Emerging Talent from 26 Countries On Show During LFW
03-02-2017
The IFS is a series of specially-commissioned and curated fashion installations featuring work by emerging designers from all over the world and this year will include designs from Chile, India, Russia as well as designers from Eastern Europe, Central and South America.
Organised by the British Council, British Fashion Council (BFC) and Mercedes-Benz, this free and public exhibition forms a key part of London Fashion Week, giving the public, press and buyers the opportunity to discover fashion from all over the world.
As part of the award ceremony, where prizes will be announced on 19 February for the winning Country, Designer, and Curator, Mercedes-Benz will present the winning Designer with the unique opportunity to showcase his or her collection at one of Mercedes-Benz’ global fashion platforms.
The exhibition will be arranged over 14 rooms, 13 of which will represent a country. There will be one group installation, Next in Line, curated by Shonagh Marshall which will feature designers from nine further nations. A key highlight and new to IFS 2017, in a dedicated area, Mercedes-Benz will showcase five emerging designers from Canada, China, Germany, Portugal and Ukraine (pictured right) who the brand supports through its International Designer Exchange Programme.
The theme of this year’s exhibition is Local/Global. Countries have been invited to explore the influence of place on fashion and to examine how emerging designers can transform their local culture into a global language. Fashion is shaped by its surroundings: the rhythms of nature, climate, cultural memory, social change and historical shifts are reflected in silhouettes, techniques and materials. The peculiarities of ‘place’ give rise to different ways of designing, making and wearing fashion. By considering fashion within their own landscape, the countries taking part in IFS will highlight the similarities and differences of our complex and connected world.
Since 2012, 550 of the most exciting international designers from 70 countries have exhibited as part of the IFS initiative. IFS responds to London’s reputation for promoting and supporting new talent in the creative industries – a number of whom are working within Somerset House – by providing opportunities for designers from overseas to engage with the UK fashion community and build international connections.
A series of business support seminars, organised by London College of Fashion (LCF), will help designers prepare for the showcase. The Designer Support Programme will bring together a network of LCF affiliated academics and researchers, to offer mentoring opportunities and business development during IFS. A collaboration with Fashion Scout will offer designers involved in IFS the opportunity to show their work on the catwalk.
The IFS judging panel is headed by Sarah Mower MBE, BFC Ambassador for Emerging Talent and Chief Critic at Voguerunway.com.
Sarah Mower commented: “In times of anxiety and increasing division, the International Fashion Showcase goes completely in the other direction, celebrating creativity, diversity and young ideas from all over the world. Since we founded this project in 2012, the social importance of the response has only escalated. This year’s theme, which asks designers to look at what the local and the global means to them, has brought out uniquely inspired work which, as always, the public is welcomed to see. I’m proud that the six-year tradition of the IFS is a live example of London’s vibrant culture of openness, and our thrill in discovering, promoting and exchanging new ideas.”
International Fashion Showcase West Wing Galleries, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA.
From 17th – 21st February 2017 10am – 6pm
Admission is free but pre-registration is advised click here
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