NEWS| VFS Opens Applications for Autumn/ Winter 13-14

Internationally recognised talent launch pad, Vauxhall Fashion Scout, officially opens its applications for London & Paris Fashion Week.

Applications open today with successful applicants being hand-selected by a panel of esteemed fashion industry experts.

Hailed a “talent goldmine” by Vogue.com, Vauxhall Fashion Scout is renowned both in the UK and around the world as a platform for the very best emerging designers. Vauxhall Fashion Scout has been responsible for showcasing some of the most innovative names in the industry including: Peter Pilotto, David Koma, Felder Felder, William Tempest, Iris Van Herpen, Eudon Choi, Phoebe English & Hellen van Rees.

“Vauxhall Fashion Scout is the lifeblood of new talent. With thirteen successful seasons of showcasing, Vauxhall Fashion Scout has launched a whole new generation of creative designers. We are at the forefront of discovering and developing future design talent.” Martyn Roberts, Director - Vauxhall Fashion Scout

Now entering its 14^th season, Vauxhall Fashion Scout attracts over 12,000 guests during London Fashion Week to its Covent Garden location each season. Boasting two catwalk halls, an exhibition space and a VIP & Media Lounge, Vauxhall Fashion Scout continues to expand and attracts a global audience.

From Friday 26^th October, Womenswear designers can apply for Vauxhall Fashion Scout’s coveted awards. Applicants can also apply for catwalk, presentation and salon shows, and alongside accessory designers, can apply for both the London Exhibition and the Paris Showroom.

Vauxhall Fashion Scout’s acclaimed Merit Award is worth £25,000 over three seasons, including a fully sponsored catwalk show and a £1000 bursary in the first season. The Merit Award is an internationally recognised showcase designed to propel the very best in new design talent into the industry. Previous winners include William Tempest, David Koma, Hermione de Paula, Eudon Choi, Phoebe English and Heohwan Simulation.

Acclaimed showcase, ‘Ones To Watch’, is a back-to-back catwalk presentation, specifically designed to introduce the freshest new talents to the fashion market. With a strong heritage including Dean Quinn, Hermione de Paula, David Longshaw, Eudon Choi, Kirsty Ward & Anne Sofie Madsen, Ones To Watch provides a global platform for new designer growth.

Applications for the Vauxhall Fashion Scout Paris Showroom are open, providing designers with an unique opportunity to showcase their collections to international buyers during Paris Fashion Week. Returning to it’s newly launched showroom space in the heart of the Marais for its eighth season, Vauxhall Fashion Scout attracts a large, loyal and highly influential audience, introducing the best of British and international design to new markets.

To be eligible to show at Vauxhall Fashion Scout, designers must have reached the creative and business level required for an event of this stature. Successful designers will then be hand-selected by a Panel of industry experts who will judge the designers on their creativity, quality of work and business potential.

Applications will be open from Friday 26th October and will close on Friday 16th November at 12pm.

For further information please visit www.vauxhallfashionscout.com

NEWS| Burhan Bilici Joins VFS Production Mentoring Event

Joining our established line up of guest judges on Monday evening, VFS are delighted to announce the addition of Burhan Bilici, Managing Director of De’Atelier Ltd & Sourgrape.

Kicking off on the topic of Production, Pricing & International Exports, the event is designed to provide much needed information in advance of the close of the SS13 season and to prepare new strategies for AW13/14. 

With a family background in manufacturing, Burhan has 15 years experience in the production business, having worked for companies including Karen Millen, Whistles and All Saints. Burhan now runs his own production company with a portfolio that includes Hussein Chalayan, Erdem, Peter Pilotto, Jonathan Saunders, Mary Katrantzou, Roksanda Ilincic, Richard Nicoll, Roland Mouret, Eudon Choi & House of Holland.

Our panel of seasoned professionals will explore the issues involved in taking designs to production, advice on sourcing the best manufacturer either locally or overseas, how to optimise relationships with production units, communicating with retailers on costing, payments and delivery, quality control and how to maximise international exports. 

Vauxhall Fashion Scout’s Mentoring Events are made possible by the Mayor of London’s London Fashion Showcasing Fund.

