London Runway Issue 17

LONDON

RUNWAY

INTERVIEWS FROM MAKE IT BRITISH LIVE . INTERVIEW WITH MONIKA DOLNA . WOMEN IN ART PRIZE

GRADUATE FASHION WEEK . HUNDRED SHOWROOM . LONDON ORGANIC . MONIKA DOLNA

ISSUE 17 June 7 2018

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CONTRIBUTORS Editor: Rhiannon D'Averc - editor@londonrunway.co.uk Editorial Assistant: Candice Wu - info@londonrunway.co.uk Lead Photographer: Rhiannon D'Averc Photographer: Joanna Foster - shoots@londonrunway.co.uk Features Editor: Rachel Parker features@londonrunway.co.uk

Contributors: Ian Clark at PhotoByIan, Min Luu, Bianca Gemma, Vicky Hanna, Ieva Delininkaityte, Joanna Finata, Annaliese Irven Special thanks to Monika Dolna

Advertising enquiries - info@londonrunway.co.uk Submissions - info@londonrunway.co.uk Š 2018, London Runway and contributors

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IN THIS ISSUE Letter from the Editor

Just when we're starting to miss the flurry and bustle of Fashion Week, here come a couple more weeks of big events to tide us over.

mind and work of someone who - we think you'll agree - is doing some pretty exciting things. Look out for our editorial shoot and interview as you read on.

Graduate Fashion Week kicked us off, and we have plenty of upcoming designers for you to admire this issue. Keep a close eye on these ones - they might just be the next big thing to come out of UK fashion schools. Make sure you leave us some comments on our social media pages to let us know if any of them really caught your eye.

What else are we talking about? We've got plenty of interviews and insights from Make it British Live!, as we promised in issue 16. Those make for very interesting reading, so don't miss them.

Blink and before you know it, we'll be at London Fashion Week Mens.

That's coming up very soon - just a day after our issue release date, the first show will be taking place.

We're so excited to bring you more coverage of that in our next issue.

We dropped by not one, but two designer showrooms during the past fortnight, and we're really excited to see how designers are coming together across the city and from other parts of the UK and beyond. There's nothing more exciting than a collective especially when everyone is banding together over a theme, like the ethical concerns presented at the London Organic pop-up.

We also have a particularly exciting double feature for you this issue, as we present the work of designer Monika Dolna alongside a conversation we sat down together for. It's fantastic to be able to bring you this insight into the

There's a new arts prize to enter, and we're lookng at music under the light of fashion once again too. We spent some time thinking about the way products are promoted by musicians, and how fashion brands can raise their profiles with a well-placed gift or two.

All that and more - don't we just spoil you?

Don't forget, we're currently open to submissions, so go ahead and check londonrunway.co.uk to read our guidelines for writers, photographers, and artists. We welcome contributors from all directions, whether you want to try your hand at a feature article, write about arts, or pop up in our music section.

And as always, drop us a line via info@londonrunway.co.uk if you have a show you think we should see or a feature you think we should run.

Enjoy!

RHIANNON D'AVERC

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CONTENTS Photography London Organic Pop-up - 7 Hundred Showroom Pop-up - 14 Graduate Fashion Week - 18, 73 Miss Curvaceous UK 2018 - 58

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Chanterelle (cover feature) - 61 Features Fashion News - 4 Interviews from Make it British Live! - 11 Music, Fashion, and Identity Today: Product Placements - 16 Women in Fashion - 56 Interview: Monika Dolna The Big Question - 77

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via Temperley London

FASHION NEWS BRITISH BRAND TEMPERLEY LONDON TAKE AN ITALIAN HOLIDAY

by Rachel Parker Leading lights of the London fashion stage Temperley London have announced the opening of their first pop-up store in Porto Cervo, an idyllic cultural hotspot on the northern coast of Sardinia.

The London based brand will spend the summer months in the exclusive holiday location, showcasing a specially curated edit of their Spring/Summer and Pre-Fall 2018 Collection.

Drawing sartorial inspiration from the Mediterranean surroundings, the colourful printed midi-skirts of the Summer 2018 collection speak of days lounging by the poolside, while the glitz of the label’s sequinned and ruffled eveningwear is ideal for sipping cocktails at sunset.

Curator of Promenade Du Port Andrea Brugnoni said that Temperley London’s ‘‘modern, bohemian spirit and artisan skill will certainly be appreciated by our many discerning visitors this summer. Porto Cervo’s translucent sea and spectacular coastline will provide the perfect backdrop for this SS18 collection.”

