Net-A-Porter unveils new Vanguard designers, launches campaign

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Feb 10, 2020

Net-A-Porter has unveiled the latest set of designers to join its Vanguard programme. The new quartet includes Christopher John Rogers, Gauchere, Ioannes and S. Joon.

“Selected for their unique design aesthetic and visual perspective,” they’ll receive a comprehensive 360-degree mentorship by the luxury e-tailer’s global team of specialists, “ultimately supporting their long-term development into successful and sustainable businesses,” the company said. 

The labels are exclusive to Net-A-Porter for the SS20 season and their presence on the site will be supported by a campaign “shinning a light on the design talent behind each label alongside their muses”. That campaign launches today.

So who are the new names? Christopher John Rogers was the 2019 CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund winner and is known for his vibrant use of colour and dramatic silhouettes. The Brooklyn-based designer “brings a refreshing and whimsical take on evening through cascading silky dresses, elegant pleated skirts and exciting opulent shapes,” Net-A-Porter said.

Paris-based Gauchere was founded by Marie-Christine Statz with the name having come from the fact that while at École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, her teacher nicknamed her La Gauchere, the word being French for left-handed. This trait is said to have “deeply influenced her approach to design and made her creations so unique and easily recognisable”. She focuses on a minimalist style with clean-lined silhouettes and a muted colour palette.

Also Paris-based, Ioannes was only founded just over a year ago and “blends sophisticated lines with a quirky edge, offering a contemporary take on femininity”. The label’s signature pieces include slip dresses that “create a naturally modern and flattering look, the brand’s exciting prints take direct inspiration from stylised Japanese cherry blossom woodcut art, applied through an unreproducible technique”.

And S. Joon is a label founded in 2017 that’s all about “beautiful statement-making handbags, defined by its distinctive shapes and sophisticated aesthetic”. The name mixes the name of founder Sahar Asvandi’s first initial and a Persian term of endearment. She focuses on sculptural silhouettes for her Italian-made pieces.

“Since launching The Vanguard in September 2018 it's been an incredibly rewarding process to witness the 16 young talented brands we've brought into the programme grow towards enduring success,” said Net-A-Porter’s Global Buying Director Elizabeth von Der Goltz. “We are truly committed to providing long-term support and continuously develop and enrich the mentorship to ensure we are offering an ecosystem for emerging talent to thrive.”