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Alexander McQueen’s foundation Sarabande sets up scholarships for designers and creatives – including cult jeweller and engraver Castro Smith (above).

Alexander McQueen’s legacy, fashion charity Sarabande, helps up-and-coming designers

  • In 2007, McQueen set up Sarabande to provide scholarships for creative people, such as Craig Green and Molly Goddard, who are now household names
  • Some of its graduates are showcasing their talents at Joyce in Hong Kong this week
Fashion

To understand the late designer Alexander McQueen’s real legacy, visit Joyce boutique in Hong Kong this week – but don’t expect to see any of the designer’s archive pieces. Instead, visitors will be transported to a buzzing creative hub where designers and creatives from Sarabande, McQueen’s charitable foundation, will showcase their talents.

Among them are Saelia Aparicio, who will live paint murals, and cult jewellery artist Castro Smith, who will show his hand-engraved rings. There’s a pop-up store featuring exclusive pieces designed by the foundation’s current designers and alumni.

Expect jewellery by Emily Frances Barrett featuring everyday objects such as flowers and … cigarette butts; menswear from labels Craig Green and Danshan, and from John Alexander Skelton; and womenswear from Katie Roberts-Wood.

When McQueen died in 2010, few outside the fashion industry knew about Sarabande, which was set up in 2007 to provide scholarships to graduate and postgraduate students (it was named after McQueen’s spring/summer 2007 collection). Under the guidance of his former right-hand woman Trino Verkade, the foundation has built a thriving and talented community of creative artists from all walks of life and from disciplines including art and fashion.

Emily Frances Barrett’s quirky jewellery includes cigarette butts.

“The foundation was built to be fluid and reactive to what the creative community needed and what is happening right now. While giving scholarships was a very clear objective, it’s really about providing a creative support system. We knew we wanted to have studio spaces where artists could work alongside each other.

“It’s great to have somewhere you can work without stress, but it’s also about human interaction. They all feed off each other,” says Verkade, who started working at the foundation full-time in 2017, after stints at brands including Thom Browne and Mary Katrantzou, where she was CEO.

Menswear designer Craig Green is a former Sarabande scholar.
Jeweller Charlotte Garnett had a two-year residency at Sarabande.

To turn her vision into reality, Verkade bought a former Victorian stable in trendy Haggerston, in East London. It now houses 15 studios that are either heavily subsidised or offered free to Sarabande scholars and other artists. The rest of the space is flexible and used for events, performances and activities, including a makeshift photography studio.

Recently the building has hosted talks, designed by Verkade and her team, that bring together the foundation’s friends, patrons, industry insiders and alumni to discuss topics associated with creativity and business. Participants have included jewellery designer Wallace Chan; shoe designer Nicholas Kirkwood; fashion designers Sarah Burton and Thom Browne (who helped select the scholars one year); and photographers Nick Knight and Tim Walker.

“Some of our graduates are so focused on their creative vision that they don’t know much about the back end of the industry. We try to make it easier for them by giving them information they won’t necessarily get from their peers. Topics can range from sales and how to deal with media interviews to even something simple like how to use [Microsoft] Excel,” says Verkade.

To date, the foundation has helped further the careers of more than 70 artists and designers, many of whom have become household names in their industries, including Molly Goddard, Craig Green and John Alexander Skelton. They no longer need studio space, but return frequently and pay it forward by mentoring new residents or manning the bar during an event.

John Alexander Skelton is another alumni of Sarabande.
A look from Roberts-Wood women’s wear collection.

The foundation was initially self-funded (it was the major beneficiary of McQueen’s estate), but as it looks to expand, fundraising has become essential.

“I’m looking to expand within the UK and open more studios. Having an environment people can work in and be inspired in makes them better at what they do. What we are is an accelerator versus an incubator,” says Verkade.

“Eventually I would love to have Sarabande in every city that could make sense of it. It makes me happy that we have helped these people achieve something that makes them happy, while practising their craft to the fullest. It is a privilege to be surrounded by such amazing artists.”

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Creatives carve out a meaningful legacy
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