With its rugged coastlines, white sand beaches and brilliant turquoise sea, this corner of Sardinia is a suitably picturesque location for Temperley London’s escape from the big smoke. The pop-up will be open from June until September, ready for holiday shoppers.

via Temperley London

The pop-up will be hosted in Promenade Du Port, a luxury retail outlet hosting around sixty concept stores, restaurants and designer boutiques. The Sardinian shopping hub features fashion, art, food and design by a range of emerging and established brands.

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FASHION NEWS UK RETAIL HITS A GROWTH SPURT IN MAY

by Rachel Parker

Both online and offline sales were up overall, with the two bank holiday weekends giving us some time off to hit the shops. The report stated that total sales rose by 4.1%, while online non-food purchases increased by 4.3%.

The fashion sector was one of the areas to benefit from the growth, with the sunny weather and Royal Wedding spirit leading to a boost in sales of summer clothing ranges.

According to Paul Martin, Head of Retail for KPMG, an ‘‘appetite for non-food categories, including fashion, also experienced a welcome uplift.’’

This is good news for the fashion economy, in a month where high-street stalwarts Marks and Spencer and House of Fraser have announced nationwide store closures. But Helen Dickinson OBE, Chief-Executive of the British Retail Consortium, warned that there is no room for complacency.

"Despite this more positive set of sales results, the retail environment remains extremely challenging, with trend growth still very low by historical standards. Retailers remain focused on investing in new and exciting shopping experiences for the future as margins remain tight and the competition fierce."

via Pexels

British retail sales grew at the fastest rate in four years during May, according to a report by the British Retail Consortium and KPMG.

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FASHION NEWS SELFRIDGES WINS TITLE OF ‘BEST DEPARTMENT STORE IN THE WORLD’

by Min Luu

The award was announced at the latest Global Department Store Summit held in London, organised by the Intercontinental Group of Department Stores. The British department store was recognised for its outstanding leadership in delivering excellent customer service, successful developments and executions of product, store, online and service innovation strategies, a remarkable business acumen, creativity and a commitment to sustainability.

Most famous for its iconic flagship store on Oxford Street in London, Selfridges will hang on to its title until 2020.

The managing director of Selfridges, Anne Pitcher said: “We are thrilled to have Selfridges recognised again as the best department store in the world.

“This award is a huge honour and perfectly timed, as we near the completion of our transformation programme for Selfridges London.”

Founded in 1909 by American businessman H. Gordon Selfridge, Selfridges is the second largest shop in the UK. The company is aiming to complete a £300 million refurbishment of its flagship London store by the end of 2018.

Pitcher added: “It is also a great tribute to the commitment of our teams and gives us even greater inspiration to exceed our customers’ expectations, in delivering extraordinary experiences.”

The Intercontinental Group of Department Stores is the largest association of department stores worldwide and has 42 members from 38 countries on five continents. Its Global Department Store Summit is held every two years and is the world’s only department store-focused discussion platform.

The award ceremony was attended by over 380 leading executives and stakeholders from around the world.

via Selfridges/Instagram

Luxury retailer Selfridges beat off competition from France’s Printemps and Italy’s Rinascente to win the title of 2018’s best department store in the world for the fourth consecutive time.

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LONDON ORGANIC POP-UP If you like your fashion ethical, then you’re in for a treat.

We attended the press day for London Organic’s new pop-up in Marylebone, at 7 Thayer Street. The shop encapsulates a number of ethical brands: making silk scarves without boiling the silkworms, using upcycled old clothes to make new garments, and focusing on sustainable materials from fair sources.

The brands featured include Paul Magen, Lia Chahla, Mona Pink, R Staar , Kara Khuma, Julie Nicaisse, Phannatiq, Aarti Mahtani, Couture Boutique, Rua Luja, Kausheya, LALLAXRR, Supermoon London, and Caroline London – amongst others. At least, that’s what they included when we stopped by: the pop-up will be rotating through a number of brands for the duration of their several weeks’ stay, in order to ensure continual freshness.

Stop by and take a look sometime before they close in July – we’ve included a few brief shots of the brands we saw on the day, though there is plenty more to discover.

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MAKE IT BRITISH LIVE: INTERVIEWS Candice Wu talks to makers and designers at the Make It British Live event

ADAM, KALOPSIA Who are you, and what does your company do?

