Platform for emerging designers Fashion East, announce they will be supporting Grace Wales Bonner and Charles Jeffrey for SS16.

Next month LC:M will return with London’s best presenting next summer’s collections. A slot on everyone’s lips is always Fashion East, a showcase of London’s brightest emerging talent. The initiative scouts future industry heavyweights and helps kickstart their careers – previous designers include Craig Green, Sibling, Martine Rose, Nasir Mazhar, Matthew Miller, Astrid Andersen and Agi & Sam. Charles Jeffrey and Grace Wales Bonner are their latest recruits.

Charles Jeffrey, a recent CSM MA Fashion grad, is from the last intake of students to have been mentored by the late and great Louise Wilson. His student collection was widely revered – knotted leather belts cinched in the waists of oversized cable knits, disrupting collages of impasto applied paintwork. Models were transformed into walking murals and looked better for it. His SS15 collection takes a new turn, but his monthly club gathering LOVERBOY – a collaborative project where he teams with musicians, photographers and artists – will continue to influence his work. This June will be his debut at LC:M.

Jamaican-British Grace Wales Bonner is another CSM alumnus. She passed her BA in 2014 with flying colours and went on to win L’Oreal’s Professionnel Talent Award. Her winning graduate collection explored black male representation and blended African handiwork with the excess and opulence of modern couture techniques. This January she debuted at LC:M with her “Ebonics” presentation with Fashion East. She’s been riding the wave of success since, taking part in the V&A Museum’s Fashion in Motion series.

For ticket requests contact press@fashioneast.co.uk.

Words: Christopher Maul

Photography (Grace Wales Bonner): Amy Beasley