Bdaily visited London Fashion Week to find out how emerging designers juggle creativity with a business agenda. We spoke to designers receiving the British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN sponsorship, which allows new talent to show at fashion week. Bdaily were invited to shoe and accessory designer Sophia Webster’s presentation in Belgrave Square.
Sophia Webster’s designs have been called “sophisticated and modern, commercially viable yet creatively fresh.”
It is this combination of unconventional design and business initiative that have made the bubblegum-pop meets aztec-print designs a winning formula for the Royal College of Art masters graduate.
Sophia spoke to Bdaily about how she made decisions about where to place her collection commercially.
“My collection is the only debut collection from a designer to go into the price bracket I’ve gone for, which is between ￡200 to ￡550.
“I chose to do this with my agent because having the shoes made in Italy would push the prices right up, so we produce them in Brazil. Nobody else has gone in at this price point.”
The designer has enjoyed the heights of success since winning the Drapers Student Footwear Designer of the Year 2009 and the Browns Shoe Designer Award, also in 2009.
Sophia’s presentation included models posing inside life-sized doll boxes, decorated with her vibrantly kitsch yet chic designs, much of which was made possible by sponsorship from the British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN fund.
Sophia explained what it was like to receive this support, and how it helped her collection and business.
“It’s amazing to win the NEWGEN sponsorship. It’s really prestigious and I’ve been given the money to help show my work. It gives you the exhibition space to show, which is incredible. It’s very exciting and I’m happy with the way it’s turned out.”
Sophia has succeeded in her aim to produce shoes that are wearable, can be manufactured, and have a unique design selling point in a marketplace where it is highly challenging to distinguish a product.
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