Four emerging young fashion designers from Raffles College of Design & Commerce – Winson Tan, Gabriel Lee, Crystal Tsoi and Ayaka Ichikawa – are determined to make an impressive impact on fashion’s most influential buyers and media at this year’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia (MBFW) Apr 30 - May 4 2012.

The Raffles International Designer Showcase runway show will take place 10am, Friday May 4, in ‘The Tent’ at The Overseas Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay. Each designer will present a capsule collection of 15 complete looks, providing the audience with an exciting glimpse into their design and production capability and imminent future.

“Our four fashion design graduates showcasing their collections at fashion week this year hail from the four corners of the Orient: Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Malaysia, albeit with a Bachelor of Design education which was undertaken at our Raffles North Sydney campus. Each one of them represents the future of fashion in our dynamic and ever-changing global market. Raffles College is at the forefront of this new and exciting design frontier,” said Mr Robert De Giovanni, Program Director, Fashion Design &Marketing, Raffles College of Design & Commerce.

In the lead up to fashion week all four participants undertook an intensive online mentor program, courtesy of Raffles, with some of the industry’s most prominent and respected professionals incl. Josh Goot, Wayne Cooper, Trish Nicol, Eva Galambos, Mitchell Oakley Smith and Jarrad Clark. Each graciously shared their invaluable knowledge, experience and ‘trade secrets’ to better prepare fashion’s‘new guarde’ for the commercial reality of being a successful designer and savvy business person in today’s highly competitive global fashion industry.

The Raffles Four:

Immediately after showing his NOSNIM by Winson Tan ready-to-wear label, Winson will jet off to Amsterdam to join the design team at Viktor & Rolf and begin what promises to be a glittering fashion career.

No stranger to the catwalk, the 23-year-old launched his avant-garde label in 2007 after winning an unprecedented 3 awards in the very prestigious Malaysian-International Fashion Award (MIFA) during Malaysia-International Fashion Week (MIF-W) 2007, including the coveted ‘Most Promising Designer.’

He has since showcased his label at China Fashion Week A/W 2008, Japan Fashion Week S/S 2009 and Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (RAFW) 2011. Winson also featured on the TV programme ‘Fashion Forward,’ aired on the Starworld Channel from July-November 2007.

In his second year at MBFW, Winson’s Spring/Summer 2012/3 Collection features 15 exquisite designs inspired by the organic symmetry and mystique of Dicotyledon – a flowering plant with an embryo that bears two seed leaves.

The collection is a print exploration in collaboration with artist, Vivian Lee, whose nature inspired prints are translated onto lush fabrics to create a floral kaleidoscope punctuated by brilliant amphibian markings.

Winson was offered a 6-month Viktor & Rolf internship by the “Fashion Future” programme after being interviewed just once by head of Womenswear designer, Leonardo Bachmann, who “loved his designs” and saw “great potential” in the up-and-coming designer.

Gabriel Lee’seponymous label is built on great design fundamentals, including: silhouette, pattern, fabrication and cutting edge techniques. MBFW will see the launch of his ‘Unstable Beings’ artistic yet practical collection, which references 1930s shapes that critique a history of fashion claiming style is defined by class.

A feminine palette of toned down pinks, peach, white and aqua creates a positive message in masculine lines recalling menswear staples such as collars, cuffs and oversized jackets.

It is 25-year-old Crystal Tsoi’s 2nd year at MBFW. She founded her eponymous label in 2010, after graduating with top honours from Raffles with a fashion aesthetic entrenched in Bauhaus methodology and Eastern deconstruction. Crystal’s designs have previously shown at Beijing Fashion Week to great acclaim.

The 15 looks in Crystal’s Spring/Summer 2013 Collection “In Flux” will all feature her signature silhouette – minimal and clean, tailored and supremely feminine. "The human form is nature's most fundamental piece of architecture,” she explains. “Fashion is the relationship between the body and the garment. My clothes are constructed – like a building – and draped to complement nature. You have to feel it, adore it."

Ayaka Ichikawa’sdebut MBFW collection employs exquisite fabrics and design inspired by the culture in which the young designer is immersed. Featuring beautiful women’s daywear and evening gowns, each piece combines braided cords and prints as accents on finely draped silhouettes that provide shape and movement.

Ayaka, 26, was born in Fukuoka, Japan. She learned the basics of garment construction, fashion design and retail in Tokyo, before moving to Bangkok Thailand for three years to expand her knowledge of design and culture.

In 2011, her conceptual garments were first showcased internationally at Yodex: Young Designer’s Exhibition in Taipei and her work was featured on the Powerhouse Museum’s online upcoming designer column, D*hub - Designer 6x6.

Ayaka’s new label, Aquintic rests on the fusion of art and fashion with detailed tailoring and hand finishing and casual menswear elementsa signature look.

www.winson-tan.com

www.gabriel-lee.com

www.aquintic.jimdo.com

For further information, please contact Yael Harrison at The Trish Nicol Agency on + 61 2 9356 2711 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it