Fashion Scout, the international showcase for fashion pioneers, is delighted to announce the four winners of The Ones To Watch Award for London Fashion Week AW19: 1×1 Studio, Aurélie Fontan, Bowen Hu and Shie Lyu. Ones To Watch winners are selected from a long list of up and coming designers, and the winners obtain the opportunity to showcase during London Fashion Week. Created in 2014, this collaborative show is now in its 12th season and continues to be one of the most anticipated shows during LFW.
Fashion Scout Founder and Director Martyn Roberts commented: “This season’s Ones to Watch truly demonstrates what the award was created to showcase and we are excited to have on board this season a designer who has been recognised for their vegan and ethical inspired work as well as menswear. We have a bold and colourful eclectic mix of designers from around the world making Ones To Watch the highlight of the AW19 schedule.”
The AW19 Ones To Watch winners are:
Aurélie Fontan – Paris born, London based designer Aurélie Fontan launched her eponymous label in 2018, firmly establishing herself as an sustainable fashion designer with a focus on bio-design and circular economy. A fashion graduate from the Edinburgh College of Art with an additional background in Art History, Aurélie’s work represents the “techno-craft” concept, where feminine, inspirational and eco-friendly luxury womenswear is produced from the latest technology and unconventional techniques. After obtaining 6 nominations at Graduate Fashion Week, she was commissioned by SAMSUNG to make the first 90% recycled and biodegradable Couture collection, entirely designed and manufactured through a smartphone.
Shie Lyu – Originating from China and having lived in Sydney, Tokyo, New York and London, Shie’s eponymous label, personal identity and design aesthetic has been formed and inspired by traveling the world for over 12 years. With a background in finance and accounting, Shie has a passion for meticulous construction and sculptural silhouettes which remind her of composite index curves and cubes in financial charts and mathematical models. The label is known for its intricate use of unusual industrial materials like molded Perspex, rubber, and heat shrink industrial tubing to create its textiles and contrasting colourful embroidery and beading by haute couture techniques.
1×1 Studio – The luxury menswear brand established in 2017 creates playful 3D textures in knitwear focusing on craftsmanship and creative knitting techniques. Founded and lead by Taiwan born, London based Yi-Ling Kuo, a London College of Fashion graduate, 1X1 Studio uses recycled materials, specialist yarns and crafted knitting techniques in hope to raise awareness of undiscovered territories. Since graduation, Yi-Ling has worked at Mary Katrantzou and Julien Macdonald, later winning the FDC Young designer Award.
Bowen Hu – New York based designer Bowen Hu’s designs are strongly influenced by her understanding of personalities and psychology. She focuses on unisex collections with an innovative approach to textile, color and silhouette. Her ideas of design tend to psychologically or physically support the wearer and environment, and its interaction with the garment itself. Alternatively, the garments can be exhibited as an art sculpture individually due to their high level of detail and artistic skill. Bowen’s textile background at Central Saint Martin is the inspiration for her collection’s study on unique surfaces – all textiles are handmade with a ‘side on’ layering technique, using the edge of the fabric as the final surface to the garment, and her designs are paired with a background story and a music sound track that she made.
