NEW YORK CITY W Hotels Worldwide is sponsoring 15 designers as part of Fashion Next, the brand’s fashion program that supports emerging designers during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and beyond.
This season’s presentation will feature models on three vignettes, which have been designed as artistic, abstract interpretations of each hotel’s design personality. W Austin’s “Remix and Amplify” design theme will be brought to life through moving “sound bars” in bright magenta and orange LED lighting, while W Taipei’s “Nature Electrified” design concept will feature metal leaves and branches drenched in dramatic green and magenta lighting. The final vignette, inspired by W Mexico City’s “Masquerade” design, will be interpreted through magenta and blue illuminated rods made to resemble a crisscross fabric pattern.
W Hotels will host the designers’ official presentations February 10 in the Box venue at New York’s Lincoln Center and will then continue to showcase these rising talents at W Hotels around the world, providing a global stage for them throughout the year. Fashion Next designers will have the opportunity to travel to W Hotels for exclusive trunk shows, create limited-edition pieces for W Hotels Global Glam fashion and accessories collection, and collaborate with the W brand on other fashion and design projects.
The designers selected include Mara Hoffman, Clare Vivier, Eugenia Kim, Twinkle by Wenlan, Deepa Gurnani, Paola Hernandez, Noir, I-Luck, Sibilia, Yarnz, Shaesby, Contego Eyewear, Myne, Catherine Nicole, and Posse.
“As a design-led, contemporary lifestyle brand, W Hotels has embraced fashion as an intrinsic extension and ever-changing expression of design,” says Eva Ziegler, global brand leader for W Hotels Worldwide and Le Méridien. “As we continue to transform into a global powerhouse, W has the opportunity to showcase its leadership in design through global programs such as Fashion Next and our exclusive W Hotels Global Glam collection. These W Hotels initiatives give rising design stars access to a fashion savvy global audience from South Beach to Hollywood, London to Taipei, Mexico City to St Petersburg, Barcelona to Vieques Island and beyond.”