Founded by Lulu Kennedy in 2000, Fashion East has acted as a talent finder and incubator that’s birthed success stories including Kim Jones (Dior/Fendi), Craig Green, Simone Rocha, Maximilian Davis (Ferragamo), Martine Rose, Charles Jeffrey, Jonathan Anderson (LOEWE), Mowalola Ogunlesi, Chet Lo, and now maybe even you in the future to come. This is thanks to the just-opened application form for Fall/Winter 2023, giving you the chance to showcase your work alongside others in a co-ed presentation in February.

Explaining the application in more detail, Fashion East notes:

“We look for designers who have developed a strong signature to their work, understand the fashion industry at an international level and have reached the standard required to show on-schedule at London Fashion Week. Designers should be able to produce a coherent, well-edited & styled, small collection for the VIP editors and buyers attending. It’s preferable but not essential to have a fashion University qualification, and we encourage industry experience. Ideally, a designer will already be working with a stylist and may have generated some press coverage and have a plan to sell. Sponsorship is offered on a season-by-season basis, for 1-3 seasons. Please note that we often follow the progress of a designer until the panel is confident they are ready to show. If you are not selected when you first apply, you may still be invited to submit work again at a later date.”

Across the last two decades, Fashion East has been the last word in finding burgeoning talent in the United Kingdom. With up to three seasons’ worth of support, the incubator gives budding designers everything they need to come out of university (or another creative avenue where they’ve cut their teeth) and develop not just their talents and name, but a brand. From showing at London Fashion Week to receiving financial bursaries and gaining valuable mentoring from the Fashion East cohort, the opportunity is one that can kickstart any dream.

Those wishing to apply need to head over to the dedicated page on Fashion East’s website, where more information can be found.

In other news, AJ Tracey has launched an initiative to support Black students at Oxford University.