Lanvin My Man: And the NEWGEN A/W '13 winners are....

{Simone Rocha S/S '13 (left) and J.W. Anderson S/S '13}

London’s status as the creative capital of fashion has been cemented this week with the announcement of this year’s winners of the prestigious New Generation sponsorship award, run by the British Fashion Council.

The New Generation initiative (NEWGEN) supports, endorses and promotes innovative British design talent through financial sponsorship, business and mentoring support, the use of the British Fashion Council’s Catwalk Show Space or other venues, and key introductions to the international fashion press and buyers. An invaluable award to claim, no? Seen as a key facilitator for the year on year growth of British fashion (the industry is worth £21 billion to the UK economy in 2012), the NEWGEN award has helped to establish designers such as Alexander McQueen, Matthew Williamson, Christopher Kane, Richard Nicoll, Erdem and Mary Katrantzou, to name just a few, in the past.

The British Fashion Council continues its support of the next generation of new design talent through sponsorship divided into three categories: Catwalk Sponsorship, Presentation Sponsorship and Exhibition Sponsorship. The winners of the prestigious first category are current Brit fashion darlings J.W. Anderson and Simone Rocha, who will bring their individual edgy-design aesthetic to the catwalks of London Fashion Week in February. J.W. Anderson has already found notable success in his win of the BFC Emerging Designer of the Year 2012 award, and, along with a successful collaboration with Topshop, has been named as Christopher Kane’s first successor at Versus. Simone Rocha (daughter of John Rocha), was also up for the Emerging Designer award, showed in the BFC’s Show Space in September’s London Fashion Week to rave reviews for her skillful fusion of masculine and feminine designs.

With continued support and sponsorship, these two bright lights will rise to shine for the British fashion industry, illustrating to the world the extent of the innovative design talent that’s currently emerging from London: just as their NEWGEN predecessors have done before them.