Fashion Fringe

Fashion Fringe 2012 Winner Haizhen Wang London Fashion Week
Fashion Flash

Haizhen Wang Wins 2012 Fashion Fringe — See His LFW Collection

The three finalists of 2012's Fashion Fringe showed their collections at Somerset House last night, with Christopher Bailey naming Haizhen Wang the winner of this year's prize.
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The three finalists of 2012's Fashion Fringe showed their collections at Somerset House last night, with Christopher Bailey naming Haizhen Wang the winner of this year's prize. The Central Saint Martins graduate set up his label in 2010, after working at MaxMara and All Saints. Bailey helped the finalists in the run up to the London Fashion Week show, and Wang will continue to receive mentoring as well as studio space at Somerset House for the next four seasons. The Burberry chief creative officer told Vogue:

"I was looking for a real rounded talent with vision that he or she knew how to execute. I wanted to see an understanding of how to cut and sew; how to construct clothes; and how to create a business. Having a strong point of view was important too. With Haizhen, he has a talent that hopefully the industry will relate to. It's effortless and in his blood. When you first see his work, it appears to be very graphic and bold, but it's constructed in a very sensual way."

Take a look at the winning collection right here, and tell me what you think!

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Fashion Fringe 2012 Finalists Up-and-Coming Designers
Fashion Flash

10 Up-and-Coming Fashion Designers to Watch

UPDATE: Fashion Fringe's three finalists, who were announced last night by Christopher Bailey, are Haizhen Wang, Teija Eioela and Vita Gottleib.
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UPDATE: Fashion Fringe's three finalists, who were announced last night by Christopher Bailey, are Haizhen Wang, Teija Eioela and Vita Gottleib.

Get ready for the next big UK-based designer to launch, as this year's Fashion Fringe semi-finalists have been revealed. Fashion Fringe founder and creative director Colin McDowell told Vogue UK that Burberry's chief creative officer Christopher Bailey phoned the 10 semi-finalists himself to give them the news. The final three will be selected on May 22 after a day of technical assessments and an interview, with the winner announced during London Fashion Week. Erdem, Fyodor Golan and Basso & Brooke are all previous winners of the prize, which includes a two-year package to help set up their business, a Somerset House studio, mentoring and financial support. Find out which designers made the cut when you read more

John Galliano is New Chairman of Fashion Fringe Replacing Donatella Versace
Fashion Flash

John Galliano Heads up Fashion Fringe

London just got another boost as a fashion capital as John Galliano has been enlisted as the new Fashion Fringe chairman.
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London just got another boost as a fashion capital as John Galliano has been enlisted as the new Fashion Fringe chairman. The eccentric designer has an impressive 26 year long career and is taking on his next challenge as a mentor, replacing previous chairman Donatella Versace.

What's more, his arrival is shaking up proceedings as he will be the sole judge of talent at the London Fashion Week competition. He told The Sunday Times, “I am hoping we find a rebel genius. I will look for someone who reminds me of me when I was starting out — someone original, unique, who has their own style and handwriting and isn’t afraid to try something new.”

I think this is great news for any budding designers as the head of Dior has certainly proved his worth to the fashion industry. He is already offering advice saying, “If you want easy, don’t pick fashion. Life is full of challenges, and it is how you deal with them and use them to help you grow that sets you apart. I am proof that you can break the rules, you can push fashion to the extreme, lose backers and still bounce back. If you have the determination and drive, plus talent and luck, then anything is possible if you want it enough.”

If you think you've got what it takes to win Fashion Fringe 2010, then you can apply here. The competition has previously helped launched the careers of Basso and Brooke, Eun Jeong, William Tempest and Aminaka Wilmont.