I’m Adam from Kalopsia Collective, in Edinburgh. We make primarily accessory bags and womenswear. We work mostly from a collection of standardized shirts that can be customised and adapted to the client's needs, so it takes a lot out of the product development time and a lot of that confusion, especially for small clients or people who are adding to existing ranges. We do a lot of work with people who have one or two big signature pieces, and then we fill the rest of their range out with them to make the whole process a lot easier because it’s a nightmare half of the time. On the stand with us, we have BeFab BeCreative, who are our distributive printer who are based just up the road, so together, we can offer our products and printer fabrics as well. So, again, just making that whole conversation with manufacturers easier and more positive for designers and for the manufacturers.

When did the company start, and what was the inspiration?

We’ve existed as an organization since about 2012. We became a business in 2013. Essentially, we were trying to get products printed and then made, and we couldn’t find anywhere to do that. So, the more we looked the more we realized that there was a need for this, and I’m going to figure out a way to do it in a positive way that everyone makes enough money, everything gets sold and into the market. We decided, since no one has done it, then we’ll be the people to do that. It was that simple really, and then, it's just been basically 5 years playing with

the model and working out what we can do to make it all work out nicer. You know, it's one of those things where a lot of people in the industry have that thing where its just a lot of frustrating conversations a lot of the time, a lot of stop/start, a lot of waste, and no one really wants that. It's just how we get past that somehow has always been a challenge, so hopefully, fingers crossed, we have one of the solutions for that, at least in some ways.

You had mentioned that you collaborated with BeFab. What is the process and collaborative process like?

So BeFab has print facilities to do that. It's all digital with all natural fibres, great linens and silks, and things like that, so many of our clients work with them. And, they can literally just walk into our office, that’s kind of how close we are. So, again, it keeps it kind of nice and close together and done in a quite positive way, and we have a nice link to them. As a client, you’re not having to get fabric printed and then get it back to you and then check it and send it off to them. So, BeFab, they often have a sample of their client’s print. They have that set up with the client, and they just check the print up against that, which are the same. It gets sent straight to us. It gets made up and then sent on, so you get to deal with only just one point of contact in that whole process. As a client, you receive finished products, which is much better especially with the apparel and the new side of what we’re doing. Originally, it was just the bags, and that’s been really interesting - how you can take something so complicated and kind of simplify that process. It's been really successful so far, and we’re just looking at how we can improve that.

The range we have at the moment has faux zips or fastenings and things like that, again, just to make the conversation easier. But, the question now is how do we do that with a more complicated design, which is interesting because there

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a few things planned for later that will have that and a few accessories as well. Some pretty cool little details that, hopefully, will work! We’ve got the base understanding of how we can do this now, so now we can start to do things that are a bit more complicated. Exciting.

How did you and your partner get into fashion?

It's a bit of a weird journey for me. I met Nina, who’s my business partner, in University, and Nina’s a trained tailor. So, she had the technical knowledge, and I was a printmaker. So, really, its almost like I’m one of our clients, in a sense, one of our original clients, and we’ve kind of grown much bigger now.

But, it was a really interesting thing. Nina had the skills to make the stuff, and I kind of knew what people had wanted. Together, we could kind of figure out how do you articulate what you know into a service that someone like me would understand. We often find that a lot of independent printmakers and fashion designers don’t always have that technical knowledge, so those conversations are very difficult because the manufacturers are saying one thing and what the designers are saying and thinking are different. It's how you bridge that gap in a way and take away the frustration and miscommunication, like having to resample things just because what's being conveyed isn’t being produced. That’s kind of how we got into it. It's like they’re speaking about the same thing in two languages. We find that that’s always the big tension point between manufacturers and designers. Anything we can do to make that easier makes everyone happy because no one wants to spend those days and weeks of going back and forwards. It’s really a matter of just talking. Even having base products, we found, has helped. We thought it might alienate some of the bigger companies that are used to having complete bespoke stuff made for them, but it's actually the opposite. It gives us something to talk about. If they’re looking for makeup bags, we have an example of one.

Even if they say, “No, it’s not like that,” its giving them somewhere to start. And having that foundation kind of makes it again much easier. It's an interesting one and we’re very pleased with how it works. Its great, and it's exciting.

OLGA, NEOBOTANIC Who are you, and what do you do?

We are a London based factory called Neobotanic Ltd, and we are introducing our factory and some pieces of different collections that we have produced in the past. This is mainly in order to show potential customers what work we do and what finishings we can do because we mainly deal with high end manufacturing, and so it's really useful to show the quality of the materials involved in the production.

What are some brands or shows that you’ve worked with?

