Leading designer support scheme Fashion East returns to London Fashion Week in February 2014 to showcase hand-selected new talents. With 10 years of support from Topshop and an inimitable track record, Fashion East continues to champion the brightest new designers in an un-missable group show.
For Autumn/Winter 2014 the Fashion East panel of industry experts have selected up-and-coming designers Helen Lawrence and Louise Alsop to join returning designer Ashley Williams. The Fashion East show will take place in the Topshop Showspace.
"Helen Lawrence is a whizz with knit and has superb colour sense. Her modernist slant on femininity makes her an exciting one to watch. Louise Alsop's very modern muse seems so relevant to our time. Ease, anarchy and angst. She makes clothes for people I want to know. It's great to see these two new talents join the ranks" - Charlie Harrington, Fashion Director, Stella Magazine
ASHLEY WILLIAMS
In just two seasons Ashley Williams has become London's most exciting new talent. Her blend of pop prints and wearable shapes, marrying creativity and commerciality, never fail to put a smile on your face. SS14's Miami-ready swimwear, Spongebob prints and 80's-inspired silk shirts, was as fun and sassy as ever.
A strong following of fans include her BFFs Pixie Geldof, Alexa Chung and Harry Styles, who appeared on the Fashion East FROW sporting an Ashley Williams tee in September. His fave SS14 print was obviously 'Dreamboat'! Ashley is stocked internationally by Machine- A, Wildstyle, V Files and Colette. With her third season with Fashion East on the horizon and a FunkyOffish jewellery line in the works Ashley's star is set to skyrocket.
HELEN LAWRENCE
Helen Lawrence graduated from the prestigious MA at CSM in 2012 following a textile degree at Chelsea College of Art & Design. While you may not know her name yet, Helen and her knitting needles have already created a storm, having collaborated with CSM classmate and current MAN designer Craig Green on his covetable men's knitwear. Helen's eponymous line is sure to cause just as much excitement.
She's caught the attention of V magazine, i-D, Vogue.co.uk and Stye.com who named her 'the next big thing'. Her SS14 collection - made up of a sugared pastel palette - showcased knitted knickers paired with clear PVC skirts, hand-dyed powder pink denim shorts with thigh- high splits and mismatched sweaters held together by her signature scribble stitch embroideries.
LOUISE ALSOP
Bright new star Louise Alsop joins Fashion East in February 2014 for her debut. Graduating from University of Westminster to great acclaim in June 2013, her monochrome collection featured in an impressive list of titles from Vogue US, Vogue Italia and Garage.
The self-proclaimed tomboy revealed a grungy take on minimalism and a dark humour with her irreverent nun motif. Drawing inspiration from subcultures and contemporary art, the result is an oversized, androgynous shape with a luxe edge - think screen printed raw hems and textural layers of sheer chiffon and heavy denim. Expect big things from Louise Alsop.
