As Fashion East alumni ASAI prepares to step out on his own with a standalone LFW show this season, the beloved talent incubator has announced the latest recipient of its invaluable guidance: Gareth Wrighton. He’ll join returning designers Charlotte Knowles and Yuhan Wang.
Following a growing trend for designers in London from non-technical backgrounds, Gareth graduated from Central Saint Martins’s Fashion Communication and Promotion course back in 2016, and has since worked as a stylist and assistant with some of the most exciting names in the biz, most notably Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY. Spending four months in Johannesburg with i-D Fashion Editor at Large Ib Kamara and South African photographer Kristin-Lee Moolman, Gareth also helped created a 22-piece collection entitled Soft Criminal, presented along with accompanying imagery at Red Hook Labs in New York back in September. While out there, the trio worked on an epic fashion story for i-D’s Earthwise Issue.
Of the decision to support Gareth, Fashion East founder Lulu Kennedy said: “Gareth came onto my radar back in 2015 when he was making collections, film and video games with endless energy. I loved his vision and sense of adventure as an artist working across many mediums whether solo or collectively. I’m excited to watch his work evolve in a catwalk context and welcome him to our line-up. We’re all very proud of Charlotte and Yuhan’s beautiful collections; their exploration of sexuality, femininity and what it means to dress for yourself as a woman.”