We work with London based companies who have taken part in London Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week. We produce samples for the catwalk shows, and later on, after they have done their sales, we go ahead and do some small production orders, sometimes big production orders, depends how successful the sales. Some of the clients, we’re very proud of. We actually met them at this show 3 years ago, so today, we’re looking forward to meeting more brands, more exciting brands.

Is this something that you started on your own?

Yes, I started this around 9 years ago. Basically, as soon as I moved to London, I started as a pattern cutter, and slowly, step-by-step we've just grown to a small production studio and then now we are like a small factory. Employed a team of 10 seamstresses. Bigger scale, a much bigger scale now.

Was the process hard?

It was lots of time, like usually 24 hours a day and lots of skills, but my job is also as a professional designer. I can do

patterns, and all those skills help in production. So, when I work with highend brands, I know what they would expect and what the product is supposed to be because, as a designer, I know what I would like to have as a final result. So sometimes if there are issues with patterns throughout the making process, I can easily get involved and make decisions and fix those issues because my knowledge helps with that. I find it much harder if you don’t know the actual making process at all. I’m basically self-taught. I’ve learned everything basically through just making it.

What was your motivation to get into fashion?

I graduated as a fashion designer from my country. I’m from Russia. My education is fashion and art, so I’m a painter, and at the same time, my second profession is as a fashion designer. I only used to design the dresses. I knew nothing about the manufacturing process, so once I moved to London, I learned how to actually do the production process. Nothing to do with designing anymore because our designers have their own team. They have their own big studios and designers who design the concept. But, its not less interesting for me than design. It’s very exciting anyways.

Where do you see Neobotanic in the future?

I would like to still keep small. I wouldn’t like a 300 people factory. Still keep it small to concentrate on the quality, and I still want to keep working with small, limited

edition orders. I find it more interesting. I would probably want to expand, at some point, a bigger audience of clients. I would like to try to work with Victoria Beckham, some other exciting companies. I haven’t had a chance to work yet, but I’m looking forward to it. Just as many more names as possible, and as a brand, I also used to have my own line called Neobotanic Fashion. That’s basically where the factory company name coming from, so originally, it was Neobotanic Fashion because I used to have a brand. I’m actually wearing one of my old garments. It's based on the fruits and vegetables prints. Styling and recording the fruits, and this is like an apple seed. It was quite an organic idea for the brand, so I was dealing with digitally printed silks and wool. Everything is 100% natural. For example, these pieces are from my 5 years ago collection. They’re quite organic, and I used to have bags made of coconut. It was a really nice concept. It's just the business is tough. It's hard to sell, and I’m still hoping in the future that I manage to get back on track.

And, it's going to be my second.

DAMIEN, GILL DESIGNS STUDIO How did the company start?

My grandad started it in the late 50s, and he used to buy seconds or damaged goods from some of the stores and whatever. And he got my grandma to fix them, and he would go on a train, go to a market, set up a market, and it grew from there.

What was your grandfather’s inspiration behind doing this?

His inspiration was making money and being successful and starting an empire.

He had a degree from India, and he came. He almost was in the Olympics because he was an athlete as well. He had a degree in the 30s, in the 1930s, and then he came here and gave up everything to follow a dream to better everything for his family. He started in Scotland sharing a house and then the midlands, and he started setting up shops. He started doing markets with 1 suitcase and then 2 suitcases. Then, it was like a van, a factory, and then, it was a 40,000 sq ft. purpose-built factory. He started buying other things and investing in new businesses, and he just smashed it, basically. Took a risk. He was a doer.

Why did you and your brother decide to continue the family business?

To keep it going, and also, we are born and bred business men. It’s in the blood.

What is the process like?

We can work from sketches, and we can almost work from anything. We even offer a service where you’ll sit down with our designer for a dedicated amount of time, like 4 hours or something, and you can literally develop whatever you want.

And, it’ll go from there.

Images by Candice Wu

HUNDRED SHOWROOM POP-UP We were in for a real treat at the Hundred Showroom pop-up, which saw several of their brands come together from across the UK and further afield. Sequinned selfportraits emblazoned garments by Adam Frost Realness, while Nathalie Coste works with upcycled clothes from the 80s and 90s to create a real pop culture look.

C.U.M. uses denim patches and embroidery over hand-written words to make a point, while Heather Rutherford presented ethereal fabrics all ruched and gathered by hand. Chema Diaz enjoys references to Britney, Lindsay, and other car crash star careers, while Elvhem is a new venture between designers Kat Howley and Thomas Newbury.

