River Island knows a great young designer when they see one. Previous recipients of the retailer’s talent-nurturing fund – the River Island’s Womenswear Design Forum initiative – include Eudon Choi, Georgia Hardinge and Katie Eary. Next up to receive the coveted bursary and reserve an honorary place on the River Island rails is.
Renowned for his bold, geometric shapes, deconstructed tailoring and fluid lines, Braganza’s designs are fiercely feminine. A perfect match for River Island, this is very much a hero piece collection. Or, in the Central Saint Martin’s graduate’s words, the 11-piece line is for anyone who’s ‘confident and a risk taker’.
Structured crop tops, shift dresses, a boiler suit and sheer shirt dresses come emblazoned with a bold kingfisher motif set against the silver lines of a motorbike engine. Struck with inspiration during a trip to India, Braganza noticed unlikely similarities between the speed, agility and beauty of a kingfisher bird and the mechanical reality of a motorcycle, weaving around the back roads of Goa. ‘I imagined this girl who has a spirit of a kingfisher – beautiful, wild, colourful and gone before you even knew she was there,’ explains the designer. Slightly more understated pieces in the range include a black organza bomber and zip detailed jeans.
With ‘Karl Lagerfeld's apprentice’ and a stint at also on his CV, the London-born designer debuted his eponymous label at London Fashion Week in 2004 and looks set for a very promising future.
The Jean-Pierre Braganza X River Island Design Forum range is a steal, with prices ranging from £35-£100. The capsule collection will be available in store and online at riverisland.com from 16 February 2015.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of River Island Press Office
