Merit Award – AmeliasMagazine

Amelia’s Magazine | Xiao Li, Fashion Scout Merit Award Winner: London Fashion Week A/W 2014 Catwalk Review

Xiao Li A/W 2014 by Slowly The Eggs aka Maria Papadimitriou

Xiao Li A/W 2014 by Slowly The Eggs aka Maria Papadimitriou.

We covered Xiao Li when she took part in the graduate showcase at Fashion Scout last season, and this year she returned to the catwalk with a stunning new collection as a winner of the much coveted Fashion Scout Merit Award. Chinese born Xiao Li is yet another example of the great education we provide in the arts, gaining an BA in womenswear from LCF and then an MA in knitwear from the RCA. She sent her clothing down the catwalk to one of my current favourite tunes: a cover of Daft Punk’s Get Lucky by Daughter. It was the perfect accompaniment to her collection, sweet as sugar but totally fresh and modern.

Xiao Li by Katie Rose Johnston

Xiao Li by Katie Rose Johnston.

Xiao Li AW 2014-photography by Amelia Gregory

Girls wore a simple pink wash in their hair, minimal make up and clumpy platform sandals to accompany billowy mesh, latex and silicon separates covered in geometric 3D decorative details. There were gigantic puffy sleeves, feature pockets, frou frou pencil skirts, wide legged trousers, a cape and even a pair of dungarees.

Xiao Li by Amy Dover

Xiao Li by Amy Dover.

Xiao Li AW 2014-photography by Amelia Gregory

Xiao Li by Katie Rose Johnston

Xiao Li by Katie Rose Johnston.

Xiao Li’s strength is in her deft combination of unexpected material, technique and shape to create an extraordinary and often breathtaking silhouette. The predominantly baby blue and cream palette was offset by the use of intense royal blue, with the last outfit spectacularly fading into dark so that the integral LED lights glowed in an otherworldly manner.

Xiao Li AW 2014-photography by Amelia Gregory

All photography by Amelia Gregory.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Thursday February 27th, 2014 4:17 pm

Categories ,Amy Dover, ,Daft Punk, ,Daughter, ,Fashion Scout, ,Get Lucky, ,iceland, ,Katie Rose Johnston, ,LCF, ,Maria Papadimitriou, ,Merit Award, ,rca, ,Slowly the Eggs, ,Xiao Li

Amelia’s Magazine | Yifang Wan, Fashion Scout Merit Award Winner: London Fashion Week A/W 2013 Catwalk Review

Yifang Wan A/W 2013 by Gabriel Ayala

Fashion Week A/W 2013 got off to a cracking start on Friday, for anybody who actually turned up. I didn’t, thanks to the effects of an anti-Valentine’s cocktail binge, instead spent the evening in bed with fish and chips and half a bottle of Rioja. So it was Saturday morning where my season started, heading as I did to this season’s Fashion Scout Merit Award winner – Yifang Wan.

Photography by Amelia Gregory

Previous Merit Award winners including David Koma, Felder Felder, William Tempest and Leutton Postle have all gone on to establish successful labels and the pressure of such previous acclaim must be terrifying — but its effects weren’t evident in this polished collection by Yifang Wan.

Yifang Wan A/W 2013 by Dom&Ink

All other photography by Matt Bramford

Record numbers packed the ‘white room’ of the Freemasons’ Hall, and so my view of the show was framed by a diminutive Frenchman wielding a vogue.fr microphone like a maniac and a very excitable girl with masses of hair. Her head was all over the place trying to secure a good shot and I was forced to perform a strange sort of swaying dance with my zoom lens, not unlike an Emperor penguin.

Yifang Wan A/W 2013 by Dom&Ink

I’d briefly taken an interest in Wan‘s work when the Merit prize was awarded at the beginning of the year, and her previous collections draw inspiration from her Asian heritage and long, draped silhouettes dominate her previous outings. So it was no surprise, in the best possible way, to see these themes continued for A/W 2013, with inspiration from performance artist ‪Marina Abramović‬, most famous for sitting in a smock and staring at New Yorkers in the MOMA for 700 hours.

