A group of eight graduates have collaborated with YOOX NET-A-PORTER and The Prince’s Foundation to create second capsule collection under the The Modern Artisan label. The 13-piece, luxury womenswear, capsule collection launched on 3rd November 2022 and is available exclusively on NET-A-PORTER and YOOX, 50% of the RRP will be donated to The Prince’s Foundation, to support its innovative training programmes.
Building on the success of 2020’s first collection launch, this year’s YOOX NET-A-PORTER for The Prince’s Foundation capsule achieves a number of new milestones in YOOX NET-A-PORTER’s Infinity sustainability journey. It is the first collection to align 100% with the Infinity Product Guide, its sustainability and circularity design guidelines, and its first ever carbon neutral collection.
The collection is inspired by Highgrove Gardens, run by The Prince’s Foundation and renowned for sustainable and organic approaches to agriculture and horticulture. The Artisans were supported by industry experts from YOOX NET-A-PORTER, The Prince’s Foundation, and several mentoring designer brands, including Gabriela Hearst, Nanushka and Stella Jean among others. Aligning with the Infinity Product Guide required careful selection of natural and certified materials with over 50% repurposed from waste through partner supplier Maeba, and the application of circular design principles such as zero waste and data-informed design. The Artisans were given access to five years’ of YOOX NET-A-PORTER customer insights to understand long-term customer preferences and design for longevity.
The collection was crafted by the Artisans in the Textile Training Centre at Dumfries House, headquarters of The Prince’s Foundation in East Ayrshire, Scotland, where they undertook six months of intensive training in luxury small batch production. Training focused on advanced technical production skills within sewing, pattern drafting and quality control, while also developing expertise to handle wool, cashmere, and silk to ensure garment finishes meet the luxury market standard. The Artisans also learnt about the product development process at Fashion-Enter Ltd in North London with advice and support on pattern cutting, fit and quality construction, along with a factory tour. While the luxury knitwear pieces were the only styles to be produced off-site by UK-based suppliers Johnstons of Elgin and Corgi.
Fashion-Enter Ltd CEO Jenny Holloway added: “This was a wonderful collaborative program working with new fashion artisans from Italy and the UK. Due to the expertise Fashion-Enter Ltd has on site we worked with the artisans on patterns, fit and construction and they were a pleasure to teach and train.
“The resulting collections are outstanding and a testimony to the skills of the artisans and YOOX NET-A-PORTER. We call this type of program our Technical Residency and we had a similar contract with Graduate Fashion Week and TikTok, for a deep dive into highly specialised designs that concentrates the mind and really creates embedded learning.
“Good luck with the launch of the new collection!”
The YOOX NET-A-PORTER for The Prince’s Foundation collection is available at NETAPORTER.com and YOOX.com, and their respective apps.
For more information about The Modern Artisan project, please visit: www.ynap.com/pages/the-modern-artisan/
If you would like to join Fashion-Enter Ltd / FEL for a Technical Residency please contact: jackie@fashion-enter.com