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| Marios Schwab's catwalk show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia. Photographs: Maxim Emelianov and Valera Belobeev |
For the second year running the British Council and the British Embassy in Moscow collaborated with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia to bring British fashion to this international platform. We invited Fashion East founder, Lulu Kennedy, to present the work of three of her cohort, both past and present, at Sunday’s event. Marios Schwab, Louise Gray and James Long presented their Autumn/Winter 2011 collections to packed audiences at the Congress Centre in Moscow. Fashion East is a pioneering non-profit initiative established by the Old Truman Brewery in 2000 to nurture emerging young designers through the early stages of their career. Through this platform each season three womenswear and three menswear designers are give the opportunity to present a catwalk collection to the international press and buyers attending London Fashion Week. The designers are selected by Lulu Kennedy and a panel of fashion industry experts.
Marios Schwab was selected by Fashion East to present his Spring /Summer and Autumn/Winter 2006 collections. He has since gone on to develop an international brand and is one of the highlights of London Fashion Week. Schwab is renowned for his body-conscious collections which derive from a careful study of anatomy and result in garments that embrace the body and accentuate its topography. We are also taking Marios Schwab’s work to Kazakhstan with our touring exhibition Reconstruction which is set to open on 28th April.
Louise Gray showed three season’s work from Spring/Summer 2008 to Spring/Summer 2009 as part of Fashion East. She is a rapidly-emerging name on the international stage and is known for her use of traditional stitches and embroidery techniques to create bold contemporary embellishments. James Long debuted in 2007 at MAN, the Topman and Fashion East menswear initiative, to critical acclaim. In response to the high demand for his menswear pieces from female fans Long launched his first womenswear collection at Fashion East during London Fashion Week in February this year.
