Partners: Untold Design CIC

Untold began it's journey with The London Design Festival in 2007, borne of a desire to succeed in the competitve world of fashion- untold talent yet no platform. The concept began as a testament of comaraderie amongst designers and creatives, despite the misconceptions that exist within the industry, the event stood as proof that it is possible to achieve a consensus amongst a collective of talented and passionate designers and creative individuals whereby the end goal is one which is shared by all. And now moving in to our seventh season the initiative has grown along with the vision. Read on for more details from our mission statement and journey thus far...

Untold is a collaboration of newly emerging designers and artists, all have encountered the same barriers when venturing into the big wide world of design- Untold talent yet no platform, this initiative aims to provide the means by which we can announce our art to the world. Whether it be fashion, textiles, accessories, art, photography, all will combine to create an aura of inspirational, directional and creative genius that is as yet Untold.

The shows are a creative showcase of UK design talent, encompassing an off schedule London Fashion Week catwalk show and static exhibition, Art, Textiles, Photography and more...

Event description
An opportunity to see a collaborative showcase of a selection of the UK’s Untold design talent; fashion, art, accessories, and entertainment, combine in an event which is both inspirational and creative.

Next season sees Untold return in our fourth year as Partners of The London Design Festival, the format remains the same; select fashion, jewellery, accessories and textiles designers exhibit work in a creative and non conventional way, encompassing an exhibition of creative photography and prints from official photographers & Artist collaboration, this presents a themed experience once again, to evoke the feeling of walking in the shoes of a creative ‘take a trip into my world’. Guests are invited to sit back and watch as the stories are Told.

Background
Untold is a concept borne of a desire to succeed and progress in the competitive field of fashion, knowing and believing we all possess the talent, innovation and dynamism and yet being faced with financial constraints which prevent and obstruct our ability to arrive on the main platforms. Tradeshows in themselves are expensive ventures and require capital which is better spent on developing collections and therefore the cycle continues. The idea of working together, towards this shared goal is the driving force and by pooling experience, knowledge and contacts, we aim to empower one other to arrive at the platform- albeit through unconventional means.

We consciously involve design students, and graduates alike offering work experience and a platform on which to shine. The idea extends to other design disciplines all of which fall under the umbrella of art, and is a concept we continue to grow as we progress into season seven. Having formalised the structure of the organisation as a Community Interest Company, Untold Design CIC is well positioned to meet the needs of emerging designers as a not for profit entity and social enterprise. The focus remains on keeping the cost to designers low and maintaining the accessibility to all. This is made achievable through collaboration enabling a tangible progression without compromising on quality and talent.

Untold 2007 was held at The Tab Centre, Shoreditch, being the launch it proved to be highly successful. The simple formula of collaboration across design disciplines proved fruitful, and Untold returned to London Fashion Week for a second season on February 14th 2008 at The Clink Prison Museum. The show was a huge success attracting representatives from key dailies including The Guardian, buyers from independent and high street chains, Sky channels and various magazines and periodicals.

The next step for the Untold strategy was to incorporate the business element of design offering a sales platform on which to generate income and increase brand awareness amongst the customer, who is inevitably the most important audience we strive to reach. The Untold Spring sale May 2008 served as the first of these key marketing and sales events, held in a showroom based in the heart of the Angel, Shoreditch and Hoxton areas this proved to be an exciting and much sought after event.

Progressing into the 3rd season, Untold made a bold decision to enter into a collaboration with Mahogany Model Management to produce Fashion Diversity. This 2 day event debuted in September 2008 at Museum of London and proved to be extremely successful, with in excess of 1000 visitors, the main focal point was on education and training of students and graduates within the fashion industry, as well as paying homage to several designers who have carved a niche in the industry and proven their worth- evidenced by their longevity and continued success in an unforgiving industry.

Fashion Diversity returned in September 2009 to Museum of London where as well as showcasing, Honorary London based design houses Gisella Boutique, Junky Styling and Nico Didonna received awards for their continued success and longevity within the industry. Alongside this, 7 more emerging designers presented their collections across the three day event, which also saw the return of the student/ graduate competition. The eight finalists presented their take on the brief 'The Proof of the Fashion is in The Garden'. 15 year old Tarell McIntosh was eventually selected as the winning designer and returned to showcase at Untold during London Fashion Week in February with a return to Fashion Diversity 2010 on the horizon.

Untold Season IV returned to London Fashion Week on February 23rd 2009, with The Foundling Museum, Bloomsbury selected as the setting for the show, guests were not disappointed. The grand house more typically renowned for being the UK’s only public art gallery played host to a captivating dance performance ensued by the catwalk show which saw 7 designers showcase collections to the audience who all left with their own stories to Tell.

Also in Season IV was the debut of the Untold London Boutique at Clothes Show London where 10 designers were given the opportunity to showcase and sell their collections to 30,000 plus visitors and press.

And then came Season V where we joined the London Design Festival to celebrate the electrifying creativity, that exists within design and fashion in London today.

Monday 21st September 2009 was the date, the format remained the same although the event evolved to encapsulate the aspect of making creativity profitable which often proves the biggest challenge for creatives. And thus ensued our collaboration with Creative Fruits to present Moordesign: The design salon. Two salon sessions ran during the day housed at The Sackler Centre at The Victoria & Albert Museum, the panel will featured industry speakers from the world of fashion and business who explored the themes and provided tips on how to solve the challenges designers and creatives may face.

As a part of this event past and present designers from Untold had the opportunity to participate in these panel discussions, with the catwalk show and exhibition providing the platform for the seasons' designers to showcase their collections to invited press & industry.

And so Season six came and went in barely a blink of the eye and now we look forward to season VII which takes place at the Design Museum, a space which encapsulates the spirit of the Untold vision. Monday 20th September is the date, but before that the Untold London Boutique 'pops-up' at Clothes Show London from the 25-27 June.

Seeking creatives to share the journey...
Designers, artists, creatives, is your story Untold? Untold returns to its exciting 7th season, with several solid shows under our belt we intend to turn up the volume another notch to ensure no story is left unheard. The venue will as ever be quirky in true Untold style, conducive with telling the stories of the talented and dynamic creative’s who join us on this journey, with the audience again invited to ‘sit back and watch as the story is Told…’ Expressions of interest now invited, also available are opportunities for experience, students, graduates, or fashion lovers, if you have always wanted a behind the scenes glimpse this may be your opportunity.

www.un-told.co.uk