Only four rich colours featured in this collection – deep blue, green, red and black in thick fabrics. Jackets came with triangular slices removed almost with abandon as fabrics draped asymmetrically and architecturally. Almost every piece skimmed the floor, while fabric swayed and draped in different directions with emphasis on Far Eastern cuts. Each piece was accessorised with intriguing angular sculptural pieces, some worn around necks, others carried almost like weaponry.

Yifang Wan is no stranger to awards, having won the L’Oreal Professionel Award at Saint Martins as an MA student. Her £25,000 prize this season will hopefully propel the designer’s label in the direction it deserves.

Written by Matt Bramford on Tuesday February 19th, 2013 1:31 pm

Categories ,A/W 2013, ,A/W’13, ,catwalk, ,Central Saint Martins, ,East, ,Fashion Scout, ,Gabriel Ayala, ,Kimono, ,marina abramovic, ,Matt Bramford, ,Merit Award, ,Orient, ,review, ,Yifang Wan

Amelia’s Magazine | London Fashion Week S/S 2012 Catwalk Review: Georgia Hardinge

Georgia Hardinge SS 2012 by Jane Young
Georgia Hardinge S/S 2012 by Jane Young.

Former One to Watch and Merit Award winner Georgia Hardinge presented her S/S 2012 to an eager audience at Fashion Scout. Cubed was ‘inspired by the dark nature of cubo-futurism‘ – obvious in the multi-layered geometric lines that followed the contours of the female models on sheer blouses, this tight bodycon dresses and swirling capes.

Georgia Hardinge SS 2012 review-photo by Amelia Gregory

LFW Georgia Hardinge S/S 2012 by Celine Choo
Georgia Hardinge S/S 2012 by Celine Choo.

A predominant colour palette of soft grey was broken with luscious tangerine orange, recipe summery yellow and stark white. With Georgia Hardinge the question has always been how to combine her more avante garde sculptural creations with commercial wearability and if Cubed was anything to go by she has figured this out with the utmost panache: a conversation with an eager buyer confirmed my feelings that this was her most saleable collection yet, especially now that Mary Katrantzou has paved the way for a new generation of extravagantly shaped garments. Even boxy mini skirts with sharpened edges and fold down details on chests were eminently wearable without losing anything of the signature Georgia Hardinge aesthetic.

Georgia Hardinge SS 2012 review-photo by Amelia Gregory

georgia_hardinge_by_ada_jusic
Georgia Hardinge S/S 2012 by Ada Jusic.

Digital printing has allowed for a revolution in textile design that simply wasn’t possible when I was studying the old methods of screenprinting at university in the 90s. I can’t deny that I sometimes miss the limitations that screenprinting enforced on design but when digital printing is done well the results are wholly unique, as in Georgia Hardinge‘s stunning new collection. In Cubed the complexity and cleverness of Georgia’s print techniques reached its apotheosis in the last dress to float away in a cloud of cubist wonder. A beautiful collection.

Georgia Hardinge SS 2012 review-photo by Amelia Gregory

Georgia Hardinge S/S 2012. All photography by Amelia Gregory.

<a target="_blank" href="http://www.vimeo.com/29333835" rel="noopener">http://www.vimeo.com/29333835</a>

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday September 28th, 2011 9:02 pm

Categories ,Ada Jusic, ,bodycon, ,Capes, ,Celine Choo, ,Cubism, ,Cubo-Futurism, ,Digital Printing, ,Fashion Scout, ,Futurism, ,geometric, ,Georgia Hardinge, ,Grey, ,Jane Young, ,London Kills Me, ,Merit Award, ,Ones To Watch, ,Orange, ,screenprinting, ,Sculptural, ,Sheer

Amelia’s Magazine | Georgia Hardinge: London Fashion Week A/W 2012 Catwalk Review

Georgia Hardinge A/W 2012 by Rebecca Strickson.

Former Merit Award winner Georgia Hardinge returned to the catwalks once more this season, a now familiar and much anticipated designer on the Fashion Scout catwalk. Inverted was inspired by the work of the iconic inside out artist Rachel Whiteread and confirmed the Centre for Fashion Enterprise mentored designer’s very individual talent.

