The Prince’s Foundation and Yoox Net-A-Porter open applications for The Modern Artisan project

The Prince’s Foundation, an educational charity, and Italian online fashion retailer Yoox Net-A-Porter have opened applications for the second edition of The Modern Artisan project, a programme created to train the next generation in bringing responsibly made luxury womenswear to the fashion industry.

The four applicants to succeed will work with four graduates from the Italian fashion design school Politecnico di Milano. The eight graduates will start the programme in September 2021.

The programme aims to guide the chosen eight trainees through the process of creating responsible luxury fashion while providing ongoing mentorship from brand partners, The Prince’s Foundation and Yoox Net-A-Porter. At the end of the project, they will have created a capsule collection that will debut on Net-A-Porter and Yoox in Autumn 2022.

Jillian Halfpenny, a trainee in the first edition of the project, said in a statement: "Being involved in The Modern Artisan project was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which enabled me to put into practice all that I learnt at college and expand my skills in the full range of designing, manufacturing and bringing to market a luxury and sustainable clothing collection."

Additionally, the programme will begin with four months of design training at Yoox Net-A-Porter’s headquarters in London and Milan, subject to Covid-19 travel restrictions and six months of training in luxury small batch production skills at The Prince’s Foundation’s Dumfries House headquarters in Ayrshire, Scotland, subject to Covid-19 restrictions.

Fashion and textile graduates from the United Kingdom are invited to submit their applications for the ten-month paid training programme by 30 June.