It is hard to believe that Fashion Fringe is now in it's ninth year but it is true. The annual award set up by Colin McDowell in 2003 in conjunction with IMG Fashion has been responsible for launching the careers of some of the industry's finest designers such as Erdem, Basso and Brooke and Fyodor Golan and now added to the list is Chinese designer, Haizhen Wang.
All three Fashion Fringe finalists this year were designing up to professional industry standards proving that they were all viable winners. However, as are the rules of competitions, there had to be one winner and that was Central Saint Martins alum, Haizhen Wang. Vita Gottlieb and Teija Eilola were also fighting for the prize with Teija until recently being head of womenswear at Ted Baker and Vita having no official fashion design training.
Ultimately, however, the designers had to make a decision on who was to win the award so, after three very stunning catwalk presentations the judges left their seats and made their way into a back room where they were able to discuss their decision. During this time, the guests were entertained to music by the London based band, Bastille.
Haizhen's collection combined an avant garde style with a street style edge making the whole collection totally wearable but yet abstract enough for it to still please his cult following of fashionistas. Using his knowledge and skills gained from working under the guidance of MaxMara and All Saints, he was able to combine structured tailoring, 3D architectural shaping and a mix of contrasting fabrics to create his futuristic collection. We can be sure to expect big things from this designer in the future.
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