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BACK in 2006, a gang of young upstart Scots travelled to London to show the fashion world what they were made of. Among them were the then little known Christopher Kane, along with Jennifer Lang, Niki Taylor of Olanic and Sarah Raffel. They were trailblazing members of the first Scottish design collective.
In the intervening years, Kane, of course, has gone on to become the fashion world’s darling; Lang is knitwear designer for All Saints; Taylor designs for Schuh and Red or Dead; and Raffel is founding director of Brazen Studios jewellers.
The design collective, too, has grown up, been rebranded Scotland Re:Designed, and is about to embark on its fifth exhibition, celebrating the very best in the country’s fashion and textiles. Chris Hunt, the man behind it all, recalls: “I had put together a collective of designers starting out in fashion, raising sponsorship to take them to trade shows like London Fashion Week. Jennifer, Christopher, Sarah and Niki were the original four, but I also took down Ana Cruzalegui [the cosmetics wizard behind We Are Faux lashes] to do make-up, which otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to do.”
With most business loans unavailable to these tiny, fledgling brands, pooling resources and working together was the best – sometimes the only – way to get things done, says Hunt. “We covered things like the cost of the hotel, the sort of things that make these business development opportunities unachievable.”
The model has been honed and perfected over the years, with visits not just to London but also to New York and Chicago in recent years, offering designers the chance to secure orders from big name outlets such as Barneys, Anthropologie, Saks 5th Avenue and Thom Browne. But this time round they’re doing things a little differently.
“The feedback from the exhibitors and the panel,” says Hunt, “was that they wanted a bit more mentoring and some skills development as well as being introduced to buyers and having opportunities to meet media.”
So, for instance, next week in Edinburgh there will be combined meetings with the Scottish Textiles and Leather Association, as well as collaborations with Fashion Foundry, a business support scheme, and contributions from the likes of Johnstons of Elgin, Harris Tweed Hebrides, the V&A and MYB textiles of Ayr. “All the organisations are working together over what’s going to be a very full calender of five days.”
Buyers will be present, from Harvey Nichols, Harrods and Liberty, as well as from Scottish stores such as W2 menswear in Glasgow and Jane Davidson in Edinburgh, providing a hothouse of networking opportunities.
But how to choose those involved? The project received more than 60 applications, which were eventually narrowed down to just 12, including three designers each from four categories: menswear, womenswear, accessories and interiors.
“To choose 12 would be impossible for any one person,” says Hunt, “so it’s great to have a panel of buyers looking at it and saying, ‘I want to meet that company, I want to come to Scotland on 7 November and I want you to introduce me to this person because I want to commission a range of knitwear.’ Or, ‘I already stock that person’s jewellery but I need to top up my order for next season, can you make sure I get to meet them when I’m up?’
“Skills are developing and changing,” he adds. “There’s a lot of really exciting people working and creating fashion and textile design at amazing levels, internationally, and some new characters are coming through as well. There’s a constant stream of talent and it’s really important to celebrate and encourage that.”