How to discover emerging fashion designers

In the fashion world where same established creative directors swing from house to house and rarely any new name appears, I wish the community will finally start endorsing new generation of designers in the upcoming year. When I watch fashion week coverage by independent journalists or big publications, I rarely see a new name popup. It makes sense engagement-wise: legacy brands like Prada or Armani draw way more attention and interest than let’s say Tokyo James, thought they showed on the same day during Milan fashion week this September.

I saw a promising shift of younger designers making waves and going viral this year: LVMH prize winner Ellen Hodakova with her eponymous brand, focused on deconstruction and up-cycling, attracted widespread admiration and appeared in many publications from Another Magazine to Wallpaper, my instagram flooded with Coperni Swipe bags, a brand by ex-Courrèges artistic directors that was re-launched in 2019 and “closed” Paris Fashion week this year with their Disneyland runway. Even Peter Do, who started his brand just 5 years go, became (though not for long) a creative director of Helmut Lang. Something is shifting already. But there is still so much more to discover.

Fashion critic Bliss Foster used to do video series dedicated exclusively to emerging designers. However, after a couple of years, he decided to stop because it was hard to justify the time and effort spent in creating a video that won’t get much coverage: though many people were genuinely curious and kept asking for young talent recommendations, the views were not there. I find it pretty interesting because I feel like that’s a trend for many fashion-curious people including me: theoretically I want to encounter new names but in reality I would rather spend time learning about some old fashion genius (insert Margiela, Yamamoto, McQueen, etc in there), then reading this new brand philosophy that is not yet recognized by my community and doesn’t have much coverage to begin with. It’s easier to deepen existing connections than to build new ones from scratch.

But I find pretty genius what Bliss Foster did instead: now he sneaks emerging designers in almost all of his videos that are dedicated to different topics, he drops a name here and there, highlights a technique or does a showroom coverage, all in between discussing big names like Rick Owens, Hermes or Issey Miyake. His Paris fashion week series are always full of young designers and I can watch shows that already interest me, and at the same time save some room for the joy of discovery.

I try to push myself more out of my comfort “old genius zone” now and discover new designers more often and encourage you to do so as well. Below are some of my favorite online resources for that:

The LVMH Prize, established in 2013, is an annual award dedicated to supporting young and emerging designers under the age of 40 who have produced at least two collections. The winners receive a monetary grant and a one year mentorship from LVMH professionals. On their website, you’ll find profiles of all the winners, many of whom have already made a significant mark on the fashion industry, including Simon Jacquemus, Grace Wales Bonner, Marine Serre, Peter Do, and Nensi Dojaka.

NJAL is a global platform that supports and promotes independent fashion designers by providing a space to showcase their work, connect with industry professionals, and access resources to grow their brands. It presents over 50,000 designers and partners with over 200 design schools including Central Saint Martins and Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. It’s easy to browse with filters on graduation year, country, category and has an internal “Black Sheep” award given by NJAL’s scouting team to the exceptionally creative, and promising designers on the platform.

All of these stores have a wide selection of young designer brands and I can spend hours wandering around their selection. Dover Street Market also supports new talent by providing financial backing, strategic guidance, and operational resources to help the brand grow while maintaining its creative independence. With this program they saved many brands who were close bankruptcy, for example Vaquera during the pandemic. DSM also has physical stores in 7 locations around the world, which provides a unique opportunity to see things in person.

For me, if a young brand is on Ssense, they made it. Being a significant player in the fashion industry, Ssense gives new designers a lot of exposure with their excellent social media strategy, though there is a lot of discussion about Ssense being an evil corp similar to Amazon. But I don’t encourage you to shop it (I don’t!), just use it as a tool to discover new work.

Apoc in another curated online marketplace that connects young designers with customers. The store operates on a made-to-order basis for many items, emphasizing sustainability and reducing waste in the industry, plus all the items are shipped directly by the designers and not from the store warehouse. The overall scale of production here is much smaller than Ssense, which allows even the smallest designers to participate.

These art schools have instagrams dedicated to their bachelor and masters fashion departments and often share students work. Though many things are experimental and should be considered like “studies” instead of a finished “product” it’s very inspiring and I found many visionary designers from their posts.

As a fun activity for winter holidays I invite you to find five upcoming designers with whom you resonate and follow their work in 2025. Here is a list of mine:

Recent Central Saint Martins MA graduate from Bahamas that currently works as a RTW womenswear designer at Phoebe Philo. His masters collection impressed me by how innovative and at the same time commercially wearable it was. Lots of faux fur, oversized geometrical shapes and wide pants. I want to see that on the street!

Nicklas is a “the weaver of the 21st century with a 80 years old loom”. This young designer from Copenhagen excites me with his unexpected textiles (like mix of hand-woven wool with water-repellent fabric), unconventional “modern baroque” silhouettes and creative accessories like these shiny buttoned up leg warmers.

Conceptual Danish knitwear brand focusing on the most delicate, architectural designs. Her collections are characterized by the use of semi-transparent knit layers, adding a sculptural dimension and a sense of fluidity to the silhouette.

“Joan of Arc” meets fashion. Small London-based brand that just recently got support from DSM. Sculptural ruffled dresses, monochromatic boned corsets (and even pants!), elegant and romantic yet very strong pieces. Tuba Avalon recently published a video interview on Patreon with the brand creator, Valériane Venance.

A young brand from two Antwerp graduates, Milk of Lime “seeks to give renaissance to hidden treasures and long forgotten references of its closest surroundings, which are in rural Germany and Belgium.” I love small details in their collections like wrapped shirt collars from a tie-dye or unfinished raw edges of their garments.