A New Generation Of Designers With Multicultural Background Stands Out

In the past, more and more group appointments related to diversity and inclusiveness issues, continuous concern for the social well-being of employees with different skin colors, and the eclecticism of different national and national cultures by many brands in terms of inspiration, inheritance and innovation The diversity construction of global fashion industry has not only been the theoretical basis, but also become more comprehensive and systematic in the long-term development practice.

Among them, with the attention and absorption of creative talents with different ethnic groups, community influence, and self-expression, traditional international brands can more directly and effectively harvest pioneer creativity and image renewal effect, such as former Louis Vuitton men's art director virgin abloh, or barista creative director demna gvasalia and other creative individuals, Because of rewriting the definition of luxury and the rules of fashion, he became a "opinion leader" with social influence.

           Demna Gvasalia、Virgil Abloh、Heron Presenton

Through the international design competitions such as LVMH prize, Yu prize, andam prize, Woolmark prize and so on, it can be found that more and more new generation designers with multi-cultural background are still standing out. As a result, cultural diversity is becoming the creative reserve of global fashion industry and promoting greater changes. On the contrary, it is increasingly becoming the value basis for the rise of a new generation of designers.

At the beginning of this month, the winner of LVMH prize Young Designer Award in 2022 was officially announced. Steven Stokey Daley, a 25-year-old British designer, won the annual award. He will receive a prize of 300000 euros and one-year guidance from LVMH experts. Steven Stokey Daley, from a working-class family in Liverpool, was initially interested in drama and literature, but when he was choosing his major, he applied for the fashion course at the University of Westminster and graduated in 2020.

Lvkey daze Young Designer Award

In the brand s.s.daley, which he co runs with his boyfriend, and the three season menswear series from 2020 to 2022, Steven Stokey Daley has been observing and giving new life to the old traditions such as the British class system from the perspective of the working class brought by his growing environment.

In the fall / winter 2020 men's wear series, Steven Stokey Daley studies the themes of historical and literary references, such as upper class society, education, patriarchy and male dominated private school elites, or in S.S. Daley's second series, subversive interpretations of typical British public school clothes. In this regard, he said that because of his working class nature, it is far away and illusory for him to be a British elite society. Such a growing environment and creative ideas, as well as the reference to traditional historical literature and the observation of old social system, are bound to bring more cultural diversity to his personal values and brand concept, as well as the resulting "romantic spirit".

S.s.daley autumn / winter 2022 men's wear show

At the same time, as S.S. Daley's theatrical fashion show during London Fashion Week, or the gender mobility design adopted in the British upper class uniform, such as printed wide leg pants, diamond knitted wool vest and embroidered shirt, not only attracted generation Z with non dual gender consciousness, but also recognized cultural diversity in a wider range as a men's wear brand S. S. Daley also accumulated a large number of female customers in a short period of time. "The younger generation may see gender mobility as the norm, but it's not the norm when I started a brand. I think it's progress and it's the most exciting place," says Jonathan Anderson

Silvia Venturini Fendi, artistic director of Fendi accessories and men's wear, also believes that the definition of clothing is becoming more and more vague. "The definition of men's wear has no meaning any more. Nowadays, many men's wear products are increasingly attracting female consumers," said Silvia Venturini Fendi.

The force of diversity in the new generation of designers is not only reflected in this LVMH Grand Prix, but also not limited to this event. It is because of its extensive, strong and rising appeal in the past years that its value of group creativity has been paid more and more attention by the fashion industry and can be used as the value basis for the rise of a new generation of designers.

In the 8th LVMH Grand Prix last year, South African designer lukhanyo mdingi won the Karl Lagerfeld special award with Chinese designer Zhou Rui and New York designer Colm Dillane. Growing up in a seaside town in East London, South Africa, lukhanyo mdingi moved to Cape Town in 2011 to pursue a degree in fashion at Cape Peninsula Polytechnic University and then continued to pursue a graduate degree. After graduating from University, lukhanyo mdingi began to study men's wear after finishing two seasons of women's wear series. He was eager to "give men's wear a personalized attitude" in South Africa. He once said that South Africa's appreciation of men's fashion was limited. Therefore, his brand with the same name represents a type of men's wear that South Africa had never seen before.

Lukhanyo mdingi autumn / winter 2022

Christopher John Rogers, an African American designer who was also shortlisted for the 8th LVMH designer Grand Prix in 2021, also won the CFDA / vogue Foundation Award in 2019. Born and raised in South Africa, Thebe Magugu is the first South African winner of the LVMH designer Grand Prix.

From June 17 to 19, 2022, sponsored by Yu holdings venture capital and presented jointly by Shanghai Fashion Week and FHCM, the winner list of Yu prize was officially announced, and the official agenda of the first season of Digital Shanghai Fashion Week was launched globally. Designers Pu Jialin & Zheng Zhongxi won the Yu prize and Li Ning annual award (2022), and they will jointly receive a cash award of RMB 1 million.

