Eudon Choi at YoungBritishDesigners.com
Having been launched just over two weeks ago, the project aims to 'create the first dedicated retail environment purely focusing upon young talent working in this country' and to celebrate the risks that British designers take in order to create the world's most exciting fashion. Edited selections from the 36 designers' collections are available to purchase from the site, often in limited runs - these are future collectibles, after all.
We spoke to Julian Whitehead, one of the founders of the website, along with his partners Debra Hepburn, Adrianna Wheatley and Stuart Jackson (the latter two hit on the original concept after being inspired at LFW AW10, back in February.) They turned to Debra and Julian for some practical advice on how to get the project started, and the team's combination of experience in advertising, marketing and fashion, along with a healthy dose of youth and enthusiasm has contributed to its success. According to Julian, the YBD staff are committed to "producing something new and exciting, as well as giving something back to the UK fashion industry. We want to set people off on their chosen paths, and hope that the site will help them along the way."
This is a great platform for making contemporary fashion talent accessible to the public, at a much earlier than normal stage in a young designer's career. They were possibly the first people to spot and stock Felicity Brown, who most recently designed for Lanvin as well as selling her collection through the youngbritishdesigners site.
Felicity Brown at www.youngbritishdesigners.com
The roster of designers is an evolving process and the buying team hope to add new collections to the site as and they discover them. By next season, there will be a host of new names added to the website's line up. YBD should help these future fashion legends to begin building their own design legacy, and enable savvy shoppers to buy a little piece of creative history.
www.youngbritishdesigners.com