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Seoul Man: Eudon Choi Talks To Lauretta Roberts

Our official review writer, Hannah Kane reports directly from the meeting where Eudon Choi revealed all to WGSN's Lauretta Roberts. Lauretta Roberts in conversation with Eudon Choi at SWAROVSKI CRYSTALLIZED™ Originally hailing from Korea, Eudon Choi is one of the most decorated designers working in London. In 2010 alone Eudon went from being a member of Vauxhall Fashion Scout's Ones To Watch group show, to the sole winner of their prestigious Merit Award, as well as the BFC/Elle Talent Launch Pad. A year later he was given the nod of approval by the usually reticent Ms Wintour as part of the VOGUE FASHION FUND at Milan Fashion Week, as well as bagging the Samsung Fashion and Design Fund and the LYCRA® Style Emerging Talent Award at WGSN Global Fashion Awards in New York. It's been a busy couple of years. The Industry's Donna Ida Thornton chats to fellow member and colleague, Claire Etchell and MD Courtney Blackman So what is it about this quietly confident man's designs that have the upper echelons of editors and buyers, such as those from Browns and Harvey Nichols, clamoring at the rails? Well, few designers have so elegantly captured the modern design aesthetic of the twenty-tens. A clean and contemporary interpretation of the modern woman's sartorial needs, with assured tailoring skills harking back to his training as a menswear designer in Korea. Celebrity stylist, Sabina Emrit & Navaz Batliwalla of Disneyrollrgirl take front row seats  After moving to London, Eudon completed the MA in womenswear at the Royal College of Art, and before he had even left the campus was picked up by All Saints as senior designer – the distressed and artfully grungy look a world away from his current designs. Then followed a stint as senior designer for the Miller sisters' Twenty8Twelve label before the launch of his eponymous label. Eudon enjoys a glass of bubbly with and Abi Ward of DeVetta PR and fellow members, journalist Olivia Pinnock & Charlotte Bramford from Knock on the Door Eudon revealed at The Industry, that there is a return to the high street on the horizon – though he's currently keeping quiet on naming the other half of the collaboration. For now, his focus is on building the brand. In an often all-to mercurial industry, Eudon Choi's story is a reminder that there's still mileage in the old adage – talent will out. By The Industry's contributor, Hannah Kane, editor-in-chief of PHOENIX All photos by The Industry's photographer, Sam Atkinson Would you like to join Eudon and Lauretta in the premier members group for those shaping the future of fashion? Visit our JOIN page.

Harriet Bowe

Abi Ward, Anna Wintour, BFC/Elle Talent Launch Pad, Browns, Charlotte Bramford, Claire Etchell, Courtney Blackman, DeVetta PR, Disneyrollrgirl, Donna Ida Thornton, Eudon Choi, Hannah Kane, Harvey Nichols, Knock on the Door, Lauretta Roberts, LYCRA® Style Emerging Talent Award, Merit Award, Milan Fashion Week, Navaz Batliwalla, Olivia Pinnock, Ones To Watch, Royal College of Art, Sabina Emrit, Samsung Fashion and Design Fund, Savannah Miller, Sienna Miller, Swarovski Crystallized, TellusFashion, Twenty8Twelve, Vauxhall Fashion Scout, Vogue Fashion Fund, WGSN

Olivia Pinnock Judges Emerging Trends

Looking to stock the next big thing? The Industry's Olivia Pinnock invites members to join her at the Emerging Trends Fashion Challenge. The winner of the competition will have the opportunity to show at Boston Fashion Week or during the Cannes Film Festival Olivia Pinnock, editor of TellusFashion is jetting off to Paris next month to sit on the esteemed judging panel of 2012's Emerging Trends Fashion Challenge. Representing the UK, she will be scoring designers from all over the world in their creativity, practicality and ability to sustain themselves within an agile market. With this in mind, we quiz her on the upcoming event. As a judge at the Emerging Trends Fashion Challenge, what are you looking for in new talent? Well the journalist in me is looking for something new, something exciting and something that stands out from the crowd. But from a business point of view it has to be a wearable collection that understands its target market. Hopefully I will discover something that ticks all of these boxes! Are there any countries you have your eye on in particular? I don't know which countries are participating yet but it is all about Asia at the moment. The rising talent coming out of there is definitely one to note. But from a personal perspective I love British fashion; I think we produce amazing product that has a both quintessential style yet appeals to an international audience. At the end of that day though it is all about the individual designers participating, no matter where they come from. How can Industry members get involved? Members of The Industry can get involved by coming along – if you're going to be in Paris on 7th July, it's at Espace Saint-Martin. If you can't make it then you will just have to stay tuned to TellusFashion to find out the winner! For more information on the Emerging Trends Fashion Challenge click here By The Industry's Features Editor, Harriet Bowe Would you like to join the premiere members group for those shaping the future of fashion? Visit our JOIN page.

