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Great Scot earns BFC honour
Jonathan Saunders has been named the 2012 British Fashion Council (BFC)/Vogue Fashion Fund winner. He studied printed textiles at the Glasgow School of Art and then went on to a master's degree at Central Saint Martins. Since his debut collection in 2004, he has been wowing the fashion world with his distinctive use of colour and consummate print skills (especially silk screen). Saunders also won awards from Elle and Lancome and last June was crowned Scottish Fashion Designer of the Year for the second year running. He has consulted for Pucci, Chloe and McQueen and is earning wide acclaim for his sophisticated yet modern take on womenswear.
'The last 12 months have been an exciting time for me and my team, and I'm very proud of all their hard work. We have many plans for the near future, and this, along with the support network provided by the BFC, will enable us to achieve our goals,' says Saunders.
The win gives the 34-year-old access to valued director-level industry mentors and provides GBP200,000 (HK$2.4 million), a cash prize aimed at giving promising British talent the resources to develop their businesses globally. Judges were impressed by Saunders' aesthetics as well as his clear and concise view of how the label should grow.
With stock sold at prestigious stores such as Bergdorf Goodman, Liberty, Luisa Via Roma, Net-a-Porter, Printemps, and in Hong Kong at Harvey Nichols, Saunders is already known in major fashion capitals.
A home with style and substance
LVMH's global expansion has been aggressive in the past few years, with countless store openings in the growing Asian market, but it's good to know that Europe hasn't been entirely left out its plans despite being in recession.
Louis Vuitton recently opened its first flagship maison in the Italian capital at the Etoile in Piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina Square. Luxury fashion's go-to architect, Peter Marino, designed the store to honour the heritage of the Etoile - Rome's first cinema complex - by including an 18-seat cinema.
The French brand joined forces with the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Italy's oldest film school, and created programmes to show its commitment to cinema. The first fruit of that union is Handmade Cinema, a documentary produced by Luchino Visconti di Modrone and directed by Guido Torlonia.
Architect Marino was joined by celebrities such as Cate Blanchett, Catherine Deneuve, Margherita Missoni and Silvia Fendi to celebrate the store opening.
