Fashion · In depth
The Next Generation of Fashion
NEWGEN, Sarabande and the funds that find fashion’s next generation.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Alexander McQueen
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Himiller · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Mark Ahsmann · CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Alexander McQueen
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Alexander McQueen
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Vivienne Westwood1 / 7
Four cities, four designers told how the fashion capitals were made. This companion series of four looks at the forces shaping fashion now: who owns the great houses, from Paris; the business of Fashion Week, from New York; the next generation, from London; and heritage against modern luxury, from Milan.
A city that backs new talent
London has always been fashion’s proving ground, and the next generation is where its reputation is renewed each season. The city’s gift is to give young designers a stage early, and to keep them there long enough to grow.
NEWGEN and the British Fashion Council
The British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN programme supports the best emerging design talent in ready-to-wear and accessories, with a showcase in February and September. The council values that support at about £80,000 in kind per designer, and its judging panel is chaired by Sarah Mower MBE.
Its 2026/27 recipients include Charlie Constantinou, Karoline Vitto, Pauline Dujancourt, Oscar Ouyang and Steve O Smith, a reminder that London’s new names come from every corner of the world.
McQueen’s legacy: Sarabande
Lee Alexander McQueen set up the Sarabande foundation to support the next generation of fearless creatives. It gives artists scholarships and studio space, and runs events from the practical to the inspirational.
The same story elsewhere
Every capital has its own nursery. In New York, the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund was established after 9/11 to help emerging designers; since then, 200 designers have received mentoring and more than $8 million in total.
London’s gift is to give young designers a stage early.
In Paris, LVMH launched its Prize for Young Fashion Designers in 2013, and in Milan the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana runs Milano Moda Graduate for the newest names.
Fashion with a conscience
The next generation also asks harder questions of the clothes themselves. Vivienne Westwood’s house shows one answer: its Worlds End Collection of unisex classics, from bondage trousers to kilts and slogan T-shirts, is made from leftover production fabrics in limited runs, sized by what fabric remains.
Our advice: to see where it all leads, spend time with the V&A’s fashion collection; some of its finest pieces, such as a Balenciaga evening dress of 1954, can be seen by appointment at V&A East Storehouse.
Location
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More in depth
Fashion · ShowsLondon Fashion Week: The Shows and the New GenerationMcQueen’s homecoming, Mulberry’s new chapter and the NEWGEN names of London Fashion Week.
The back storyCurtain up: London’s TheatrelandFrom Drury Lane’s Restoration playhouses to Shaftesbury Avenue: how the West End was made.
The back storyFrom the Barbican to the power stations on the river: London’s arts and architectureBrutalist icons, reborn power stations, the City’s towers and a calendar from Frieze to film.