Mark Fast
Mark Fast

LONDON, Dec 10, 2009 / FW/ — Mark Fast, Mary Katrantzou, Meadham Kirchhoff and Peter Pilotto were confirmed today by the British Fashion Council as the Fall 2010 winners of the BFC NEWGEN catwalk sponsorship, supported by Topshop.

Mark Fast
NEWGEN Fall 2010 winner (catwalk and exhibition sponsorship)

Mark Fast is a 28 year old Canadian born knitwear designer. Mark studied at Central Saint Martins for five years. He completed his BA there and went on to complete his MA in February 2008.

Mark has created knitwear for Bora Aksu, a collaboration that spanned three seasons. He has also collaborated with Stuart Vevers for the Loewe RTW AW09 show and with Christian Louboutin on shoes for his SS10 collection.

Mark designs by hand on a domestic knitting machine. His work is formed onto the body as he knits, and he has devised innovative stitching techniques, blending lycra with viscose, angora or wool. He is inspired by the endless possibilities of lycra yarns, sculpting areas of tension and areas of volume over the body.

Mark’s fascination with the cinema drives his creative process as he channels the energy of the characters who inspire him into his knits. Obsessed with texture, Mark.s most recent work explores the relationship of garments to the wearers body.

Press contact: Charlotte Delahunty, Finch and Partners +44 (0) 207 851 7151 / press@markfast.net

Mary Katrantzou
Mary Katrantzou

Mary Katrantzou
NEWGEN Fall 2010 winner (catwalk and exhibition sponsorship)

Greek born print designer Mary Katrantzou has made a name for herself with her graphic prints. She studied at Rhode Island School of Design before transferring to Central Saint Martins to complete a BA in Textile Design. She then went on to graduate from Central Saint Martins with a distinction in MA fashion.

Katrantzou’s inspiration is derived from Art and Design. Every season an object or craft inspires a thematic collection and is in turn, translated into Print. First it was oversized jewellery, then it was perfume bottles and this season, blown glass. The label is defined by its philosophy of subverting wearable art.

For SS10, hyper-real imagery was further explored but from a slightly different starting point. Sound waves and the organic forms of Blown Glass inspired the collection. For the SS10 collection, Katrantzou collaborated with blown glass artist Peter Layton, to create the glass pieces that became the jewellery of this collection.

The separate jewellery line is an integral part of the collection, once again highlighting her other talent, that of a jewellery designer.

Press contact: Jasmine Sevan, Relative¦Mo +44 (0) 207 749 4510 pr@marykatrantzou.com /
jasmine@relativemo.com / www.marykatrantzou.com

Meadham Kirchhoff
Meadham Kirchhoff

Meadham Kirchhoff

NEWGEN Fall 2010 winner (catwalk sponsorship)

English Edward Meadham and French born Benjamin Kirchhoff graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2002. The pair launched their womenswear collection, Meadham Kirchhoff, as part of Fashion East in
February 2006. They have since won further shows with the scheme and have more recently been awarded catwalk sponsorship as part of the NEWGEN scheme for the last 2 seasons.

Meadham Kirchhoff define their design aesthetic as a corruption of classic garments and a re-evaluation the values of banality in contemporary culture. Their approach is concise yet refined and most garments incorporate element s of hand finishing or hand treatment. Their woman is uncompromising, nonchalantly elegant, intelligent and melancholic.

Meadham Kirchhoff is selling in Browns London, Maria Luisa and Le Printemps in Paris, Opening Ceremony and Ikram in the USA, Joyce and Sidefame in Hong Kong amongst others.

Press contact: Kara Goodley, Goodley PR +44 (0) 20 7493 9600 / kara@goodleypr.co.uk

Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos
Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos

Peter Pilotto
NEWGEN Fall 2010 winner (catwalk and exhibition sponsorship)

Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos are the designers behind the Peter Pilotto label. Pilotto is half-Austrian, half-Italian and De Vos is half-Belgian, half-Peruvian. They met whilst studying at Antwerp’s prestigious Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the year 2000.

Peter Pilotto’s vision of womenswear embraces both new and classic perspectives on elegance. Otherworldly prints combine with soft sculptural shapes to form the handwriting of the design duo, something which evolves and is explored each season as opposed to being reactionary. Pilotto is focused toward textile and print whereas De Vos concentrates more on silhouette and drape.

However the duo work beyond their individual perimeters to create something new, their process being very organic and beyond an integration of the two fields. The duo are particularly fascinated with a scientific view of nature, as reflected in the microscopic, encrusted, hyper-real prints of the collections. Style.com recently identified the Peter Pilotto label as one of the ‘Ten Most Promising New Talents’ in fashion today.

Press contact: Amy Strang, The Communications Store, +44 (0) 20 7938 1010 amy@tcs-uk.net