British Fashion Council and Royal Academy Schools collaborate

The British Fashion Council Arts Foundation and the Royal Academy Schools has announced a new fashion arts commission project that has paired graduates from the RA Schools with NewGen and NewGen Men designers.

The partnerships have created arts works that will form part of an auction at Christie’s, with all proceeds going to the British Fashion Council’s Fashion Arts Foundation, which is one of its registered charities.

The pieces will be on display from October 31 – November 11 at Christie’s King Street gallery in London and will then be part of an online auction from November 22 – December 1.

Designers who have taken part in the inaugural fashion art commission includes menswear design duo Agi and Sam, men’s and womenswear designer Alex Mullins, men’s footwear designer Diego Vanassibara and print designer Kit Neale. They’ve been paired with fine art graduate Joe Frazer, visual artist Amy Petra Woodward, sculptor Victoria Adam and sculptor and installation artist Jonathan Trayte.

British Fashion Council chief executive Caroline Rush said: “This project is all about bringing together talented creatives from different visual backgrounds. Cross-cultural partnerships help push innovation and creativity and having the fashion and art industries working together allows the participants to share knowledge and practices. The Fashion Art Commissions project at its heart is about creating inspiring and educational content as well as generating funds for future artists and designers.”

Christie’s London head of online auction, post-war and contemporary art department, Paola Saracino Fendi, added: “The vibrant dialogue created between the young artists from the RA Schools and the fashion designers has been inspirational. Our vision for digital at Christie’s is to put together a selection of artworks that establish a visual conversation with contemporary art and I am thrilled that these emerging young talents have chosen to showcase their new works in the context of our upcoming online auction. The title of the exhibition and auction ‘Portfolio’ was chosen to highlight the strength of this incredibly diverse selection – it reads like a sketchbook of ideas and I hope viewers find it as forward-thinking and exciting as I do.”

Image: British Fashion Council