International Fashion Showcase announces 4th edition

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Jan 2, 2015

The International Fashion Showcase (IFS) has announced an intense fourth edition. The event dedicated to up-and-coming designers, which was launched by the British Council and the British Fashion Council in February 2012, will welcome 130 designers from 30 countries and 4 continents during the next London Women’s Fashion Week, scheduled to take place from February 20 to 24. It will be held in a car park in central London—specifically on Brewer Street in the Soho neighborhood.

Organized in collaboration with embassies and international cultural institutions in London, the IFS aims to showcase the most interesting emerging designers through exhibitions grouped by country, each reflecting contemporary culture in each nation. 

In three years, the showcase, which is free and open to the public, has become a must-attend event, putting young designers in contact with a broad audience of buyers, journalists and bloggers. Meanwhile, every year, an award is given to one country, one designer and one exhibition curator, by an expert panel chaired by Sarah Mower, a fashion journalist for Vogue, who focuses on emerging talents within the British Fashion Council.

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"The International Fashion Showcase is a unique project and the first to promote the work of emerging young designers from all over the world on such a large scale. It builds on London's reputation for shining the spotlight on young talent and celebrating diverse fashion cultures," she said. 

Among the installations not to be missed during the 4th edition of the IFS: the Columbia exhibition, which will notably showcase the country’s traditional basket weaving, print and quilting techniques; an exhibition featuring the work of five designers from Nigeria, including Kenneth Ize and Adebayo Oke-Lawal; as well the Polish exhibition. 

Also worth mentioning: a Japanese installation that explores the two extremes of contemporary fashion in the country—the minimalist sensibility of traditional clothing (from wafuku) and interpretations of Western-style clothes (yofuku).