On Off #TomorrowsTalents: a platform for Britain’s finest fashion

New York Fashion Week might still be in full swing, but the fashion crowd’s attention will soon divert to the British capital, where London Fashion Week (LFW) is set to take place from February 19 onwards. The event’s schedule is filled to the brim with established names such as Burberry, Alexander McQueen and Paul Smith, but LFW simultaneously offers a platform for emerging designers. One such occasion is On Off’s #TomorrowsTalent exhibition, which is set to take place against the backdrop of the city’s Vinyl Factory. This year’s designers include Rebecca Stant, Jonathan Miller, Natalie Simmonds, Hannah Wallace, Sara Brown, Chloe Johnson, Dora Abodi, Ella Nisbett, Kathryn McGee, Hannah Porter, Leo Carlton, Luke A. Harris, Manda Selena, Nicholas Martin Garcia, Qi Zhang, Veronika Marshall, Wenda Harmsen and Xiaozhou Su.

One of the designers who is set to showcase her work at #TomorrowsTalent is Middlesex University alumna Chloe Johnson. The fashion designer obtained her BA in Fashion Design in 2015, and believes this exhibition to be a good way to kick-start her career in fashion. “The industry is so competititve: there are hundreds of equally as talented young designers out there, so I do feel a great sense of achievement in being chosen. I think what On Off do for young designers is admirable – there are so many talented people that don’t have the means to showcase their work and go unnoticed.” Johnson’s menswear collection, named ‘End of Days’, is inspired on the biblical Book of Revelation. Items which are included in the collection are a basic brown leather jacket, an army print fur-lined parka in white and beige and a loose pair of trousers in dark green.

All designers who will participate in On Off’s exhibition were handpicked by a panel chaired by On Off-founder Lee Lapthorne. “With the return of On Off we we will bring a truly creative and avant-garde expression that is being missed with the ever-increasing constraint of commercial adaptation posed on the fashion week’s designers,” explained Lapthorne. In addition to the #TomorrowsTalent exhibition, On Off organises a number of fashion shows on the first day of LFW. Designers who will present their work during these shows include Clio Peppiatt, Edline Lee and Jessie Western. Several designers who also received On Off’s help with the launch of their career include J.W. Anderson, Peter Pilotto and Gareth Pugh.

Image credit: On Off Facebook