Dr. Martens Is Teaming Up With Central Saint Martins To Support Emerging Designers
Providing financial support to five fashion students.
British footwear brand Dr. Martens has joined forces with renowned design school Central Saint Martins for an all-new partnership that seeks to support a new generation of emerging designers.
Five fashion students were selected by Dr. Martens and Fabio Piras, course director at CSM and tasked with producing unique creations inspired by the brands’ “All Access Summer” collection. Each student was given a financial bursary from DM to support their vision and asked to interpret the campaign theme by creating a full outfit. Students included multidisciplinary creative Francesca Lake, menswear designers Jude Hinojosa and Xuesong Yang and knitwear enthusiast Lauren Patchett, alongside experimental designer Jad Jreissati.
“My role as Course Director is to shape students to be critical and resilient, whilst believing in their creativity and talent,” says Piras in a press release. “All of these elements run parallel to Dr. Martens’ ethos and spirit, and this partnership has provided an opportunity for my students to interpret a brief from another perspective, another angle, which is a hugely valuable skill to learn. That’s why we’re here, to continue learning and building the students’ portfolios, experience and inspiration, and long may it continue.”
“We are so proud to partner with this powerhouse of originality and imagination shining a light on designers who have travelled from around the world to hone their craft in London, the home to so many internationally-known designers. It has been a pleasure to see the inventive and resourceful designs of the students and how they have interpreted the Dr. Martens All Access Summer. I can see each reaching new heights in their careers. Francesca, Xuesong, Jad, Lauren and Jude, watch this space,” adds Dr. Marten’s creative director Darren McKoy.
The campaign itself seeks to celebrate the first open summer and one where nothing is off limits. The new collection sees a range of sandals and summer shoes on offer, all of which have been showcased within the CSM students’ designs. Previous alumni from CSM have included the likes of Alexander McQueen, Kim Jones and Stella McCartney alongside new-gen designers like Nensi Dojaka, Grace Wales Bonner and Phoebe Philo.