Enjoy a few shots over the following pages, and look out for more from this showroom and their talented designers in our next issues.Â

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MUSIC, FASHION, AND IDENTITY TODAY PRODUCT PLACEMENTS Candice continues the discussion on how music and fashion have coincided and influenced one another throughout the decades.

A music artist’s style is one of their most memorable aspects, often defining them from the plethora of other musicians and artists. It is also a lookbook or style guide for many devout listeners and fans, especially those born in generation Y and Z who are also known as Millennials and Gen Z. Born between 1980 to the 2010s, they have easier access to songs, music videos, and the latest fashion news on their favorite singers and stars through the advanced technology available to them today. Instead of waiting for the next MTV airing, they can easily access YouTube or Google for the newest song and music video. As they are constantly being exposed to this form of media, its influence over them is even greater than it was in the past generations.

Music artists and their videos influence our current fashion trends and styles to such an extent that even our self-identity can be affected. The strategic product placement has such a direct and indirect influence on what we choose to purchase and how we choose to dress and present ourselves.

Today, music artists are regarded as almost god-like creatures, with millions of fans and followers spending thousands to mimic their style. Even the slightest mention or appearance of a brand worn by an artist or featured in a video can boost the revenue of that brand drastically.

Having designed for Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, and many more, Italian shoe designer Giuseppe Zanotti said, “These celebrities are great brand ambassadors and embody the spirit of my collections in a unique way. Whatever they wear or post on social media turns into the current season’s must-haves for all their fans and our customers.”

Appealing to a consumer’s ethos is one of the best marketing tools, which is why music is such an effective form of advertisement. When listeners connect with an artist and their music, their emotional attachment develops into a form of trust with the artist. People are more likely to follow and take advice from those that they trust, so this trust leads people to think, “they’re wearing this brand, so it must be a good brand to wear and try”.

Those who listen to more indie or folk music might have a wardrobe of throwback 90s clothes or boho influenced pieces, while those who listen to punk or rock might be decked out in dark tones and leather ensembles. Although this is a general assumption that doesn’t apply to all, it is an apparent trend in the majority of music listeners and lovers.

They are more inclined to dress according to their favourite

PRODUCT PLACEMENTS music genre or artist because that is what and who they can identify with.

Strategic brand product placements can also boost a star’s image and popularity.

Prime examples of this would be Lady Gaga and Bjork. Their fashion displays - with Lady Gaga’s meat dress and fire-shooting bra and Bjork’s swan dress, to name a few - kept them in the forefront of almost every notable magazine for years. Paired with their music, it helped establish their images of eccentricity and unconventionality that they are most known for.

Also, as mentioned in the previous music article in Issue 16 by Caz McKinnon, Stevie Nicks’ Boho Chic aesthetic and style is an integral characteristic and image of the band Fleetwood Mac. Artists get to wear the latest designs by major brands and companies while establishing their star status depending on the brands that they represent, and the brands, in turn, get to promote their products through the artists and their videos. Some artists even earn enough revenue from the product placements to pay for a majority, if not all, of the production costs of the music videos.

Brands, such as Givenchy, Nike, and Gucci, are constantly being name-dropped in songs. Listeners, for example, may feel the urge to purchase a pair of Nike shoes as a

result of listening to the songs. The effectiveness of this collaboration is highly sought after, which is why product placements have boomed in the recent decades.

The music is what defines the artist or band, but their fashion and image are often what solidifies the genre or identity of them.

Like the structure of a princess cake, the exterior (consisting of a beautiful, green marzipan cover, pink petals, and piping details) represents the fashion side of things, and the sponge cake layers with the pastry cream and jam represent the music side of things. Both sides combine together to form this beautiful delicacy that is enjoyed by all.

The mutualistic relationship between the two industries has carried them for decades, and it will only continue to develop and improve as more technological advancements are made and new generations are born.

See more from Candace on Instagram at @candace_x9 Images via Pixabay, except: Lady Gaga via proacguy1; Bjork by Cristiano Del Riccio

Our photographers descended on Graduate Fashion Week to capture the best looks from the most promising students across the board.

There is always a sense of raw excitement when looking at the first designs from a new graduate. Some of them can be predictable: rehashed versions of looks we have seen time and again. On the other hand, some of them can be incredibly exciting. If anyone knows how to break the rules, it's fashion students who have nothing to lose.

Just about every style and client imaginable is represented in these collections, making for interesting viewing. You can support your favourites by looking them up on social media, and - if you really love them enquiring about custom pieces. Many of them will be happy for the opportunity.

Let's raise up the next generation of designers, and ensure they have the tools to bring their work to a wider audience in the future.

