In the wake of our beloved designer Virgil Abloh being appointed as menswear artistic director for Louis Vuitton. We reflect as the baton is passed on from british designer Kim Jones.
Virgil has made waves in changing the face of fashion and giving streetwear a much deserved platform within this. So much so that streetwear has become the new foundation for high end fashion. The position of menswear director at LV is no small feat and it left us thinking about which UK designers and creatives we could see making similar moves within the fashion industry. We came up with 4 individuals that we felt could make waves in particular roles within the fashion industry.
First up is Samuel Ross, creative director of streetwear brand A-Cold-Wall. Samuel has had a phenomenal year from his Air Force 1 collaboration with Nike, to having the most popular show at London Fashion Week Mens and also being shortlisted for the LVMH Prize and the British Fashion Awards Emerging Talent Prize. Having also worked for Virgil Abloh, Samuel is no stranger to high end streetwear, the runway, or the hard work that goes into rolling out new season collections. We would like to see Samuel take on a position as menswear director at Prada. Whilst Prada forays further into streetwear with its SS18 menswear collection, we believe Samuel will give the brand a better defined streetwear offering. His mechanistic utility based motif lends well to the brand and will be a great fit.
Next up is Siobhan Bell. Siobhan is known beyond being a DJ and has been killing it in the fashion scene recently. She dominated London and Paris Fashion Week to deliver some life changing fits! She also started her own brand, By King Bell which released the Henny for the culture tees. She has definitely become an influencer in recent years and we think this is set to continue. With brands flocking to work with her, we could see Siobhan becoming a contributing editor to Complex Magazine especially as she personifies both music and fashion! With her current Nike campaign it’s only a matter of time before she is heading up talks at Complexcon.
Our next person is something of a well kept secret. Whilst you will have heard of his brand Playdot Apparel, Kenny Annan is both a creative director and graphic designer. He takes inspiration from both streetwear and art and has produced collectible items such as the Vinyl Toy of their multi expressioned Playdot face. Kenny is highly knowledgeable on movements within the streetwear and art world, working with global gallery curators and boldly experimenting with fashion tech. As a result we could see Kenny taking a role on as design consultant for Bathing Ape. The brand’s rich art history and its influence on Kenny’s own brand make this a perfect fit.
Our last choice won’t come as a suprise for those who know our favourite sneaker brand. Mini Swoosh has taken instagram by storm with her innovative upcycling of Nike products. She was also recently a runner up in Nike’s Vote Forward Air Max competition. Her clothing brand studio-alch specialises in creating reconstructed Nike pieces. Her ability to use often discarded products and repurpose them is unique and would reinvigorate womenswear if she were appointed as a womenswear director at Nike. Mini Swoosh would move womenswear away from often having inferior products or stereotypical colour palletes thus it would be a worthwhile appointment and a welcome change!
We hope to see each of these individuals make waves within the fashion industry as a win for them is a win for us all! Virgil has certainly set the benchmark and let us know that it is definitely possible.
Original post at Certified UK.