Your invite to Happy Ashley Land has arrived: the very cool, NEWGEN-sponsored young London designer Ashley Williams is holding an open casting for her spring/summer 17 catwalk show on Friday, September 16 at London Fashion Week.
Posting the casting call on Instagram, the designer invites girls and boys of any height and size to put themselves forward, emphasising that their policy is: “EVERYONE WELCOME!”
“I love working with models and have been fortunate to be able to work with some amazing people, inside and out,” Ashley tells i-D. “However working within a set formula that has been around way before me can be restrictive,” she adds.
Last season — alongside i-D’s The Female Gaze Issue cover star Adwoa Aboah and Georgia May Jagger — Williams cast friends and colleagues to walk in the show. “Daisy, an intern of mine; Kathryn, our production manager; and Claire [Barrow, the designer], one of my oldest friends, all walked in the show and it was amazing. The clothing was put in a new context,” she says
Having launched the open casting call for her next show, Ashley explains why including a diverse range of bodies on the catwalk is important to her: “I don’t want to eliminate girls and boys who are all included in the brand and should be represented,” she says. “I want to be part of the positive changes in casting, even with just small changes, it will all add up.”
If you would like to walk in the Ashley Williams spring/summer 17 show on Friday 16 September at London Fashion Week, email a headshot and a body shot, as well as your social media links, to ashley@ashleywilliamslondon.com.
Credits
Text Charlotte Gush
Photography Jason Lloyd Evans