How VFiles Is Continuing To Support Young Designers

by Paige Reddinger

Every season the VFiles show kicks off Fashion Week with a burst of energy and a major dose of youth culture. These days, the latter spans every genre. It’s not quite club kid, not quite hipster, not exactly hip-hop, but rather, a bit of everything. Every season, the show becomes a hotter and hotter ticket, and it’s expanded into ever larger venues. This time around, decidedly conventional Lincoln Center played host to the rather unconventional show. “It’s already a step up,” said Italo Zucchelli, creative director and Calvin Klein Collection and VFiles mentor. “Last time, I saw the show and met the designers; two months later, Melitta Baumeister was already showing at Dover Street market and Rihanna had already worn both Melitta’s and Hyein Seo‘s clothes. It’s good to see all these young designers having a platform for showing their work.”

This season, Di$count Univer$e (already a Katy Perry fave), Andrea Jiapei Li, Ximon Lee, and Julia Seemann were the chosen designers getting their chance in the spotlight. Two VFiles Made alums have already branched out to show on their for the first time on the NYFW calendar, including Ammerman Schlösberg and KTZ. Astrid Andersen, who sells her clothing on VFiles.com, is also showing for the first time. There’s no doubt that VFiles has created a new wave of culture based around youth, the internet, and a melting pot of cultural influences, but founder Julie Anne Quay is trying to help these up-and-comers take it a step further.

“Now, we’re doing PR and wholesale for our designers, ” said Quay. “We’re doing it for all the designers this season; we also do it for Sam MC and ASSK. We’ve got a showroom opening, too. It’s all coming full circle.” Designers were being thrown “to the wolves” in terms of press and sales after being exposed via VFiles, Quay said; the young talents often didn’t know how to do a line sheet, so the VFiles team started doing it for them. The end goal? “We want to turn these designers into major brands,” Quay said. Stay tuned!

 

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