New York and London historically enjoy close ties, thus the term NyLON was coined. So I'm thrilled to learn that, in my view, one of London's most talented new designers,
Christopher Raeburn (who made his mark by creating ethically-aware men’s and womenswear collections utilising re-appropriated military fabrics and parachute materials) will be one of some 20 emerging designer talents from London to show in New York this week, between 23rd and 25th, at Penthouse Lofts, Soho Grand on 310 West Broadway in New York. The London designers are participating in a subsidised programme aimed at increasing the awareness of the designers and developing their media coverage and businesses in the US. The LONDON show ROOMS is part of the
British Fashion Council (BFC)'s international initiative, and in the past three seasons, it was run in Paris and this is the first time that the designers will be in New York, in partnership with
Centre for Fashion Enterprise. Caroline Rush, CEO (Joint) of the BFC, comments “It will give our best young designers the means to further their global business profile.” Wendy Malem, Director, Centre for Fashion Enterprise adds that the London show Rooms (supported by UK Trade and Investment) initiative is a signal to buyers, the finance community and manufacturers that these designers are respected, well supported and mean business. As for Raeburn, his work was handpicked for ‘
Camouflage’, a recent exhibition at the Imperial War Museum in London where he showcased reversible fashion. During London Fashion Week in February, Raeburn (a Royal College of Art gratudate) explained to me that he uses original fabrics from British battle dress jackets, camouflage ponchos, Swedish snow cotton and battered Italian leather military jackets for a collection designed to withstand and protect from everyday extremes. Raeburn divided his collection into a flyweight range of streamlined windcheaters and a new edition of heavy duty coats, bombers and smocks. The lightweight collections saw his first use of an inky shiny performance nylon - skylon - in a calf-length parka, cropped ajcket and reversible hoodie feturing detailing such as screen printing and taped seaming. There was also a Limited Edition with individually numbered, boldly re-appropriated winter wear, exclusively limited to 50 of each garment. (See more on Camouflage fabric designs in "Walking with Animal Patterns" below.)
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