International fashion and design school Istituto Marangoni has produced some impressive fashion visionaries – think Domenico Dolce of Dolce & Gabbana and Nicola Brogano, creative director of Blumarine. The academic institute has a London and a Paris arm, which has been helping to shape the futures of young industry talent by forging partnerships with established figures in the fashion industry, from stylist Katie Grand to the man at the helm of Balmain’s creative division, Olivier Rousteing.
This year, as the school celebrates its 20th anniversary, London-based LVMH award-winning menswear designer Grace Wales Bonner joins the roster of mentors supporting the future faces of fashion in the Shoreditch location. ‘London is such an important and inspiring place for me,’ Bonner says to ELLE UK of the exciting partnership from her London studio. ‘I want to share some of the processes that are important to me in developing the collections.’
Mentoring isn't uncharted territory for the British-Jamaican designer. She currently heads up the department of fashion design at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. Bonner’s involvement with the prestigious fashion school in London will include her spearheading several masterclasses and workshops, which will include ‘developing students’ approach to research’ she explains. In addition to its stellar mentorship programme, the East London school is putting innovation first by integrating academia with the metaverse.
In such an expansive field as fashion, the importance of evolution and adaptation is vital, Bonner continues. ‘Hearing from a designer that's practising in the industry, who has quite a holistic vision of the business and the kind of expectations required from a 360 perspective, is quite valuable.’ The art of collaboration in building authentic communities is encouraged tenfold by the South London-born designer and is something she actively pursued as a student. ‘I grew and developed while I was studying through finding my contemporaries or peers – whether that be photographers or filmmakers. There are so many different people that go into developing a fashion studio and developing collections that I think having visibility on different paths that suit individual strengths is indispensable; it's important for students to seek out their own community, mentors or other means to expose themselves to the industry.’
Furthermore, the multidisciplinary designer, who received a wealth of support from British-born Nigerian designer Duro Olowu during the incubator stage of her career, hopes to implement ‘a holistic, 360 ways for the students to think about fashion’ through the lens of curated speakers including independent designers and business owners, Bonner mentions.
2022 was quite a busy year for the CFDA winner. She picked up the award for Best Independent Brand at the British Fashion Awards and returned to the runway in Florence as Pitti Uomo's guest designer, a memory she truly savours. ‘It was a big moment for the brand. I really wanted to communicate who we were as an independent brand that brings an Afro-Atlantic perspective to luxury; I was connected with a lot of intentions I had when I first started Wales Bonner. It was a very collaborative experience and I was able to work with Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama, along with musicians, and highly skilled artisans and craftsman who helped develop the collection.’
This year is shaping up to be equally as busy for the cultural polymath. Alongside her newly announced mentoring duty, the designer is currently gearing up for her eponymous brand's Paris Fashion Week Men’s AW23 show. ‘I’m incredibly excited about my debut in Paris and I’m thinking about how the brand intersects with Parisian fashion history.’
