Browns Focus announces Series Two line-up
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The initiative relaunched last year to celebrate not only new talent but also to highlight Browns’ legacy at nurturing innovative designers and creatives. Series One featured Conner Ives, Maximilian, Mariah Esa, Commission, Bianca Saunders, Labrum, Lueder, Saul Nash and Tsau, who all produced exclusive capsule collections with the luxury retailer.
The Series Two cohorts will once again create exclusive capsules spanning womenswear and menswear and be spotlighted through creative and community-centric activations.
Ida Petersson, womenswear and menswear buying director at Browns, said in a statement: “I strongly believe that it’s more important than ever before to highlight emerging brands, as they represent what fashion will be not only today but tomorrow and beyond. Without their curiosity and talent, we can’t progress as an industry, and it’s our responsibility as a retailer to support and nurture these designers.
“This year’s line-up was chosen by our New Gen buyers, Joseph Brunner and Stephanie Bannock, who have worked closely with each partner to build out capsules that represent each brands individual aesthetic and DNA. We are honoured to have the opportunity to work with these incredibly gifted designers and hope our customers will enjoy the finished product as much as we enjoyed the whole process.”
Browns to spotlight Ahluwalia, Bethany Williams, Nicholas Daley and Wales Bonner
Highlights include Bethany Williams creating a collection inspired by her first-ever public artwork, ‘All Our Stories’, a sustainable flag installation which launched last year at The Coal Drops Yard in London’s Kings Cross. Each piece within the menswear capsule includes intricate details from the installation, and all the fabrics contain a mix of reused or recycled materials.
While Wales Bonner has taken cues from her previous collections to create a unisex capsule featuring new and updated iterations of some of her bestsellers, including denim sets and tracksuits, and Ahluwalia is building on her SS22 debut at Browns with an exclusive capsule inspired by life in London and her Indian-Nigerian heritage.
Nicholas Daley has created a menswear capsule expanding on his much-loved themes of tie-dye and patchwork, with the latter consisting of upcycled fabric, rebuilt and repurposed, while Namacheko have collaborated with long-time friend, Kamil Abbas, creative director of A$AP Rocky‘s AWGE creative agency, to create a menswear capsule featuring the brand’s greatest hits.
There is also a womenswear and menswear capsule from Feben featuring a bright colour palette that explores the idea of texture, shape, colour and pattern through beautifully fluid materials, and Selasi by photographer, artist, curator and designer Ronan Mckenzie has designed a womenswear capsule, entitled ‘To Float Knowing I Can Stand’, drawing inspiration from water, to mark the brand’s debut at Browns.
This season’s programme is also being brought to life in partnership with multifunctional creative space ‘Home’ founded by Ronan Mckenzie to inspire, share and support the next wave of BIPOC talent. The move aims to celebrate and support the values and ambitions of R.O.T.A (Representation On The Agenda), Browns’ internal network celebrating the breadth of communities within the company and the wider industry.
‘Home’ has worked with Browns to shape the overarching storytelling, content and events for Series Two, with Mckenzie serving as creative director and photographer for the campaign shoot.