THE FINALISTS: H&M Design Award 2015

The fashion scene keeps its eye on the H&M Design Award by H&M – Hennes and Mauritz who for the year 2015 have presented a eight talented new creatives hailing from design schools around the globe. H&M spotlights MAGDALENA BROZDA (Poland), ANDREAS EKLÖF (Sweden), GRAHAM FAN (Canada/Hong Kong), ANDREA JIAPEI LI (China), JAMES KELLY (UK), LEONARD KOCIC (Serbia/Sweden), XIMON LEE (Hong Kong) and FIONA O’NEILL (Ireland).

The eight finalists have shown their collections to this year’s jury panel – Luella Bartley, Design Director of Marc by Marc Jacobs, Lucinda Chambers, Fashion Director of British Vogue, Paula Goldstein di Principe, Creative Director, Tommy Ton, Visual Journalist, Angelo Flaccavento, Freelance Fashion Critic, Justin O’Shea, Buying Director for Mytheresa.com, Lily Allen Singer and Songwriter; Ann-Sofie Johansson Head of Design, New Development at H&M and Margareta van den Bosch the Creative Advisor at H&M.

The international jury will pick out the overall winner who will receive €50,000 and the chance to show the winning collection at Fashion Week Stockholm January 27. The winner will also get to develop selected pieces from the winning collection to be sold at H&M stores next autumn. – from H&M

Have a better look of the designers below:

Magdalena Brozda from Geneva University of Art and Design

Originally from Poland, Magdalena took her MA at Geneva University of Art and Design. Her collection is based on positive and celebratory ideas of death, using an unconventional mix of materials such as leather, paper and organza. Magdalena is currently considering setting up her own label, to be based in Geneva.

Find Magdalena’s work over at magdalenabrozda.com.

Graham Fan from Central Saint Martins

A graduate from the MA at Central Saint Martins, Vancouver-born and Hong Kong-raised Graham used hand-woven techniques to develop the complex textiles for his minimalist silhouettes. To create the semi-structured yet flexible textures, he wove together materials such as mohair, recycled PVC strips, leather cords and wicker. He now plans to launch his own label.

For more of Graham’s work log on to www.grahamfan.com.

Ximon Lee from Parsons

Ximon is from Hong Kong but now lives in New York, where he studied menswear at Parsons. His collection of layered fabrics and exaggerated shapes was inspired by the documentary “Children of Leningradsky”. Ximon is now concentrating on launching his own menswear label.

For more log on to www.ximonlee.com.

Andreas Eklöf from Swedish School of Textile

Stockholm-based Andreas took his Masters at the Swedish School of Textile in Borås, Sweden. His nominated collection used “free-hand” taping to develop new ideas in outdoors wear, achieving an immediate and improvised effect. Andreas won this year’s Designers Nest competition for Nordic design graduates during Copenhagen Fashion Week.

Leonard Kocic from Beckmans College of Design

Serbian-born Leonard has lived in Sweden for the past 12 years, where he studied on the Fashion course at Beckmans College of Design. His nominated collection, titled “Reminiscencija”, is based on memories of his mother. Leonard is currently doing a traineeship with Viktor & Rolf at their design studio in Amsterdam.

For more log on to www.beckmans.se/leonard-kocic.

James Kelly from Royal College of Art

Originally from Kent in the UK, James took the MA womenswear course at the Royal College of Art in London. His inspiration was photographic imagery of garments caught in a storm, with a blur of garments that are constructed as if billowing and trailing in the wind. James was also inspired by the photographers Stephän Wurth, Mark Morrisoe and David Armstrong.

Andrea Jiapei Li from Parsons

China-born Andrea studied on the MFA program at Parsons in New York. For her collection, she used the antithesis of her aesthetics to define herself and her work in a new way. She started with design elements or fabrics that she may not necessarily like, turning them into something that pleased her. She plans to focus on fabric innovation for her next collection for AW15.

For more log on to www.andreajiapeili.com.

Fiona O’Neill for Central Saint Martins

Born in Dublin, Fiona studied on the BA course at Central Saint Martins. Her inspiration for her nominated collection came from women painting pictures of other women. She developed her silhouettes from playing with large drawings on the stand, using technical fabrics bonded onto crepe as well as canvas to create what she calls “a strange and sombre collection”.

The winner will receive a prize of €50,000. Chosen pieces from the winning collection will also be sold at selected H&M stores in the Autumn of 2015.

A People’s prize is also given to one of the finalists. For more information or to vote, please visit designaward.hm.com.