LCF student named ‘Designer for Tomorrow’

London-based, Romanian fashion designer Ioana Ciolacu Miron has fought off competition from emerging designers from all over Europe to be crowned ‘Designer for Tomorrow’ by Stella McCartney. The British fashion designer, who was unveiled

earlier this year as the new patron of 'Designer for Tomorrow' succeeding Marc Jacobs, headed a nine-member jury panel to chose Miron, a student from the London College of Fashion (LCF), for her collection Paradox during Berlin Fashion Week.

“All five finalists came up with fantastic ideas and have a good feeling for where they stand as designers. Ioana is a really big talent with masses of potential, and I hope we’ll be hearing a lot more from her in the future”, said McCartney.

Stella McCartney presents ‘Designer for Tomorrow’ award

Miron’s winning collection, which was all about contrasts, featured a diversity of materials like wool, plastic, chiffon and even plastic foam, as well as prints that she had hand-drawn. It was her innovative use of textures and shapes that put her ahead of the all-girl final, which included Katy Clark from Northumbria University, Jamie Wei Huang from Central St. Martins, Hannah Kuklinski from Hochschule Hannover and Annalena Maul from HAW Hamburg.

As winner, Miron will receive financial backing to showcase at Berlin’s next fashion week in January, along with a mentoring programme to help her through all aspects of the fashion industry, including public relations, production and finance, as well as one-to-one time with McCartney. She also wins studio space from Peek & Cloppenburg to help kick start her fashion career.

“We are looking forward to enjoying some really intensive time with Ioana Ciolacu Miron. Our individual sponsorship program provides support in the form of a studio, financial backing for her next collection, and the opportunity to take part in creative workshops. The highlight will be her first own fashion show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin in January 2014”, said John Cloppenburg, Member of the Executive Committee Peek & Cloppenburg KG, Duesseldorf and Fashion ID GmbH & Co. KG.

The ‘Designer for Tomorrow’ prize is an annual competition for up-and-coming design talent sponsored by department store Peek & Cloppenburg and Fashion ID, which is open to students from across Europe.

Images: Stella McCartney with Ioana Ciolacu Miron and a design from the winning collection