Yu prize 2022 announced winners

Pujialin & Zheng Zhongxi graduated from central St. Martin's College of art in London and jointly founded the gender brand pound in 2019 At the beginning of the research and development of men's clothing, it has been challenging to explore the complex relationship between men's clothing and traditional clothing through the research and development of women's clothing. In addition to the Yu prize Creative Award, the previous Ponter Er has also been selected into vogue Hong Kong the next list 2020, cooperated with the Hong Kong Ballet to design ballet costumes, and exhibited the spring and summer 2021 collection on the Paris fashion week.

As a young brand founded just three years ago, it has been recognized in many well-known competitions and platforms at home and abroad, which also proves from the side that not only the macro cultural diversity issues have become the value basis for the global fashion industry to gather creativity and realize sustainable development, but also to challenge gender stereotypes, which have been indirectly denied by old ideas in the past Or only as a "mask of diversity" of gender identity issues, but also gradually out of the narrow label world.

           Ponder. Er 2022 autumn winter series

In addition, it also includes South African designer mmusomaxwell, who won the Karl Lagerfeld Innovation Award in 2022 International Wool logo award; Cyndia Harvey, an inclusive hair stylist who was one of the winners of the BFC changemakers award last year, has been a supporter of black women and black hair, and the creator of the 2017 thought-provoking film my hair; Cool by Thomas Monet, a gender mobile brand shortlisted for the andam Fashion Award in 2022, and so on, more and more creative talents stand out from the international design competition and continue to build a tower for cultural diversity issues.

What's more, not only are these new entrants who are constantly encircled in the international design competition and rely on their individual creative ability and inclusive values, but also more new generation designers with multi-cultural background have gradually acquired the comprehensive strength to balance individual creativity, social values and market, They are constantly recognized by the business environment - they or succeed in taking over the helm role of international luxury brands with profound historical value, and successfully bring about modern evolution and double promotion of brand image and commercial value; Or through the cooperation form of guest seat and joint name, as a new creative asset for commercial brands to gain differentiation advantages in the dull business model and competition pattern.

Just a few days ago, Michael Burke, CEO of Louis Vuitton, attended Martin Rose's spring and summer 2023 fashion show. It was speculated by many media that Martin rose, as the successor of virgin abloh and the artistic director of men's wear, was also a Jamaican British designer deeply influenced by British Asian culture. Jamaican origin and South London's growth environment lead her to contact with a variety of different cultures, such as subculture, hip-hop and London street culture, which not only partly affects the cultivation of Martin Rose's value concept, but also reflects in the creation of her brand with the same name.

           Martin Rose

Although the Louis Vuitton spring / summer 2023 men's wear show, which ended last week, did not make a "as scheduled" verification for this speculation, but this can not completely deny whether Louis Vuitton will cooperate with Martin rose in the future, let alone affirm the creativity and commercial potential of designers with multicultural backgrounds for a long time in the luxury industry.

It is worth mentioning that when she was the creative director of Balenciaga, demna gvasalia also invited Martin rose to be a design consultant for Balenciaga men's wear.

Martin rose spring / summer 2023 men's wear show

In addition, a new generation of designers, who are also constantly recognized by the business environment and have different dimensions or multiple diversities in their distinctive creative styles, include Brandon Wen, who recently succeeded Walter van beirendonck as creative director of Antwerp college, and is of Belgian and French origin Marine Serre, a designer who has always been good at expressing the aesthetic feeling of multi-cultural integration and contradiction in her creation. After winning LVMH award in 2017, marine Serre has achieved rapid improvement in terms of team size, cooperative buyer scale and overseas market scale.

In addition to those who have been appointed as fashion brands in the United States in recent years, it is easier to reflect the creative background of the fashion industry in the United States, such as those who have not paid more attention to the creative brands in the fashion industry in the United States. For example, movalola ogunlesi, a Nigerian designer who was creative director of gap in 2020; Kerby Jean Raymond, who left Reebok's global creative director after his contract expired in February, is also a Haitian American designer who grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He also runs the personal brand pyer moss and is the first black designer to be invited to Paris haute couture week.

Kerby Jean Raymond, founder of pyer moss and former global creative director of Reebok

From being silent to shaking the so-called mainstream, black designers, gender mobile brands, or more prefixes with multiple racial and gender labels In the future, perhaps when all people completely ignore or forget these prefixes, it will be the time when cultural diversity is truly recognized in all aspects.

Before that, we need not only continuous communication at the cultural and commercial levels, but also a comprehensive grasp of the rhythm of communication and the balance of discourse power with the traditional cultural system and the market. For the "strong groups" in the past, such as international luxury brands, whether there is the risk of diluting the brand DNA if they innovate the brand image too quickly and violently through cultural diversity issues, Especially at the moment when more and more traditional brands are trying to promote this trend, there will be more homogenization risks. How to appropriately use diversity as a companion, rather than a substitute, to supplement their own modern creative vitality on the premise of taking into account historical advantages and cultural cultivation? The same is true for more and more new generation designers with cultural diversity background. How can the cultural system and market achievements continue to grow and output distinctive creative content, without falling into the situation of cynicism or losing characteristics?

Identity and tolerance can never be achieved overnight, but need a long-term discussion of several times.