The monthly Drops Market runs May-September 2022 at Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross.
Partnership with Graduate Fashion Foundation sees five emerging fashion designers sell their wares to the public.
King’s Cross has today announced the return of its hugely successful market concept, The Drops at Coal Drops Yard, this year with a new partnership with Graduate Fashion Foundation.
The 2022 market series, which begins on 5-7th May and runs monthly until September, will see an exciting line-up of emerging designers showcasing and selling their designs at the independent, design-led market – and for the first time, they’ll be joined by five graduate designers some who’ve never presented their designs on a public stage before.
The monthly market is already becoming a well-regarded retail space for promising designers, cult brands and established labels and this year will see up to 40 fashion and homewares stalls each month.
The three-day event, curated by design studio HemingwayDesign, will be a showcase of exceptional quality and creativity in fashion, homewares and lifestyle, handpicked by Wayne Hemingway and his team and positioned in the beautiful open spaces of King’s Cross.
The five graduate designers will be supported by Graduate Fashion Foundation with a sponsored stand, branding, signage and mentoring from the charity. They are Max Alexander with his contemporary streetwear brand, BRYDER; Mariah Esa, a responsible designer who repurposes waste from the fast fashion industry; Jennifer Healy with her luxury, British-made, slow fashion brand, Peach Eyes; Sarah Thompson with her north-east England inspired brand, TOM-O; and Donnel Chavunduka with his sustainable and organic, gender-neutral brand, Geminii Studios.
Nicola Hitchens, GFF Director and Head of Special Projects at the Graduate Fashion Foundation, said: “Graduate Fashion Foundation has launched the careers of some of the most successful designers of our time, including Christopher Bailey and Stella McCartney, and we’re proud to continue creating these opportunities for the next generation of aspiring designers. Market concepts like The Drops allow their impeccable talent to flourish and grow, both through retailing and by showcasing their brands to a public audience, often for the first time.”
Anthea Harries, Head of Assets at King’s Cross, commented: “Are very excited to welcome The Drops back for 2022 and we hope that by offering emerging designers a platform to showcase their ideas and products, it can elevate them to the next stage in their careers. Coal Drops Yard is the perfect setting for this; it champions both independent and mainstream retailers, so a successful brand could go from selling their wares at the market to taking a small unit on Lower Stable Street, and perhaps in time go on to take a large unit in the main shopping area.”
Meet the Designers:
The Drops May 2022: Max Alexander with BRYDER
BRYDER by Max Alexander strives to push the boundaries of contemporary streetwear. The vision behind the brand is to reimagine wardrobe essentials by combining innovative textiles and components to achieve a unique utilitarian aesthetic. Functionality and wearability are key focuses with many of the garments featuring detachable elements allowing the customer to choose where to place them.
One of the key ambitions of the brand is to provide a strong theme behind each collection. The first collection "A Solo Soul" explored the dystopian world created by Covid-19, the garments were designed to evoke a feeling of protection and individuality. The current collection "Exoskeleton" explores the functions of exoskeletons both in the natural world and urban environment. Each collection provides statement garments and also ready-to-wear pieces.
Max grew up in South West London where he started his design training studying 3D Design. It was here that he became confident with a technical approach to design which he applies to BRYDER. He went on to study Fashion Design with Business Studies at Brighton University, graduating in 2021. His graduate collection scooped the 2021 Graduate Fashion Foundation Zandra Rhodes Textiles Award.
The Drops June 2022: Mariah Esa
Mariah Esa is a Leicester based designer. She studied BA fashion design at DeMontfort University where she then went on to being selected for the Graduate Fashion Week catwalk show. During GFW 2018 Mariah was selected as one of the top 28 students, she then went on to win the People’s Choice Award. Part of her prize was the opportunity to showcase at London Fashion Week within the GFW Presents stand, which opened many doors for her and launched her career in the fashion industry. Two years on and Mariah Esa has launched her eponymous brand and sold two collections with leading fashion retailers Browns and Farfetch.
Mariah Esa is responsible designer, who repurposes waste from the fast fashion industry to create her garments. Mariah has launched her second collection as a independent designer and in that collection she has repurposed over 200,000 waste garment labels which would otherwise be thrown into landfill by a fashion manufacturer. Mariah is a designer trying to tackle the waste within the fast fashion industry. From her experience working in a manufacturer, Mariah was open to the amount of waste fabric and labels that were being thrown away and she found that garment labels were one of the main items being disposed of for slight faults. Sourcing labels which were either over produced or classed as rejects in the fast fashion industry, Mariah repurposed these waste garment labels and up-cycled them to create the base fabric for her bespoke luxury garments.