Georgia Hardinge AW 2012 - photo by Amelia Gregory

Using magnified and manipulated images taken from Whiteread‘s infamous resin casts Georgia‘s signature prints showcased her typically abstract geometric aesthetic, this time in shades of tigerish orange and blacks, or cream and deep burgundy.

Georgia Hardinge AW 2012 - photo by Amelia Gregory

Georgia Hardinge A/W 2012 by Ellen Li.

The show opened with a jaunty trouser, blouse and hat combo: navy panels creating a sleek silhouette that was echoed in a standout mustard yellow jacket with squared pocket panels and hidden buttons. This was worn with a pair of oatmeal knitted shorts – part of Georgia Hardinge‘s first foray into knitwear. Other garments included a long loose cardigan and a cropped cowl neck jumper, both with obvious commercial appeal. These were paired with her bold prints, cleverly marrying the saleable with the showpiece to create a highly desirable style.

Georgia Hardinge AW 2012 - photo by Amelia Gregory

Georgia Hardinge A/W 2012 by Janneke de Jong.

A series of incredibly slender maxi dresses would be suitable for only the skinniest of ladies, but I adored the subtle A-line detailing and layering of sheer fabrics and Melton wool. The show culminated in Georgia‘s finest showpiece, a swooping burgundy and cream patterned dress topped with a layered and squared buttress: the perfect epitome of lady-like power.

Georgia Hardinge AW 2012 - photo by Amelia Gregory

All photography by Amelia Gregory.

Georgia Hardinge A/W 2012 by Victoria Haynes.

<a target="_blank" href="http://www.vimeo.com/36987707" rel="noopener">http://www.vimeo.com/36987707</a>

Written by Amelia Gregory on Monday February 20th, 2012 3:41 pm

Categories ,A/W 2012, ,Burgundy, ,Centre for Fashion Enterprise, ,Ellen Li, ,Fashion Scout, ,Georgia Hardinge, ,Inverted, ,Janneke de Jong, ,knitwear, ,London Fashion Week, ,Melton Wool, ,Merit Award, ,Rachel Whiteread, ,Rebecca Strickson, ,Sheer, ,Victoria Haynes

Amelia’s Magazine | Heohwan Simulation: London Fashion Week S/S 2013 Catwalk Review

Heohwan Simulation S/S 2013 by Gaarte.

Heohwan Simulation is the latest recipient of the Fashion Scout Merit Award, which entitles him to £25,000 worth of support over three seasons to build his label. Previous winners include David Koma and Georgia Hardinge, so we can expect great things from this fledgling brand.

Heohwan Simulation SS 2013 September 2012-photography by Amelia Gregory

Heohwan Simulation S/S 2013 by Gareth A Hopkins.

Last season Heohwan Simulation showed with Ones to Watch but this time he was able to stage his own fully fledged catwalk show. Designer Hwan Heo, an RCA graduate, continued in his exploration of hard edged womenswear inspired by his background as a menswear graduate.

Heohwan Simulation SS 2013 September 2012-photography by Amelia Gregory

Heohwan Simulation S/S 2013. All photography by Amelia Gregory.

Heohwan Simulation S/S 2013 by Gaarte.

This was a confident showing which built on his last collection: boxy triangular shapes were softened with the application of abstract painterly placement prints, mesh textures and checks. Slate, ivory and camel tones were worn with bright grassy green and sunshine yellow, whilst belts were wide and zips were prominent, often traversing the length of a garment. I particularly liked the coats: a crop swing jacket with a single double breasted fastening and a blouson worn with this season’s favourite wide legged trousers. It will be interesting to watch Hwan Heo’s progress over the next few seasons.

Heohwan Simulation S/S 2013 by Gareth A Hopkins.

<a target="_blank" href="http://www.vimeo.com/49468665" rel="noopener">http://www.vimeo.com/49468665</a>

Written by Amelia Gregory on Thursday September 20th, 2012 9:23 am

Categories ,David Koma, ,Fashion Scout, ,Freemasons’ Hall, ,Gaarte, ,Gareth A Hopkins, ,Georgia Hardinge, ,Heohwan Simulation, ,Hwan Heo, ,LFW. S/S 2013, ,Merit Award, ,Ones To Watch, ,rca

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