The New Initiative of Fashion East KNWLS Awards its Grand Prize

Fashion East is the largest talent incubator in the industry. From Kim Jones, Jonathan Anderson and Simone Rocha to Mowalola, the platform has been responsible for launching the careers of superstar designers. However, one missing link has been additional support for those who have emerged. Thus, founder, Lulu Kennedy, and head of projects, Raphaelle Moore, are launching a new initiative in partnership with Ugg, titled the XLNC (pronounced excellence) Program, to empower and provide ongoing support to its alumni of extraordinary. This season, KNWLS – run by life and work partners Charlotte Knowles and Alexandre Arsenault – will be the inaugural recipients of the £20,000 grant. They will also receive significant investment for the production of the brand’s spring/summer 2023 show.

“This was something we wanted to do for a long time because we are aware that there are opportunities to provide additional assistance to those who have shown with Fashion East in the past but have not yet found investment, or are receiving . their own unique path that might not fit into other schemes that are out there,” Kennedy explains of how he got started. “And there was a lot of enthusiasm for KNWLS from our panel of judges. They were a clear winner for all of us, and we are very excited to offer our continued support to such a great label.”

Senior Product Director at Ugg, Sandy Grant, adds: “We are extremely excited to be partnering with Fashion East on this new initiative which supports the UK’s most creative and young design talent. Bold and unapologetic self-expression is at the heart of Ugg and Fashion East, and KNWLS undoubtedly embodies these values ​​so fearlessly through craft and storytelling.”

“It means a lot to us as we’ve had an intense few months and a lot to manage with growing the business, so this was a much-needed validation,” KNWLS says of how it feels to win the award. “This has helped reduce the strain on our business – and on our nerves. And Lulu was one of the first people to believe in what we were doing. No Fashion East – or Instagram! – KNWLS would not have existed.”

This coming season, the KNWLS show – as well as the Fashion East group show – will be hosted by The Mills Fabrica in Kings Cross. The design duo will also work with materials from Nona Source, a luxury fabric resale initiative backed by LVMH.