“Let the path be open to talent.” – Napoléon Bonaparte
Lianne Trowbridge and Jun Feng Ting are two young designers, both newly graduated at the Istituto Marangoni London.
Lianne draws inspiration from her family’s history. Jun defines the modern society in which nothing and everything exists.
I met them in Florence during the Under The Light: an event that celebrates the ten best menswear talents of the international fashion school.
Talent: what a magnificent word! And taking a look at their collections, I immediately thought of the French leader’s warning, of his words “Let the path be open to talent”, because talent always needs “space”. Talent needs to be nurtured, incentivized. We try.
Lianne Trowbridge
Who are you?
I am a Franco-British menswear designer, recently graduated from Istituto Marangoni London. My work draws inspiration from my family’s history and combines it with mathematical concepts from my scientific background to create vibrant clothing that embraces technique and provides functionality in everyday wear. Menswear and especially sportswear bring together all aspects of this creative process and allows me to experiment with performance fabrics in bold colors, which is the signature of my work.
Tell us about your collection.
This collection is a celebration of Unsung Heroes, people of our everyday life who inspire us and go out of their way to help others. Reminiscent of vintage comic books superheroes in the aesthetics and color palette, the collection is a tribute to the memory of my great-grandfather who served in the army in Tunisia and Morocco in the 1930s. Merging sportswear and military references, Unsung Heroes is a unique urban range of pieces, just as fit for extreme sports as they are for streetwear. The collection was selected as one of the top 10 Istituto Marangoni menswear designers and received great acclaim at Pitti Uomo in June 2018.
The most representative item.
To me, the standout piece in this collection is the Cazeaux vest, a short quilted sleeveless jacket, with embroidered panels, color blocked in blue, sand and stone. This piece is a reinterpretation of military bulletproof protection gear which combines all the embellishment techniques developed for this collection with innovative practical features such as double opening pockets and adjustable straps. The vest is a striking piece which allows a variety of styling options, as a standalone item with jeans for a more casual look or layered with other clothing from the collection for a more contemporary risk-taking individual.
Jun Feng Ting
Who are you?
A Singaporean Fashion Design graduate at Istituto Marangoni London, JUN defines the modern society in which nothing and everything exists. The strong belief of this contrast brings out the wholeness of an experience, expresses the imperfect beauty of the present moment and the impermanence of all things in its transition.
As a contemporary ready-to-wear menswear label, JUN pays homage to modernism in respect to his strong belief in progress while conceptualizing his ideal visions of human and society. The label is synonymous with being aesthetically functional with a strong attention to detail and focus on quality. It embraces versatility and timelessness.
JUN brings out the creativity and confidence of an individual who wishes to stand out but be as exceptionally discreet at the same time.
Tell us about your collection.
The latest Spring/Summer 2019 collection, entitled Y draws on modernistic attempts to revive the Vorticist movement to its full glory, upon its failure led by Wyndham Lewis in the 1920s right after First World War, due to a return-to-order – a rejection of the Avant-garde in favor of traditional approaches. The fall of Group X, however, has led to its former Vorticists to realize their ambitions for the re-ordering of the metropolis through the patronage of the Underground Group, in which the London Underground became the Vorticists’ subterranean art gallery.
Going forward, ‘Y’ focuses on a combination of decorative aspects of my daily travel within the London Underground and a short-lived Modernist movement full of vibrancy and eccentricity – Vorticism – in which all works were subsumed to machinery. Going forward, it ultimately reflects the energy of life in a modern society.
The hybrid of the two was informed by a broad and eclectic research, accounting detailed observations over a period of two years. The final collection output focuses on my strengths of creative pattern-making techniques and boasts a functional, yet unique approach to unconventional tailoring and sourcing for key fabrics from different continents of the World.
The most representative item.
This collection boasts a range of garments that are aesthetically functional, individualistic, yet complementing with one another in terms of versatility. Each piece is highly representative in relation to the concept Y through design details specific to the concept.
One specific design detail that is the most representative of the collection is the obsessive use of the welt pocket. The idea came from its making, which strongly resonates with Y. Through a series of trial and error during the development process, the final welt pocket exists not only as a standalone functional element but a fun and decorative one that interacts with the wearer’s garments through versatile styling.
Photographer: Antonio Eugenio
Fashion Editor: Luca Imbimbo
MUAH: Yuki Yanase
Models: Alfie at Select, Anasse at Nii Agency & Ariel at D1 Models.” – Fuckingyoung.es
