Daley, Ahluwalia, Wales Bonner are among capsules for Browns Focus Series Two

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 16, 2022

Browns has brought back its Focus platform for Series Two following last year’s Series One launch that saw the long-standing Focus concept — “dedicated to the designers of tomorrow” — evolving. 

This year, it includes collections from seven labels, including Ahluwalia, Bethany Williams, Feben, Namacheko, Nicholas Daley, Selasi and Wales Bonner.

They’ve all produced exclusive capsules, and will be spotlighted through “creative and community-centric activations, curated for and with the next generation of talent in mind”.

Browns Womenswear and Menswear Buying Director, Ida Petersson said: “I strongly believe that it’s more important than ever before to highlight emerging brands, as they represent what fashion will be not only today, but tomorrow and beyond. Without their curiosity and talent we can’t progress as an industry, and it’s our responsibility as a retailer to support and nurture these designers. 

“This year’s line-up was chosen by our New Gen buyers, Joseph Brunner and Stephanie Bannock, who have worked closely with each partner to build out capsules that represent each brands individual aesthetic and DNA.” 

The Farfetch-owned retailer has also linked up with Home by Ronan Mckenzie on the project, and said Series Two will “celebrate and support the values and ambitions of R.O.T.A (Representation On The Agenda), Browns’ internal network celebrating the breadth of communities within the company, and wider industry”.

Mckenzie’s Home is a multifunctional creative space designed to “inspire, share and support the next wave of BIPOC talent”. The company said it “exemplifies the mission held by R.O.T.A and Browns”. What that means in practice is that Home worked with Browns “to shape the overarching storytelling, content and events for Series Two, with Mckenzie also lending her creative direction and photography skills to the campaign shoot”.

Originally created in 1997, Browns Focus was an incubator for new talent globally and championed designers such as Christopher Kane, Simone Rocha and Hussein Chalayan. 

The Series Two collection are available under the Browns Focus banner from 16 June on the retailer’s website and in-store at Browns East.