The next generation of designers is responding brilliantly to the current times of technology, sustainability, and caring about the environment. Young designers are making apparel that provide viable solutions to the cultural climate and the desperate need for change. They truly resolve modern problems with modern-wear and are chipping away at major societal issues by innovating to upgrade our fashion options. Dressing in solutions to modern problems sounds like the perfect outfit to rock this season.
Generation next designers are perfecting the blend of current issues, like clean energy and #MeToo, with fashion into great looks. It’s about time consumers received an ethical approach from brands and retailers. As we all know by now, one of the fiercest, most influential brands in the world at the moment, Gucci, has banned fur. This is causing a ripple effect throughout the industry. And as fashion trends tend to change at the speed of light, and this beloved industry waits for no one, let’s get you onboard with what some of these novel designers are up to.
One of our new favorites is Liling Wang, founder of Darllight Design Studio and creative director of WANGLILING. She is one to watch for her savvy use of smart textiles. She uniquely blends Eastern and modern chic into actual glowing construction. Her creative application of fabric, inspired by science and fine art, has lead to ultra-stylish light up garments that transforms from day to night just from different lighting. The Taiwan-based designer studied for her MA at Central Saint Martins in Textiles Futures with a focus on light and natural elements and has a fashion design degree from Shih Chien University. Wang has embarked on designing a modern era of Eastern culture. Taipei’s InStyle has confirmed that “the Taiwanese fashion industry is one that must be recognized as an up-and-coming market for international buyers,” and WANGLILING is certainly proving them right.
Mumbai-based Yogita Agrawal, recent graduate of Parsons School for Design’s Industrial Design BFA program, wanted to create a motion-powered tool for affordable energy. Her goal was to light up off-grid rural communities like the tropical region of Chhattisgarh, India, where she’s from. She designed Jhoule, a device that harnesses energy from simply walking. This wearable smart device that resembles jewelry transforms human movement into free energy. Manufactured locally in India, it can be hooked or strapped to the waist and a moving limb like the ankle. The swinging motion creates energy, which charges the battery. Energy harvested during the day is stored and then used after sunset to power embedded LED’s, providing three to four hours of light. People in rural India are now afforded light to cook, for children to study, or for visibility when traveling at night. Jhoule can be strapped across a commuter’s chest to light up the road and make the user visible to oncoming traffic in the absence of streetlights. It can be suspended from a wall, and the motion generated LED’s can be used at its full brightness to allow light in an otherwise dark home. Jhoule is a fusion of the English word for joule (a unit of energy) and jhool, the Hindi word for a swinging motion. Agrawal focuses on impact-driven solutions in emerging global communities by designing beautiful innovative products with sustainable technologies.
Israeli designer Nitzan Kish creates modern body armor that provides protection against sexual assault. Launched in 2015, the collection, Me, Myself & I, comprises of fashion-forward clothing and jewelry created from 3D printing that act like medieval style chainmail. The jewelry is interwoven with technology that can alert authorities or loved ones of danger, or send a GPS location. And garments can turn into spikes for self-defense if the wrong pressure is applied.
Last, but certainly not least, is UK’s Maddie Williams, who debuted during the Fall/Winter 2018 London Fashion Week. Her striking collection, constructed of handcrafted fabrics, was derived primarily of recycled and repurposed plastic bags. She is an avid proponent of designing apparel that is aesthetically pleasing while also being eco-friendly. The Edinburgh College of Art alum, who interned at Vivienne Westwood, creates her own textiles and invents silhouettes. We look forward to her pushing the envelope of concepts way beyond the norm of sustainability and creating looks that are compelling and wearable.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of the next generation of designers. There are so many not mentioned here. Hopefully this will spark our curiosities to seek out more newbies. And if you haven’t noticed, none of the designers are based in the U.S. Perhaps it’s one of the consequences of the current immigration policies, to disperse talent elsewhere? However, as always, fashion continues to be integrated into the social, political, and technological fabric of the day. Today, emerging creatives seem to be staying local to become global. And fellow fashionistas are jumping aboard this style train.
Michelle Alleyne
MSHOPNYC.com Founder and Professor
Instagram/Twitter/Facebook: @mshopnyc
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