Meet the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Award nominees - Part 1

Emilia WicksteadNew Zealand born but London-based, Emilia Wickstead is a designer who has earned her fashion stripes through honest, hard work, strong geographic placement, and the fact design is in her blood. With a mother who designed bespoke dresses in Auckland, Wickstead eventually moved to Milan, before heading to London to attend Central Saint Martin's in 2007. After sometime in New York and again, Milan, she began interning for Proenza Schouler, Narciso Rodriguez, and Vogue. But the womenswear designer felt ready to establish her own label the following year in 2009, returning to London to open a made-to-measure atelier. She expanded into seasonal ready-to-wear, opting to first show at London Fashion Week for SS14. Since then the brand has infiltrated Britain’s royal family, courtesy of the Duchess of Cambridge and her love for Wickstead’s pastel-colored dresses and coats (most notably a clover green number, worn symbolically on Saint Patrick’s Day back in 2013). Wickstead also has a contemporary understanding of elegance, which has seen her dress the British Prime Minister’s wife, Samantha Cameron, as well as Alexa Chung. She flirts with fit-and-flare silhouettes across her gowns and skirting, opting for brights that are tasteful, not sickly sweet. Her latest feat is seeing Diane Kruger don an Emilia Wickstead original at the 72nd Golden Globes. Wicsktead’s biggest seller is her ‘Mercedes dress’, which involves a small waist with full skirt. It comes, either sleeveless or with sleeves and a scoop neck. Designed for all-round wear, it is made in single or double wool crepe, silk crepe or organza, which doesn’t crease. Key inspiration, fabrics and patternsEmilia Wickstead is inspired by elegance and dressing for the classy. Aware of not being boxed in by the style word 'mom-sy', the designer has found a perfect balance of gracious cuts and hour-glass silhouettes that flatter the body versus light and breezy shape-minimal dresses that add a bit fun and young. SS14 was an example of the latter, carefree vibe. Neopolitan ice-cream colors dripped over cotton-and-silk sheath. There was a geometric feel across some of the looks and jumpsuits in neon red; while unlined bright orange and pink striped dresses made for lightness. Silhouettes were also fluid and gaping. Denim ivory dresses boasted fan-pleated detail on the back, which were made to look like silk. Motifs included the musical note and honeycomb-bee prints.2. Holly FultonScottish-born, Holly Fulton operates out of London's East. She earned a BA in Fashion from the Edinburgh College of Art in 1999, completed a Masters at the Royal College of Art and went on to work on Lanvin’s accessories team in Paris, before launching her own label and eventually taking it to London Fashion Week in 2009. Dressing the likes of Keira Knightley, Solange Knowles and MIA, Fulton has won the Elle New Designer 2010, the Scottish Young Designer 2009 and 2010, the Elle Talent Launch Pad 2010 and Emerging Talent Accessories at British fashion awards 2010. She was a part of London’s Fashion East platform for two seasons before being awarded sponsorship and support from the UK's NEWGEN initiative five seasons in a row. Key inpiration, fabrics and patternsFulton embraces an Art Deco style synonymous with the Great Gatsby and old-fashioned glamor, mixed in with Scottish tweed and wool tailoring. Reflective of her admiration for Versace and Moschino, she draws her own mosaic patterns and prints by laboriously by hand, taking inspiration from patterns of the 30s 60s, 80s. Following her time as a jeweler, she embellishes garment pieces with crystal and glass beads - even creating a crystal and perspex dress with cityscape motifs for her collection in AW09. AW12 saw Fulton launch hand-woven Scottish tweeds reflective of Chanel suits, and create am artisanal range of color-blocked cashmere sweaters to play around with her heritage. Linear art deco symmetry and Chrysler-era graphics dominated the collection also, with glamorous and over-the-top embellishment (think Swarovski crystal) equally matched by the 20-tonal use of just two colors throughout the range. Most recently, SS15 showed labor-intensive crafted skirts, which were handwoven with ribbon and vinyl top-panels. A pale yellow jacket came embellished with black chevrons and taxi checks; while floral and geometric embellishments on jackets and voluminous picnic frocks, rounded out the collection in swinging 60s silhouettes.3. Mary KatrantzouAthens-born, Mary Katrantzou is the daughter of an interior designer mother and an entrepreneur father. She moved to the US at an early age and completed a BA in Architecture at the Rhode Island school of design, before transferring to Central Saint Martins to complete her BA degree in textile design. Graduating from her BA in 2005, Katrantzou shifted her direction from textile design to womenswear with a focus on print. She then went on to graduate in MA fashion from Central Saint Martins in 2008. Katrantzou's first ready-to-wear collection debuted at London Fashion Week in Spring Summer 2009, with the support of the BFC and the New Gen Scheme. She has dressed the Alex Wek, Sarah Jessica Parker, Emma Watson, Naomi Watts, Michelle Obama and Taylor Swift and won the Swiss Textiles Award in 2010. In November 2011, she was awarded the British Fashion Award for Emerging Talent in Womenswear and won Designer of the Year at the British Fashion awards in 2013. Key inspiration, fabrics and patternsKatrantzou is renowned for her trompe l'oeil prints. In recent seasons, she has been inspired by vintage perfume bottles, the interiors of old issues of architectural digest, objects of art and postage stamps – adapting these into prints. AW14 saw Katrantzou experiment with fabric construction where she implemented embroidery against crafted Swiss lace and hand woven jacquards. 2015 continued Katrantzou’s exploration of textile innovation, focusing on the concept of typography, with letters reinvented into glitter flocked chiffon, woven jacquards and brocade and intricately worked into tulle laces. She then entered the sportsluxe arena, collaborating with Adidas for a lyrca and print collection for women. Pre-Fall 2015’s paisley, check and houndstooth saw the designer celebrate classic heritage textiles. Katrantzou invented her own monogram, intertwined within lace and bespoke taffeta woven patterns. A paisley motif was formed using typewriter keys, tied in with pencils, brogue details, clocks and symbols from archive prints. Houndstooth panels were cut from postage stamps, while towel embroidery dresses created volume in velvet devoré. Starched shirts in taffeta and micro sequin embroidery; wool cashmere knits; a laminated canvas dress; Herringbone jacquards rounded out the collection. Finally, Katrantzou experimented with guipure lace and woven taffetas, composing geometric shapes in the cuts of the garments. The Designer Fashion Fund AwardOne of these nominees, if deemed the winner, will receive a high level mentoring support program over a 12-month period, as well as a £200,000 grant.They are in the running for the Designer Fashion Fund because they are in a "a strong position to develop into a global designer brand and represent the best of London's thriving fashion talent," according to the BFC.The winner will be revealed March 24th.