Harriet Bowe

Emerging Trends Fashion Challenge, Espace Saint-Martin, Harriet Bowe, Olivia Pinnock, TellusFashion, The Industry

Member Interview With Knock On The Door

Industry member Charlotte Bramford set up Knock on the Door in 2009 after finding a gap in the ethical fashion market. Her revolutionary concept brings emerging design talent, best practice strategies and financial stability together to create a water tight business model. The Industry takes five minutes with Charlotte to find out more. Christine Hall in collaboration with Knock on the Door Tell us a little bit about what your company does and how you set up your business? Knock on the Door head hunts emerging designers, often recent graduates, and commissions them to develop a capsule collection exclusively for us. We then produce the collection using ethical fabrics and UK manufacturers; however the range is sold under the designers’ name. When looking to set up my own business I wanted a concept that was truly original. In 2009 I became interested in ethical fashion, an area I previously had no knowledge of, and the idea from Knock on the Door grew from there. Ethical fashion had a niche market that was growing and spreading into the mainstream. However, many of the ethical fashion brands lacked a strong or directional fashion element. Then there were talented graduates who were leaving university full of creative ideas but often without the experience or funding to develop and produce them into a commercial collection. My idea was to combine the two. Knock on the Door would source the ethical fabrics and fund the manufacture; however the graduates would have their name on the finished garments. The aim was to create a platform for talented designers to launch their career without them incurring crippling start up costs. In turn these future stars provide a much needed injection of style and creativity into the eco clothing market. What is it that Knock on the Door look for in the emerging designers that you work with? We have two main routes for finding designers. First is Graduate Fashion Week, which provides a fantastic opportunity to see hundreds of designers in one place. Second is through competition briefs we issue to our large database of designers. Applicants will send in illustrations and technical drawings of their entry. We will then assess them on various criteria, including their aesthetic appeal, the cost of production and the ability to source the relevant fabrics. What do you think the future holds for a more ethical fashion industry? Many of the larger retailers are becoming more aware of the need to implement sustainable practices into their supply chain and I hope this will continue. Ultimately it should be something which is done as a matter of course and not something which is done for publicity. Producing locally and supporting UK manufacture is something I encourage all new designers to do. It is important both for our economy and to prevent the loss of skills our manufacturing industry is facing. Where would you like to see Knock on the Door in five years? As word spreads that we work with new designers we receive more and more enquires asking where to source this, who manufactures that or just questions on general issues which new designers face. It is for this reason that we are currently developing a support package aimed at designers who are setting up their own label. Working with a few select designers, as we do at the moment, is good but being able to help hundreds more with the designer support package will be even better. We see this side of the business growing rapidly over the next few years, complementing our retail side and allowing us to add many more emerging designers to our website. What other Industry members have you worked with? The first member of The Industry I met was Courtney Blackman through an event at the Ethical Fashion Forum.  After joining The Industry, and being a regular at their events, I discovered I already knew some of the members but the events also provided me with the opportunity to make some great new contacts. Most notable is Olivia Pinnock from TellusFashion, partly because I love the work they do with emerging designers but partly because Olivia is just a lot of fun! Get in touch with Charlotte via The Industry Directory By The Industry's Features Editor, Harriet Bowe

Harriet Bowe

Charlotte Bramford, Christine Hall, Courtney Blackman, Ethical Fashion Forum, Graduate Fashion Week, Harriet Bowe, Knock on the Door, Olivia Pinnock, TellusFashion, The Industry