1 Granary was started as a small online platform by students of Central Saint Martins – a bunch of excited designers who were making countless mistakes day in day out; eager to get some questions answered through dialogue with other creatives, and adamant to give exposure to the college’s talent. In today’s increasingly hyper-connected world, it has thus become inescapable and somewhat organic that we were able to unite students and graduates from four of the most acclaimed fashion schools in the world: Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art in London, Parsons in New York and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts’ Fashion Department in Antwerp. Our fourth issue marks the inauguration of this conjoined force, where each and every member aimed towards achieving a single goal: to share their knowledge, to support and inspire the new generation of creatives.
During this year we travelled a lot, and visited the colleges to meet with their tutors and students. We listened to their concerns, their ideas and dreams. We observed and tried to identify what we could help improve through 1 Granary, using our accrued awareness. We wanted to create a space where recent graduates felt their work was truly appreciated as well as protected – similar to how photographers and stylists can rely on their agencies. After all, the entirety of the fashion industry is predicated on its designers, yet they are the people who are seemingly least protected within it. Hence why this year we started ‘the graduate showroom’, where we represent sixty of our schools’ best talents, helping them assimilate into the world outside college walls.
Creativity is about allowing yourself to make mistakes, and yet, we find ourselves in an environment where doing so is often frowned upon. Contrary to what some may think – it is not the consumer, but the industry itself and all the creatives inside of it who punish one another for every wrong move. Can you comprehend why young designers feel an enormous pressure to nail their graduate collections? In this field, careers are done before they have even started, and it can be an arduous challenge to get a second chance. Nietzsche once said: “He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.” Those who create are rare, and we should be patient and encouraging when they are just starting out and prone to fail, instead of expecting everybody to achieve a certain measure of success by a certain age in a certain manner. It takes a lifetime to make a body of work and to realise one’s true worth.
“IT TAKES A LIFETIME TO MAKE A BODY OF WORK AND TO REALISE ONE’S TRUE WORTH.”
The realities of the industry are indicative of how it can be a daunting, challenging and at times absurd place, where decisions are made that just don’t seem to make sense, and which are detrimental to highly trained design talents in need of jobs. We got so gobsmacked when news broke that Justin O’Shea was becoming Brioni’s creative director and when Zayn Malik joined Versace, that we started to seriously question how much fun the industry can poke at itself without losing its integrity: the designer’s value as well as fashion education as a whole is degraded through appointments such as these. One must not forget that it takes vision to build up a brand, and loyalty is born from admiration of a designer’s genius.
Through the pages of this magazine, we hope to show that – despite some of the industry’s farce – talent and diligence continues to thrive.
This is what you can expect to find inside the whopping 648-pages issue:
- The hottest young fashion design talent from all four colleges, including student sketchbooks, profile pieces and editorials;
- Fine art interviews with renowned artists Bruce McLean, Bill Woodrow, Jesse Darling, Nick Waplington and the most exciting recent graduates;
- A special 100-pages Parsons project in collaboration with Webber Represents and photographers Marton Perlaki, Chris Rhodes, Daniel Shea, Maciek Pozoga;
- An Antwerp story including advices from Dries van Noten, a special shoot and long-read interview with Willy Vanderperre, a conversation with Jenny Meirens (co-founder of Margiela), and interviews with Peter Philips from Dior, Walter van Beirendonck, Etienne Russo, Kei Ninomiya and Olivier Rizzo;
- Business advices from Didier Grumbach (Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture), Cecilia Dean (Visionaire), Thomas Lenthal (System Magazine), Amanda Sharp (Frieze), Ed Filipowski (KCD), Jo-Ann Furniss (Arena Homme+, AnOther), Willie Walters (CSM BA Fashion course director), Sarah Andelman (Colette).
- Shoots by some of the industry’s most promising young photographers and stylists.
LOVE,
1 GRANARY