GUEST SPEAKERS ALSO INCLUDE:

Paul Alger: Director of International Affairs for UKFT

Paul Williams: Business Counsellor for East London Small Business Centre

The event takes place on Monday 22nd October from 7pm - 8.30pm. To RSVP for the event and for more information please contact: press@fsi-events.com 

We look forward to seeing you there!

ANNOUNCEMENT| New Season Mentoring Events- Production, Pricing & Exports

Vauxhall Fashion Scout is launching its new season series of Mentoring Events in partnership with Beach Blanket Babylon.

Vauxhall Fashion Scout is London’s leading showcase for fashion innovation and is internationally recognised as home of new talent. Actively working to promote and develop the next generation of designers, Vauxhall Fashion Scout is responsible for launching some of the brightest new design talents.

Now entering our fourth year, the first in our new series of Mentoring Events will take place on Monday 22^nd October. Kicking off on the topic of Production, Pricing & International Exports, the event is designed to provide much needed information in advance of the close of the SS13 season and to prepare new strategies for AW13/14.

Our panel of seasoned professionals will explore the issues involved in taking designs to production, advice on sourcing the best manufacturer either locally or overseas, how to optimise relationships with production units, communicating with retailers on costing, payments and delivery, quality control and how to maximise international exports.

Speakers:

Paul Alger: Director of International Affairs

Paul graduated with BA Hons in Modern Languages with Politics and Economics in 1986 and after a period living overseas and working in food marketing and sales, has spent the majority of his working life helping UK fashion and accessories companies to exports. Paul speaks fluent French, Italian and Russian and has a good working knowledge of several other languages including Japanese, Spanish and German. He has organised and headed up missions to Japan, Russia, South Korea, Hong Kong and  the USA  as well as working extensively with trade shows throughout Europe.

Paul Williams: Business Counsellor for East London Small Business Centre

With an extensive history in garment manufacturing, Paul became Managing Director for the design and manufacturing of Next, Debenhams and House of Fraser, running three factories simultaneously. Paul spent two years as a consultant, auditing and setting up factories in China and Turkey for various clients before becoming an advisor at ELSBC. ELSBC is an agency designed to provide financial and business advice and support to start-up fashion labels in the UK. 

Vauxhall Fashion Scout’s Mentoring Events are made possible by the Mayor of London’s London Fashion Showcasing Fund.

Monday 22nd October 2012

7pm – 8.30pm

Beach Blanket Babylon

Places strictly limited. RSVP essential to secure place: press@fsi-events.com

NEWS| Vauxhall Fashion Scout, the Home of New Talent; scouting the next generation of British Design Talent

Merit Award Winner Heohwan Simulation

Raffaele Ascione

Zeynep Tosun 

Manuela Dack

Leutton Postle Backstage

Leutton Postle 

Sabina Bryntesson

Sabina Bryntesson

Myrza De Muynck

One's To Watch Designer Hellen Van Rees

Phoebe English

Phoebe English

Supporting, nurturing and showcasing new talent is what Vauxhall Fashion Scout is all about; bridging the gap between mainstream media, press and industry and emerging, new and even graduating designers. 

Hand-selecting designers each season, and scouting the Graduate Showcases from across the country make VFS a personal and intimate showcase to be a part of. With help from esteemed members of the industry- including Vogue.co.uk, Browns, Avenue 32, Not Just A Label, Selfridges and POP magazine, S/S13 saw an amazing array of new talent for our off-schedule London Fashion Fashion Week. 

The Vauxhall Fashion Scout One's To Watch showcase is always.. well, one to watch, however this season Hellen Van Rees, Charlotte Simpson, Hana Cha and Ming Pin Tien brought a series of collections that produced a wave of appreciation for the sheer magnetism of new talent in the industry. 

Last season's Merit Award Winner Phoebe English brought in the crowds, including Front Row Guests from The Shop Bluebird, Dover Street Market, CSM & Susie Bubble- who also visited One's To Watch designer from last season, Myzra De Muynck, backstage and Manuela Dack who has been featured many a time on Stylebubble.com. 