The Drops July 2022: Jennifer Healy with Peach Eyes
Peach Eyes is a luxury, British-made, slow fashion brand. Focussing on the slower fashion market, the pieces are lovingly manufactured in small exclusive batches in the Northeast of England. The inspiration behind the brand started with the close relationship of Jennifer with her Granny. “My Granny adored flowers, teaching me how to paint them from a young age. In fact, ‘Peach Eyes’ is actually a Dwarf Bearded Iris, I often found this flower being referred to in her gardening journal and fell in love with the name.” To pay homage to the wonderful woman who helped inspire her to create the brand, Jennifer has named each piece in the collection after her favourite flowers in her memory.
The collection of beautiful, printed garments and accessories including her well-loved graphic tights range reflect her love of nature and painting, and her infatuation with all things retro! From trapeze shapes to bold graphic prints the collection showcases it proudly.
Designer Jennifer Healy is based in the North-East of England. Having successfully studied for a Fashion Design Degree at Manchester School of Art and graduating in 2018, she began her fashion career by winning the Scholarship Award at Graduate Fashion Week which led to several years in industry experiencing a variety of departments for high street retailers. With a desire to explore the possibilities of more responsible and creative design, Jennifer founded her own label in her hometown of Barnard Castle.
The Drops August 2022: Sarah Thompson with TOM-O
“The rural north east is who I owe my creativity too, the community around me, the rolling hills, the freedom of thought and naïve ways.” Sarah grew up on a farm in the North East which inspired her first collection; The Farming People. This was where her journey of upcycling & celebrating the sentiment of clothing began. Her brand TOM-O explores the relationship the British farming communities have to their clothing; the value they place upon practical attire and attachments they gain. Growing up within the remote north Yorkshire moors, clothing focused on practicality, durability, and the ability to mend. Longevity often becoming sentimental towards particular pieces.
It was in lockdown she launched my own sustainable fashion brand, TOM-O. Hoping to help change the way consumers shop by upcycling pieces from their very own wardrobe and celebrating the sentiment of clothing. Whether it's an item of clothing you no longer wear, something that holds special memories & sentiment, or fabric/clothes that would otherwise end up in landfill TOM-O is all about creating newness from what we already have. Sarah works with you to build the perfect TOM-O to suit your style that you can wear & love forever, all bespoke!
This cycle of deconstruction and mending came and has helped formed by signature design aesthetic. Sarah has been able to deconstruct, mend and reform garments into new pieces. Applying surgical techniques to unwind each piece and create something new. Raising awareness of this technique, to establish a silhouette that celebrates incisions & scars that have years of history, love and wear. TOM-O wants to make build the relationships back between garment and owner.
A 2019 graduate of Sheffield Hallam University Sarah showcased her work at Graduate Fashion Week, which then led to being showcased under GFW Presents at at London Fashion Week in Feb 2020. The brand is now based in Leeds where I have my very own shop, TOM-O in Leeds Corn Exchange.
The Drops September 2022: Donnel Chavunduka with Geminii Studios
Geminii Studios creates high quality garments aiming at using sustainable and organic resources alongside unveiling designs that are multifunctional to offer more than one use. The brand is based around the idea of being (Conscious - aware of and responding to one’s surroundings / having knowledge of something.) Geminii Studios vision is to create a Sustainable forward thinking gender neutral luxury brand that is authentic, versatile and comfortable. Within every collection the brand unveils, there is always a variety of multifunctional garments that are included among the non-multifunctional garments. This sustainable design methodology allows the wearer to have multiple uses for one garment. This allows the wearer to get more for their money and a garment that stand the test of time in the wardrobe because of how useful it is as well as it’s longevity due to fine craftsmanship.
Designer Donnel Chavunduka was Born in Zimbabwe and spent most of his adolescence in Bournemouth. He discovered an interest in fashion design at the age of 16,” I was introduced to fashion by rappers like A$AP Rocky and Kanye West through their music videos I used to watch as a teenager. My days after school were spent drawing clothing designs for fun as I never knew that much about it.” Shortly after developing a passion for design, I continued to further my knowledge and enrolled into the University For the Creative Arts (UCA) in Epsom to study fashion design graduating in 2021.
For more information on this year’s events, visit…
www.kingscross.co.uk/event/the-drops-market-coal-drops-yard
King’s Cross will also play host to the Graduate Fashion Foundation’s annual event, Graduate Fashion Week, taking place in Coal Drops Yard between 20– 24 June 2022.