Today (21st May), British fashion icon and international recording artist, Ellie Goulding opened the hotly anticipated British Designers’ Collective at Bicester Village. Ellie Goulding is a keen supporter of British fashion and a British talent in her own right.
"Britain has a really unique vibe when it comes to fashion. I always find London Fashion Week so exciting and inspirational because you never know what you’re going to see next, whether on the catwalk or on the street." – Ellie Goulding
The event also saw the launch of the pop up’s social media initiative #BDCSELFIE where everyone is invited to upload their #BDCSELFIE to their Twitter and/or Instagram accounts to be in with the chance to win one of four £150 prizes.
The event was attended by British Designers Emilia Wickstead, J.JS Lee, Ryan Lo, Natalia Barbieri of Bionda Castana, Holly Fulton, Claire Barrow who were joined by British Designer Collective Curator Yasmin Sewell, Desiree Bollier CEO of Value Retail and Charles Saumarez Smith Chief Executive of The Royal Academy of Art.
Bicester Village has teamed up with the British Fashion Council once again to showcase young emerging design talents from a dedicated pop-up boutique. And, for the first time ever, the Collective will feature work by artists from RA Editions at the Royal Academy of Arts.
The British Designers’ Collective provides emerging British design talent with a unique opportunity to retail their work alongside internationally renowned luxury brands in Bicester Village. Guests will have the chance to discover must-have pieces from some of the most exciting up-and-coming names in British fashion from a stellar line-up of designers curated by brand advisor and retail consultant Yasmin Sewell.
Following on from their success at last year’s British Designers’ Collective boutique, Bicester Village will welcome back House of Holland, Lulu & Co, J.W.Anderson, Richard Nicoll, Mary Katrantzou, Lucas Nascimento, Jonathan Saunders, Peter Pilotto and Roksanda Ilincic. This year’s celebration of British fashion talent will also introduce Michael van der Ham, Marques’Almeida, Bionda Castana and Ryan Lo to the discerning guests of Bicester Village as part of the 2014 British Designers’ Collective boutique.
This year, the British Designers’ Collective will collaborate with The Keeper’s House at The Royal Academy of Arts. A renovated nineteenth-century townhouse, The Keeper’s House is the new home for artists and art lovers in the heart of Mayfair. It will be the inspiration behind this year’s boutique.
The partnership will see a number of limited-edition prints by current Royal Academicians Grayson Perry, Eileen Cooper, Stephen Chambers, Richard Wilson, Peter Freeth, Gary Hume and Bill Jacklin, plus prints by artists Vanessa Jackson, Ha Young Kim, Jane Harris and Pio Abad exhibited alongside the work of young fashion designers in the boutique.
“For five years Bicester Village has proudly partnered with the British Fashion Council on the British Designers’ Collective to support and nurture young design talent. This year, we are excited to be collaborating with another advocate of emerging and established talents: The Royal Academy of Arts. This partnership will not only provide a platform for gifted young designers and artists to showcase their work to an international audience, but will give our guests a taste of the incredible creative homegrown talent.” DesireĢe Bollier, Chief Executive – Value Retail Management