Europe’s YNAP & The King’s Foundation empower talent in luxury fashion

YOOX NET-A-PORTER (YNAP), home to the world’s leading online luxury, fashion and style destinations, and The King’s Foundation, His Majesty King Charles III’s charitable foundation, announce the third edition of The Modern Artisan, their pioneering initiative to nurture emerging talent. Following a meticulous selection process, six trainees embark on a transformative nine-month paid training journey that will see them immersed in responsible design and craftsmanship principles.

The artisans’ learning experience will result in the creation of a luxury capsule collection, which, in a unique opportunity for new graduates, will retail exclusively on NET-A-PORTER in the second half of 2024. 50% of the RRP from products sold will be donated to The King’s Foundation.

YOOX NET-A-PORTER and The King’s Foundation are launching the third edition of The Modern Artisan, aimed at nurturing emerging talent in luxury fashion.
Six trainees will undergo a nine-month paid training, focusing on responsible design and craftsmanship.
The program includes design training in London and manufacturing experience in Scotland.

The six trainee artisans are:

1. Daisy Gray, 23, from Hertfordshire. Daisy is a graduate of Kingston University.
2. Jessica Horton, 31, from Hampshire. Jessica is a graduate of Bournemouth University of Arts.
3. Flavia-Maria Nistor, 23. Originally from Romania and living in London, Flavia is a graduate of Staffordshire University.
4. Sarah Jane Sleeba, 26. Originally from India and living in London, Sarah is a graduate of Kingston University and National Institute of Fashion Technology India.
5. Georgia Wintle, 23, from Gloucestershire. Georgia is a graduate of University of South Wales.
6. Arielle Uno-Ekwang, 22, from London. Arielle is a graduate of University of Brighton.

During the three-month design training at YOOX NET-A-PORTER’s London office, the artisans work alongside the group’s in-house private label teams, learning how to leverage data insights to design the collection with the NET-A-PORTER customer in mind. A six-month placement follows at Dumfries House, The King’s Foundation’s headquarters in Ayrshire, Scotland, to manufacture the collection while learning specialist craftsmanship skills. Throughout the programme, the artisans are taught how to minimise impact and promote longevity, with access to over 40 brand partners and industry experts.

Our partnership with The King’s Foundation is rooted in a shared commitment to equip rising stars in our industry with skills for success, furthering the legacy of mentoring schemes we take pride in running across YOOX NET-A-PORTER. By supporting today’s emerging designers, we continue to lay foundations for a future where luxury fashion can be synonymous with responsible design. We look forward to seeing the vision of the talented artisans come to life through an exciting capsule collection for our NET-A-PORTER customers later this year. – Vikki Kavanagh, Managing Director, NET-A-PORTER and MR PORTER.

We are proud to announce the third edition of The Modern Artisan, which builds on the success of our partnership with YOOX NET-A-PORTER in delivering a holistic education experience for the next generation of fashion and textiles professionals. Six exceptionally talented students on this programme will be aiming to demonstrate their creative ideas and skills, their commitment to sustainable practices and respect for nature, and, ultimately, their ability to follow in the footsteps of the Modern Artisan graduates who have gone on to launch successful careers in the industry. The highlight of the programme for many, of course, is the launch of the responsibly-produced collection designed and manufactured by the students, which everyone at The King’s Foundation is keenly anticipating later this year. – Jacqueline Farrell, The King’s Foundation’s Education Director at Dumfries House.

The third edition of The Modern Artisan marks another step in YOOX NET-A-PORTER and The King’s Foundation’s shared ambitions to support future fashion talent working towards a more responsible industry. In 2022, the second edition artisan graduates created YOOX NET-A-PORTER’s first ever capsule collection that was 100% aligned to its sustainability and circularity design guidelines, exceeding the target set for all its private labels to reach by 2025.

To date, 16 skilled artisans have taken part over two editions and have gone on to establish their own fashion brands or secure positions at renowned luxury fashion houses, as well as being hired into YOOX NET-A-PORTER’s private label teams. Applications for the third cohort saw over 60 graduates apply from more than 30 fashion schools across the UK, with over 30% from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in the industry.

Note: The content of this press release has not been edited by Fibre2Fashion staff.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RM)