Six fashion graduates from Dumfries House formed The King's Foundation in Ayrshire, Scotland. Press-net1114net-a-porter of luxury goods Porter and The King's Foundation unveiled a ready-to-wear premium capsule collection this week.
Inspired by the watercolor landscapes of the Scottish Highlands painted by Her Majesty Queen Victoria, "Net-a-Porter for The King's Foundation" offers opulently rich bias-cut slip dresses, sophisticated loungewear, and textural knitwear that all embody a deep respect for nature through an emphasis on responsible materials and techniques.
Working with fabrics, from using botanical dyes to repurposing fabric through recuts or scraps, is a distinctive aspect of the pieces, in addition to traditional craftsmanship like hand smocking and sewing. Local British wool, including Shetland wools, is used throughout, along with yarns spun by the herd at Dumfries House.
The digital ID that is included with every piece adds value as well. It is utilized to tell the story of the product and extend its lifespan by offering clients tips for after-purchase care.
A luxury capsule collection created by Modern Artisan graduates will be released via Net-a-Porter.
This collection is the result of Yoox Net-a-Porter and The King's Foundation's third iteration of The Modern Artisan talent program for young fashion and textiles trainees. Beginning in 2019, the collaboration has aimed to preserve the legacy of traditional crafts and cleared the path for a more environmentally friendly direction in luxury fashion.
"Investing in the next generation of designers is a cornerstone commitment at Net-A-Porter, and our association with The Prince's Foundation extends well beyond traditional mentorship," stated Vikki Kavanagh, managing director of Net-a-Porter & Mr. Porter.
This year's new wave of artisans has astounded us with the breadth of their abilities with a capsule collection that emphasizes design integrity through the use of high-end materials and local artisanal skills to combine sustainability values with luxury.
Six fashion and textiles graduates this year embarked on a nine-month paid traineeship that followed the end-to-end process of designing and creating by hand an entire luxury collection.
After training at the private label design team in London of Yoox Net-a-Porter, they spent six months as artists-in-residence at Dumfries House, where their focus was on developing artisanal skills such as sewing and pattern drafting to quality control.
Over five years, The Modern Artisan program has supported 26 new and emerging designers-makers to launch their careers.
His vision of a harmonious world underpins everything we do at The King's Foundation, where traditional skills with an innovative outlook are essential to the success in global fashion and textiles, industries for this generation and next. The program itself represents best practice in terms of what can be achieved when different organizations come together with a common goal to support emerging talent while promoting ways that are kinder on the planet. Drawing inspiration from Mother Nature, this year the artisans have put in a lot of elbow grease to create and hand-make an exclusive capsule collection that will be timeless or last long.
Net-a-Porter for The King's Foundation is online now, exclusively at Net-a-Porter. Fifty percent of the recommended retail price from items sold will be given to The King's Foundation for its programs that reach over 15,000 people per year.