the most important factor of design: Once stating that she always has an ever changing silhouette in mind, Masha is extremely skilled at reforming and modifying the traditional female figure. Her latest collection reflects a classic, tailored and sophisticated style but with an experimental edge, by using safety pins to creatively construct decorative features on the shoulders & necklines of dresses and the front of trouser legs. For the Lookbook, the assortment of garments including sheer blouses, figure hugging pencil skirts and structured jackets with asymmetric panels and lapels are all beautifully arranged and styled by Andrej Skok and shot by notable fashion photographer John Lindquist.

Sarah Barlow

Interview with Merit Award Winner Eudon Choi

Man of the Moment Eudon Choi after his 

Ones To Watch Debut Last Season

We were so excited that the uber talented Eudon Choi had been chosen as this season's Merit Award winner, we just had to find out a bit more about him. Kenny Wang tracked him down for a quick chat.


KW: So, how are you feeling after winning the Merit Award from Vauxhall Fashion Scout?
EC: Last year I was one of Vauxhall Fashion Scout's Ones To Watch designers, which was a great endorsement for my first fall collection and also great in terms of media exposure. To build on that this year with the Merit Award is amazing, and to have the support of Vauxhall Fashion Scout to do a solo show during LFW is a dream come true.


KW: What did you do to celebrate?
EC: I was in Korea on a short trip when I first heard the news. I rang up my friends and we all went out and drank lots of champagne!


KW: What industry experience did you gain before creating your own label?
EC: I was a menswear designer in Korea before my MA in womenswear at the Royal College of Art. After graduating from the RCA I worked as a senior designer at both All Saints and Twenty8Twelve.


KW: Which designer inspires you the most?
EC: Yves Saint Laurent. He made masculine tailoring a womenswear classic and reinvented the tuxedo over and over again. I went to a YSL exhibition in Paris earlier this year and it was utterly amazing. I was overwhelmed by his haute couture looks and the way the show was curated was just immaculate.  It is on until 29th August 2010, so check it out before it finishes!


KW: If you weren't a fashion designer, what would you do?
EC: People say I have a very keen eye when it comes to interiors, which probably comes from the attention to detail that typifies my approach to fashion design. If I wasn’t working in fashion I could see myself designing wonderful hotels and restaurants like Martin Brudnizki or David Rockwell.


KW: If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
EC: I love Jas. M.B. bags! Jas. M.B. actually helped me on one of my pieces for AW2010, which was a leather bag integrated into a coat as a big pocket. It was probably my favourite piece from this collection and I would love to collaborate with him to create some gorgeous leather bags or perhaps a capsule collection of leather jackets and coats.


KW: Where would you like to see your brand in the future?
EC: I would like to grow my brand carefully and secure key primary stockists in the major European capitals. London is my home now, so I also want to focus on developing a strong UK presence.


Kenny Wang

Eudon Choi is this seasons Merit Award Winner

Eudon Choi AW10/11

Drum roll please...Fashion Scout have awarded the SS11 Merit Award to Eudon Choi! Already a Fashion Scout fave after showing off his creative prowess in last season’s Ones To Watch show, Eudon is set to wow us yet again come September with his knack for tailoring and expert eye for colour.

Already flying off the shelves at Dover Street Market, Harvey Nichols (Hong Kong and Dubai), Debut New York, Luisa Via Roma and countless more, it’s no surprise that our panel of industry big wigs named Eudon the man of the moment. And, judging by the success of William Tempest, David Koma and Hermione de Paula, we reckon Eudon’s special brand of exquisite, ultra flattering womenswear will be on every fashionista’s hitlist come fall. Congratulations!

Fiona Anderson

Nicole Scherzinger wears William Tempest

Will Tempest is one designer who the celebs just can't get enough of, with Lady Beckham, Leona Lewis, Emma Watson and countless more snapping up his sleek, chic pieces at a rate of knots. So, it's no surprise that, when ex Pussycat Doll, Nicole Scherzinger, wanted an LBD with a difference, it was Tempest she turned to. Paired with a poker straight pony, killer peep toes and one seriously hot body, the edgy, super sculptural cocktail dress from the designer's SS10 collection looked sassy, sophisticated and fashion forward. Stunning.

Fiona Anderson

Business of Fashion Interviews Natalie Massenet live tonight!

Tonight at 7.30pm you can catch Net-a-Porter's Natalie Massenet in conversation with Business of Fashions' founder Imran Amed. For the second installment of BOF's FASHION PIONEERS series, Ms. Massente will be giving a detailed overview of her inspirational, entrepreneurial story.


For the launch of highly anticipated interview, BOF have teamed up with leading fashion blogs and websites to stream the interview live and straight to your computer screens. Catch it tonight on the following sites:

United States: Tavi Gevinson | Fashionista.com | JC Report

United Kingdom: Style Bubble | Fashion156 | Style Salvage

France: A Shaded View on Fashion | Luxury Society

Germany: Les Mads

Spain: Kate Loves Me

Graduate Fashion Week in Shenzhen

Anna Lee, De Montfort University

Amber Hards - UWE Bristol

Naomi New - Northumbia University

Samantha Brook - Nottingham Trent University

Last week, Vauxhall Fashion Scout director John Warlford took some UK Graduate Fashion Week Designers’ collections to The Shenzhen International Brand Clothing & Accessories Fair in China. John has already took UK young designers to Shanghai twice, this is was the first time Graduate Fashion Week has ever showed in Shenzhen, and it has attracted amazing attentions from Media and Press in China and Buyers from around the world.


John has also honored to open the event along side with the Government Minister of China and The Mayor of Shenzhen. The event has helped Vauxhall Fashion Scout opened the door to Far Asian Market , and gained much wider international awareness. Vauxhall Fashion Scout is proud to be an important part of the creative industry communication between the UK and China.

 “Going to Shenzhen with some graduate work from the Gala was not only exciting but pulled together many strands. Having started GFW, working with Vauxhall Fashion Scout on developing innovative talent and having introduced some Schenzen designers to London this was totally symbiotic. The Chinese loved the Graduate clothes and hopefully this will have deepened an ongoing relationship between Vauxhall Fashion Scout and Schenzen.” John Walford


Kenny Wang