Long standing Vauxhall Fashion Scout designers Leutton Postle are often featured in mainstream media and press, impressing the industry with their attention to detail and use of bright and vivid colours to produce an eye-catching, slight tongue-in-cheek but completely wearable collection; a stark contrast to this season's Merit Award winner Heohwan Simulation- who's sharp lines and clean aesthetic are some-what of a calling card for his unparalleled blend of menswear tailoring and femininity in his collections.  

This season, however, saw the celebration of the Graduate designer. With Kingston University showing their MA collection as part of of our off-schedule line up, and debut catwalk collections from Sabine Bryntesson and Zeynup Tosun- the industry can't get enough of these fresh and young-minded designers. Having received attention from Vogue, Sabina Bryntesson's collection did not disappoint, with Zeynup Tosun being highlighted by Susie Bubble as a highlight for the season.

Vauxhall Fashion Scout, unparalleled for the appreciation and support of next generation designers, showcase every season with a new line-up of hand-picked emerging designers. For more information on VFS and the designers themselves, head to the new-look website- www.vauxhallfashionscout.com

DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT SS13 | Ming-Pin Tien

Spring/ Summer '13 'One-To-Watch', Ming-Pin Tien 9 years’ of experience has seen him work with one of Taiwan’s most popular boutiques, as well as assisting womenswear designer Jolin Wu. The Taiwanese born designer recently graduated from London College of Fashion’s Fashion Design & Technology MA course with a collection titled “Metaphorical Distance”.

The minimal colour palette of his graduate collection- with its unusual shapes- showed potential and innovation. It is his focus on pattern cutting that has made his work so interesting, showing true craftsmanship in his creativity. Bringing the conceptual to life, it is his skill for turning the abstract into reality with details that make him somebody to watch out for in the fashion industry.

Ming-Pin Tien will show his new collection on the catwalk as part of the Ones To Watch showcase on Saturday 15^th September.

By Vanessa Omoregie, @wewearblack

DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT SS13| Lu Liu

Describing her label as “a new breed of fashion company”, designer Lu Liu's quality pieces are both cutting edge and feminine. A recent graduate of the London College of Fashion, she is Chinese-British, based in London, and has gained experience under the likes of Giles Deacon. Bold colours, signature pleats and luxurious fabrics may make for confident pieces, yet her garments remain more wearable than one may first expect. She's also no stranger to press attention. Her work has already appeared in Vogue and Elle, as well as been displayed in exhibitions in London and Paris. If you want to see the luxurious, statement Lulu Liu pieces up close, they will be exhibited in our Freemasons hall during London Fashion Week.

By Josh Walker

Follow him on Twitter @josh_walker_

EXCLUSIVE| Behind the Scenes, SS13 Preview Shoot in collaboration with Fashion 156 Creative

Last Friday saw the Vauxhall Fashion Scout and Fashion 156 Creative teams work collaboratively to present an exclusive preview of Spring/ Summer '13 VFS designers' work.

With F156 Creative Director Guy Hipwell at the helm, and photographer India Hobson, and film director Katie Davies behind their respective lenses, the shoot centered on select Spring/ Summer pieces from Kirsty Ward, David Longshaw, Timur Kim, Hellen van Rees, and various other forthcoming collections showing with us throughout London Fashion Week.

For the finished images, and list of designers featured be sure to check out the Fashion 156 website, and Tweet us your favourite shots, @FashionScout and @Fashion156.

For the Spring/ Summer '13 schedule to find the times, and location of the designers featured, click here for the updated schedule.

Credits: Photography by India Hobson @Fashion156 Creative; Styling, and Creative Direction by Guy Hipwell @Fashion156 Creative.

Make-up by Jo Sugar using Body Shop; hair styled by Tim Furssedonn at Toni & Guy, using Label M; MUA Assistant, Cat Langdon. Models: Anna S, and Lou Lou at Profile; Emily D A at Storm.

Shoot production by Fashion156Creative.com; shot at Rockwell Studios

Assistants: Becca Deakins, Lisa Fifer, Lauren Whitehead & Mei Corbett.