NEWGEN

The British Fashion Council's initiative that supports the best emerging fashion design talent.

2023 marked 30 years since the launch of the British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN, the initiative which supports the best emerging fashion design talent.

British Fashion Council NEWGEN was launched in 1993 to enable a group of designers including the late Lee Alexander McQueen to showcase their collections at London Fashion Week to international media and retailers. Since then, it has nurtured the careers of over 300 designers and is a world-leading designer showcasing and development initiative. BFC NEWGEN supports the best emerging fashion design talent, to build creative responsible businesses for the future.

This was brought to life in an exhibition at the Design Museum, Kensington (Earls Court Tube Station). REBEL: 30 Years of London Fashion sponsored by Alexander McQueen and guest curated by Sarah Mower is open until 11 February 2024.

Ahluwalia is deemed a pioneer in the fashion industry and is regularly featured in the global press, from the New York Times to i-D, to Vogue, and many more.

The label combines elements from the designer's dual Indian-Nigerian heritage and London roots. It explores the potential of vintage and surplus clothing by giving existing material a new life through various textile and patchwork techniques. This means that many Ahluwalia pieces are one of a kind.

Inspired by art, music, and literature, much of the work created by Ahluwalia goes beyond her collections and includes collaborative campaigns, books, and films.

The young Scot first caught the attention of the fashion world—in particular, of the Italian design diva Donatella Versace—with his work done as a student at Central Saint Martins in London. Just six months after his graduation show (and having turned down a juicy full-time position at Versace in favour of a more modest consulting gig for the designer to focus on his own line), Kane introduced his signature label of colourful body-con looks to the world.

Erdem is an independent house of bold fashion for women, based in London. Founded in 2005 by designer Erdem Moralioglu MBE, the brand has forged its own path within the industry. Poetic and rigorous, ageless, and timeless, powerful and versatile, Erdem's world is an intriguing interplay of strength and beauty.

Erdem is at heart a storyteller. Collections are formed around a narrative, championing heroic women at a particular place and a moment in time. Erdem's fashion is dramatic, atmospheric and expressive in the service of emotion: it is not what they wear, but how they feel that matters.

Giles Deacon is a London-based couture designer and illustrator mixing fashion, fine art, theatre, and grand-scale glamour, known for his expertly crafted pieces using bespoke designed fabrics, prints and intricate embellishments.

His pieces are worn and collected the world over by private clients, red-carpet celebrities and royalty with pieces in the permanent collections of the V&A Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Born in Athens, Mary Katrantzou studied Architecture at Rhode Island School of Design (USA) and graduated with a BA in Textile design and an MA in Fashion from Central Saint Martins (London).

Mary Katrantzou was dubbed "The Queen of Print" by the press, a moniker that recognized the enormous influence of her work in the medium. Katrantzou's work changed the face of twenty-first-century fashion, inspiring high-fashion and high-street designers alike.

Originally from Serbia, Roksanda studied Architecture and Applied Arts at the University of Belgrade before moving to London where she graduated with an MA in Womenswear from Central Saint Martins.

In over a decade since founding her label, Roksanda has evolved an unmistakable woman-centred design aesthetic. As a woman consciously designing for women, she started ROKSANDA with a view of creating a platform to celebrate the equality of women whilst seeking to challenge the perceptions of traditional beauty through a blend of opposites. Roksanda creates pieces that reveal a woman’s personality while providing a sense of shelter and refuge through their unique design.