We start with Northampton University, photographed by Ian Clark. The designers and their three or four looks, in order, are as follows: Jennie Hardie Lorraine Makumbe Melissa Francis Mesoni Lindsay Bryony Rodd Zang Wei Susan Campbell Lucy Moulton Hannah Guiver Amna Saghir Mojadesola Ayemobola The galleries after Northampton come from Bath Spa University. We love the bright collections with lots of contrasting patterns and panels, and it's fantastic to see some alternative menswear as well.

Following them is Birmingham City University. Look out for an extremely exciting collection which plays with texture, colour, and covered faces. You'll also notice that stripes are in in the Midlands.

GRADUATE FASHION WEEK

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WOMEN IN ART: FIGHTING MARGINALISATION Rachel Parker discusses the under-representation of women in the art world, and discovers how a London based project is aiding emerging female artists.

Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum? In 1989, a now-iconic poster by The Guerrilla Girls, an anonymous group of women in the art world, posed this very question.

According to their survey of the paintings housed in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, less than 5% of the artists represented were women, while 85% of the nudes in the galleries showed a female figure.

Fast forward nearly 30 years, and the picture is still disheartening. According to statistics published by the National Endowment for the Arts, while 51% of artists working today are women, only 27% of the solo exhibitions at major institutions over the past six years went to female artists.

Meanwhile, only 38 of the figures included on ArtReview’s 2017 list of the 100 Most Influential People in Contemporary Art were female. The situation is no better in the UK art scene, where work by women takes up just 4% of the National Gallery of Scotland’s gallery space, 20% of the Whitworth and 35% of the Tate Modern’s collections.

But it’s not all bleak, with a rise in the number of women being appointed to lead some of London’s biggest galleries. Director of the Tate Modern, Frances Morris, has been vocal about her desire to dedicate more gallery space to female artists, while Maria Balshaw became the first ever female director of the Tate group last year.

Meanwhile, work is being done at a grassroots level to promote female artists. One North-London project is attempting to tackle the issues faced by women in the art world head on. The Holly Bush Emerging Woman Painter Prize was established in 2017 by the Ecclestone Art Agency, who have teamed up to host the 2018 award with Hampstead pub The Holly Bush and their Chiswick based brewery, as well as Cass Art supplies.

The Holly Bush Emerging Woman Painter Prize is dedicated to championing the careers of emerging female painters, and will select 21 female painters over 18 years of age living and working in the UK or the EU to form part of an exhibition at Burgh House in Hampstead. From these artists, an award will be given to a female painter who has demonstrated exceptional potential to become an established professional artist. As well as £1000 in prize money to assist in developing an artistic career, the winning entrant will be featured at the Flux Exhibition in London. A runner-up will receive a £250 voucher from Cass Art, Hampstead.

The prize constitutes part of Ecclestone Art Agency’s wider project to support and celebrate female artists, through their Women in Art initiative. The main aims of the project are to raise awareness of the under-representation of female artists, assist women from all backgrounds emerging into the art world, and to promote the success of existing female artists.

Founder and curator Sue Ecclestone explains that she was inspired to start the project during an exhibition in 2015, when she was asked by a visitor why only one female artist was on display. Motivated to ‘‘be part of something that could change the perception that women artists are few and far between’’, the prize was conceived as a practical means of celebrating and supporting female talent.

As Sue notes, it is mainly a lack of exposure that holds women in the art world back. ‘‘Since I started this, my own contact with women artists means that I have done two exhibitions this year that have been women only, not a conscious decision, just the people I have had the most contact with… This may be why we need more women at the top of the industry.’’

Last year, the prize was awarded to Rosso, a female painter based in London whose work centres around investigating the human condition through dreams, childhood memories

WOMEN IN ART and fantasies. She uses mainly oil paints and traditional artistic techniques to create works exploring both contemporary realism and classical symbolism. Since winning the Emerging Woman Painter Prize, Rosso’s career has progressed at a rapid pace, with her work exhibited at The Bloomsbury and the Mall Galleries, as well as Zebra One Gallery in Hampstead. This month, her paintings will be displayed at a solo exhibition in Islington, revealing just how much she has achieved since attaining the 2017 award.

Rosso describes the year since she won the prize as ‘‘incredibly productive and rewarding’’, both in terms of creativity and her career. ‘‘I have spent many hours in my studio, developing new ideas and subject matter, at the same time I have been exhibiting my work in new and prestigious venues, such as in Bloomsbury and the Mall Galleries. I have been working and finishing a whole new range of portraits, some with a narrative, some very simple and delicate. Because of the financial award from The Holly Bush, Hampstead, I had the chance and pleasure to paint with models from life, often beyond the finances of an emerging artist.’’

