The Ones to Watch show was held at the Vauxhall Fashion Scout to present the newest collections of recently graduated designers: Ming Pin Tien (LCF), Charlotte Simpson (LCF), Hana Cha (LCF) and Hellen van Rees (CSM). The four talents represent different aesthetics, Ming Pin Tien’s strength lying in cut-out leather statement pieces; Charlotte Simpson’s in glamorous, wearable dresses; Hana Cha’s in a minimalistic B&W at the crossroads between China and London; and Hellen van Rees’ in stupendous 3D work referencing contemporary artists. We also had a chat with Hellen van Rees (who has worked with Iris van Herpen and Giles in the past) at the VFS exhibition, in which she told us about her curious inspirations for SS13…

Ming Pin Tien

Charlotte Simpson

Hana Cha

-Have you ever thought of becoming an architect?

-I have actually! I had an architect phase, but I like to work directly with materials and I always have been fascinated with fabrics.That has drawn me into fashion – the pieces I design are quite sculptural and reference both architecture and art installations.

Hellen van Rees’ SQUARE²: Exploring Excitement 

-Which artistic references were on your mind this time?

-The collection was inspired by the classic Chanel tweed, but with a modern twist, taking inspiration from Anish Kapoor and Rachel Whiteread. Installations of massive 3D cubes: so, 3D Chanel basically.

-What’s next?

-I am going to the Paris showrooms with Vauxhall Fashion Scout, so hopefully I will get a few stockists for this collection and we will see how it goes from there really.

Hellen Van Rees

The Ones to Watch designers: Hellen van Rees, Hana Cha, Charlotte Simpson, Ming Pin Tien

Live sketches by Pafo Gallieri, photos Isa Jakob