Around the World in Style

What could be better than a festival of fashion? For the second year running London plays homage to the boldest and best fashion talent from around the world in what has been dubbed the Fashion Olympics. Everyone from Argentina to Vietnam took part in a journey around the world in style.

Austria

The International Fashion Showcase, organised by the British Council and British Fashion Council, has brought to London some of the world’s most exciting and creative emerging talents. Throughout February, to coincide with London Fashion Week, London was treated to a fashion feast; twenty seven countries took part and exhibited work from established brands and well as emerging student talent.

London’s own unique style has been derived from a melting pot of cultural influences so it is only right that is should become the home of the Fashion Olympics.  The internet has brought us many things, not least of which a hungry for instant access fashion, and the rise of the fashion blogger has meant that we can access and be inspired by the street styles of someone living thousands of miles away from us; fashion is fast becoming an international language.

Vietnam

Serbia

The exhibitions being showcased hold a tantalising array of international fashion gems which range from chic and understated to bold and beautiful with a healthy dose of the eccentric and bizarre. Many of the countries taking part are home to a burgeoning fashion scene and this is reflected in the innovative and quirky designs. Bolivian-born designer Vivian Hidalgo brings a mix of rural and urban with her contemporary and colourful take on Andean patterns and traditions, whilst the six Romanian brands vary from the traditional to the decadent and everything in between.

Estonia

At MSL we love a garment with a tale to tell and the contributions from each country have a unique way of narrating the story of where they came from, through the influences, the techniques and the fabrics and prints we can build a history of the country through fashion. Let’s hope the showcase returns next year so that these countries can keep on telling us their fashion story.

By Samantha Vandersteen