Projects like this reveal how much impact support for female artists can have, offering women encouragement, networking opportunities and a chance to

advance their creative careers. Let’s hope in the coming years we will see more work by female artists on the walls of London’s galleries, as the art world becomes more invested in emerging female talent.

The Holly Bush Emerging Woman Painter Prize is open for entries: the deadline is Sunday 8th July 2018.

Rosso: Going Solo is on from Wednesday 13th June to Thursday 28th June at Islington Art Space, Cass Art Islington.

You can find Rachel on social media with @rachelfrances_

Images via Pexels, except: Rosso and Ballerina in Black Shoes via Ecclestone Art Gallery

MISS CURVACEOUS UK 2018

Curvy and confident plus size model Corrine Mensah has been crowned this year's winner of the UK's top plus size modelling competition, Miss Curvaceous.

The event took place at the Hangar (London fields), on Sunday, 14th May 2018, and for the first time in its history saw a tie prompting Theodore Ilori, founder of Miss Curvaceous UK, to announce that the winner would be decided by a final showdown; leading to an unrehearsed face-off style catwalk between Corrine and fellow contestant, Chloe Fiducia.

Images and text via Miss Curvaceous UK. From top: The Curve Squad; Hiba Heather, photography @Tristawgphoto; Chloe Fiducia, Nikisha Knight, and Yasmin Dean wearing Reebok; Winner Corrine Mensah wearing Xehar Curvy Other photography by Tabz Wilson

As part of the winner's prize, Corrine will be flown out to LA to shoot a fashion campaign for Xehar Curvy. Additional prizes for her include an exclusive feature in Style and Curve Magazine, a cash prize of ÂŁ500 and a 12-month modelling contract from Ms Curvaceous UK.

MONIKA DOLNA INTERVIEW

We spoke to designer Monika about her fascinating sketchbooks, a real insight into the designer's mind. In the following pages, you can see her garments in our editorial feature.

Can you introduce yourself?

Hi, I’m Monika. I’m a fashion designer, but then I also have another job working in an office.

How did you get started as a fashion designer?

I studied fashion at the London College of Contemporary Art and Design. So that’s how I started, but I wanted to be a fashion designer since I was 11. I basically came to London because I wanted to be a fashion designer. It took me a while because I came here without any English.

"IT WOULD BE A SHAME TO NOT USE THE GIFT THAT I’VE BEEN GIVEN" So, how long ago was that?

It was long ago. Because in between, things happened, and it stopped me from doing what I wanted to do. But now I’m finally back on track.

How do you find your inspiration? You work with a lot of shells and mushrooms.

It’s everywhere in nature. When you focus on one element, you suddenly see it everywhere. It just comes alive.

Tell me a bit about your process? You start with collecting pictures?

I’m always visiting places, like in this case it was museums or I’ve been travelling, so I’ve always been collecting pictures. It’s all around me. Once you focus on it, it’s just everywhere.

You create so many designs, how do you decide which ones go forward?

It’s hard to decide which ones. At first, I just brainstorm the ideas, I put everything down and then I decide. It’s more about which ones could be possibly sellable, because I can go crazy on the paper but no one would wear it.

So, tell us about your recent work.

I’m building my portfolio, trying really hard, because I want to get out of the office. I really would like to work for a fashion brand. It would be a shame to not use the gift that I’ve been given.

What would be your dream position?

I would like to be a designer with my own label, but that’s a far, far dream!

What’s been your proudest moment so far?

I think when I had my first fashion show.

That moment when you wait, and all the

models come out, and there’s a lot of photographers - you finally feel, “Yeah, I’ve done it!”. That feels great!

What does fashion mean to you personally?

Fashion, I think it’s art. It’s the way we express our personality. I think people shouldn’t really follow trends, but it’s more about us. It’s something we like, something that’s “us”, so we should represent it.

How about your personal style?

I think I’m very classic. I’m very simple at home, too, I prefer to have everything white. It’s a white canvas, because then I see the ideas. If I’m surrounded by a lot of stuff – colours, shapes – then it would disturb my ideas. I prefer it really blank, and then the ideas come.

Do you have any unwritten rules in your work?

Let’s start with what I always must do: if I have ideas, I have to draw them. Because they come really unfrequently, when they come, they have to be noted, they have to be sketched. That’s what I definitely have to do.

Is there anyone that you admire the post?

