Browns Focus Season 2: Why is supporting independent designers important?

“Last year we worked with designers who were icons in their own right and stood for something unique,” adds Joseph Brunner, Browns’ Menswear Next Gen Buyer. “We wanted to continue Browns Focus in this vein, working with those designers who have carved their own lane over the last five years through compelling narratives.” All icons, changemakers and the next generation of fashion in their own right this year’s expertly chosen group features Ahluwalia, Bethany Williams, FEBEN, Namacheko, Nicholas Daley, SELASI and Wales Bonner.

“With this iteration of Browns Focus, we wanted to celebrate the individuality and creativity of these young designers, and provide an opportunity for them to platform their unique narratives while also creating momentum for their brands,” explains Holly Tenser, Browns’ Ready to Wear buying manager. The seven designers will not only have their visions platformed through exclusive capsule collections but their creativity will also be celebrated through a series of activations; events and curated experiences.

“For this exclusive capsule, we wanted to take a technical dive into the development of our denim offering, we took this valuable opportunity to create something completely new as a studio.” – Bethany Williams

The initiative is brought to life through a partnership between HOME, a multifaceted creative platform founded by Ronan Mckenzie and R.O.T.A (Representation On The Agenda), Browns’ internal network celebrates the range of communities within the company and the wider industry.

“We’re so excited to be partnering with Browns for this season of Focus, bringing SELASI from the conceptual to the physical on our home soil and with a space as invested in the stories behind garments as we are,” says Mckenzie, who is also the talent behind SELASI, a brand created to champion BIPOC voices. “Our capsule explores the foundation of SELASI; born out of the necessity for more tactile expression within [Mckenzie’s] creative practice, SELASI provides a new arena to foster conversations around how one chooses to be seen.”

“As one of our earliest stockists, Browns have been such a supportive partner for ourselves and other emerging brands in London’s fashion industry,” notes Bethany Williams, the founder of the eponymous, award-winning label. “For this exclusive capsule, we wanted to take a technical dive into the development of our denim offering, we took this valuable opportunity to create something completely new as a studio.” Exploring the connection between social and environmental issues, William’s brand was created to find innovative methods of sustainable design, often creating entirely new design systems in the process.

“Our primary focus has been sustainability through upcycling fabric into patchwork quilts, celebrating local craftsmanship and shining a light on the intertwined history of quilting and the rise of blues & folk music.” – Nicholas Daley

“The shapes we have developed within this range have come from research into historical utility workwear, and the clothing worn by craftspeople.” Working only with organic & recycled materials some from an art installation Williams and her team worked on which was showcased in Coal Drops Yard last summer;  all of the garments in the collection were made locally in London and feature the label’s new unscrewable buttons to ensure the lifecycle of the garment can continue seamlessly. “To link together different projects and create something completely new is so exciting and I feel so honoured and supported that Browns have let me do this with them.”

“Our primary focus has been sustainability through upcycling fabric into patchwork quilts, celebrating local craftsmanship and shining a light on the intertwined history of quilting and the rise of blues & folk music,” menswear designer Nicholas Daley says as he introduces his collection for the project. Continuing off the themes from his SS22 collection, entitled Blue Quilt, Daley re-worked a selection of his most classic designs, incorporating the work of British & Japanese artisans, hand-dyed fabrics and hand crocheting all made in the UK with a sustainable approach.

“The made in England styles incorporate fabric created by Manchester-based quilter Chris England who curated bespoke quilts out of deadstock fabrics from past seasons, which were then developed into the garments detailing.” The collection also features iconography from the reggae club Nicholas Daley’s parents ran together in the 70s, becoming a family crest paying homage to his family’s ties with music.

Discover all of the designers featured in Season 2 of Browns Focus, and their exclusive capsule collections here