When it comes to fashion, young designers often go in and out of style as frequently as the trends they produce. But in a seemingly endless sea of Ones To Watch, there are those few who reveal themselves to have real staying power. Here are three emerging names who you will soon be hearing a lot about.
Edward Buchanan of Sansovino 6
The innovation: Knitted jeans and re-invented basics
The buzz: Buchanan is a seasoned behind-the-scenes vet who worked for marquee brands (Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein) before the Italian house Bottega Veneta hired him as a design director. Six years later, he moved back to Manhattan to consult Jennifer Lopez and Sean Diddy Combs on their clothing lines.
“But I never was that designer who was interested in celebrity,” Buchanan says. “So I returned to Europe. Sansovino 6 was that answer to what I had been wanting as a designer.” The line is also the answer to what many of us are missing from our closets.
“I asked all of my friends what they wanted for their wardrobes but couldn’t find,” he explains.
He took their answers — jeans that look modern but feel old and worn in, for instance — and made the knitwear equivalent. The end result is a collection of reinvented staples, such as a pair of skinny jeans that look rough and worn but is in fact completely knitted.
Rad Hourani
The innovation: Unisex separates
The buzz: Usually, when you think of the word unisex, nondescript T-shirts and parkas come to mind. But Rad Hourani’s eponymous clothing line features intricately constructed separates that blur the gender lines.
“When I’m designing a collection, I don’t think to myself that I am designing for men or women,” says the self-taught designer who splits his time between Paris and New York.
“I do things without gender or season. It’s about defying those limitations that are so often self-imposed. I think people should use their own brains to understand what they like or don’t like, rather than allow it to be externally decided,” he adds.
Flora Gill and Alexa Adams
The innovation: The line’s name means “no title” in German, and the New York-based duo’s work aptly has a quality to it that’s difficult to put your finger on. It’s powerful and yet soft. It cuts a clear line, but sculpts the body as well.
The buzz: Their fanbase grows by the season (Vogue Paris editor Carine Roitfeld bought a coat off the runway) as do their accolades. They’ve been nominated for both the CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund and Swiss Textile Awards.