I always admire couture designers, like old Valentino. I don’t want to say that the new one is bad, but I prefer the 80s and 90s that’s how I grew up. I was just admiring them.

What’s your next project going to be?

I’m working on something which is again inspired by nature. It’s still in process.

Let’s take a look at your sketchbooks!

This is one where I’ve been drawing and didn’t actually make anything out of it.

Still, I think it’s very rich for ideas. There

were a lot of circles as inspiration – and as you can see, I see it everywhere.

Do you think there’s a particular theme or shape that runs through?

Yeah, balls or circles – and then we move to the nature part. It’s a process, as I go, each time I see something else. I see architecture, or ballet, and I try to interpret the shape into a garment. I see the pattern itself, what it does and how it looks afterwards. It could become a trail, or a skirt. It could work many ways.

Do you think you’ll revisit these designs, maybe make some of them?

Yeah, they’re always there for me.

Sometimes there’s an idea in an idea, you know?

Do you enjoy illustrating as well?

Yeah, these are very rough drawings, very quick ones. But I like to paint, use watercolours as well, but they aren’t really used a lot in my sketchbooks.

Do you prefer working with pen and paper?

Yeah, I prefer to draw. I guess that’s the only thing that worries. I can do Photoshop, but I’m not as good as on the paper.

I can see your process – you start with shape, then move into colour and texture.

Yes, and then it all comes together at the end.

Find Monika on Instagram @monika_dolna Illustrations by Monika Dolna

London Runway | Page 61

CHANTERELLE Photography - Rhiannon D'Averc Assistance - Rachel Parker Models - Ieva Delininkaityte, Joanna Finata Styling and floral crowns - Bianca Gemma Hair and Make-up - Vicky Hanna Designer - All pieces by Monika Dolna

GRADUATE FASHION WEEK CONTINUED Our coverage of Graduate Fashion Week continues with Rochester University, with photographs by Annaliese Irven.

In order, the designers are: Hope Macaulay (this page) Amie Hartland Michaela Punnett Ashley Bradford Cory Fellows Brittany Martin After the Rochester images, we have a few from Kingston University. In order, the designers are: Tom Going Jess Leney TillettÂ

London Runway | Page 74

London Runway | Page 75

London Runway | Page 76

THE BIG QUESTION We asked, you answered

“I would invest in my label and expand its scope by creating more collections, whilst also helping emerging local talent with training and internships” – Jordan James, fashion designer/creative director of J.James, Newcastle Upon Tyne

“I would use the money to develop my own brand/start-up in the future” – Olivia, Bath Spa University student

“I WOULD INVEST THE MONEY INTO MY BUSINESS FOR ONLINE MARKETING AND MATERIALS” - HALLIE LONSDALE, UNIVERSITY OF NORTHAMPTON FASHION STUDENT AND SHOE COMPANY OWNER

"Right now? Get my full motorbike license so I can travel more. I would actually love to visit the jungle again, a little family that I met there. I learned so much from them, I want to see them again. If I have some extra from that £1,000, I’ll go there and do something with them."

– Sander Gee, Art Director “I would travel to France to take one of Tracy Chaplin’s millinery workshops” – Kelly Jo Schultz, self-taught milliner and owner of Angeline Alice Millinery in Minnesota

I would definitely take a holiday, I love travelling. I would love to go to Thailand, Vietnam, Argentina and Latin America, Cuba…!

- Monika Dolna

“I WOULD BUY A NEW CAMERA” – BAM, MODEL

“Buy a trip to London! I went to London for the first time in February for a couple runway shows.” – Misty Lockheart, model and actress

"I would create a magazine" – Rika Unica, jewellery designer

“£175 as a place confirmation fee for the Top Model UK 2019 model search… I was a 2018 finalist and would do it again if given a chance. £550 a return flight ticket to attend the event in London, the rest donate to Children With Cancer which is supported by Top Model UK” – Terry Kinyanjui, upcoming model Get in on the action - follow @londonrunwaymag on Instagram to spot next issue's question

Next issue: More from Graduate Fashion Week Stunning editorial feature Style of The 1975 Interview with creative set designer Rana Fadavi Coming 21st June

LONDON RUNWAY Find London Runway: londonrunway.co.uk instagram.com/londonrunwaymag twitter.com/londonrunwaymag facebook.com/londonrunwaymag pinterest.com/londonrunwaymag/ info@londonrunway.co.uk

JUNE 18

Front cover: Chanterelle - Ieva Delininkaityte wearing Monika Dolna Back cover: Graduate Fashion Week

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