The British Fashion Council (BFC) today announces London’s brightest emerging menswear talents who will receive NEWGEN MEN, sponsored by TOPMAN, support to showcase their AW14 collections at London Collections: Men (6th- 8th January 2014).
Ten designers will be awarded sponsorship for AW14, the highest number of designers to receive support in one season since the initiative launched in 2009. This season, three new designers join NEWGEN MEN: menswear brand Common and Fashion East star Kit Neale will host presentations on the London Collections: Men schedule and footwear designer Diego Vanassibara will exhibit his collection in the Designer Showrooms.
The recipients for AW14 are: Agi & Sam; Astrid Andersen; Common (new); Diego Vanassibara (new) Kit Neale (new); Lee Roach; Martine Rose; Matthew Miller; Nasir Mazhar and Shaun Samson.
All recipients receive sponsorship and showcasing opportunities at London Collections: Men, as well as tailored business and mentoring support with a view to increasing the success of their business commercially and building relationships with key press and buyers. The BFC are working with DLA Piper to provide legal and commercial advice to the designers which have been selected for NEWGEN MEN AW14.
NEWGEN MEN began in September 2009, building on TOPMAN and Fashion East’s successful MAN initiative, and has supported designers including Christopher Shannon, James Long, J.W. Anderson and Sibling. It has been instrumental in raising the profile of emerging British menswear designers, previously through Menswear Day and now using London Collections: Men as a showcasing platform to promote the breadth of London’s menswear, style and culture to a global audience.
Caroline Rush, CEO of the British Fashion Council, commented “Menswear is an unstoppable force in British fashion. Welcoming three new designers to the scheme this season, each of whom bring a very different aesthetic to the NEWGEN MEN line-up, is testament to the strength and diversity of the emerging menswear talent in the industry. With the support from NEWGEN MEN and TOPMAN, these designers have the opportunity and potential to grow their label into incredible British businesses.”
Jason Griffiths, Marketing Director, TOPMAN, who was also on the selection panel, added “The NEWGEN MEN initiative goes from strength to strength and it is truly exciting to welcome for the first time a footwear recipient this season into the mix. At TOPMAN we are completely dedicated in our support of the initiative above and beyond our investment to include mentoring at various levels and wherever possible the opportunity to collaborate further on selection of projects as in past with likes of Sibling, Agi & Sam, James Long, Lou Dalton and Christopher Shannon. We also look forward to revealing details of the next exciting designer project in the New Year.
The NEWGEN MEN committee comprises:
Caroline Rush (Chair), British Fashion Council; Catherine Hayward, Esquire; Damian Paul, MATCHESFASHION.COM; Darren Skey, Harvey Nichols; David Watts, BFC; Gordon Richardson, TOPMAN; Jason Griffiths, TOPMAN; Laura Hinson, BFC; Robert Johnston, GQ; Sam Lobban, Mr Porter; Tim Blanks, Style.com
For more information on NEWGEN MEN, please visit
www.britishfashioncouncil.com/newgenmen
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For press enquiries regarding NEWGEN MEN and London Collections: Men, please contact:
Will Rowley, British Fashion Council
+44 (0) 20 7759 1968
will.rowley@britishfashioncouncil.com
For designers wishing to apply for NEWGEN MEN or to be part of London Collections: Men, please contact:
Laura Hinson, British Fashion Council
+44 (0) 20 7759 1969
laura.hinson@britishfashioncouncil.com
For TOPMAN enquiries, please contact:
Kelly Reed, TOPMAN Press Office
+44 (0) 20 7291 2721