Swarovski announces latest Designer Collective lineup

Swarovski is celebrating 15 years of its designer collective, having announced a new lineup of 15 creative talents (some established, some emerging) who will receive financial support and help with crystals, as well as the chance to compete for the €25,000 Swarovski Collective Prize for Innovation.

Marques Almeida, Huishan Zhang, Peter Pilotto, Ashley Williams and Mary Katrantzou are all representing London, and the US contingent is made up of Prabal Gurung, Rodarte, Creatures of the Wind, Wes Gordon and Nonoo. Meanwhile the Paris talents include ANDAM winner Iris Van Herpen, Damir Doma, Jay Ahr, Masha Ma and Christian Wijnants. 

All of the designers will have Swarovski’s backing for their upcoming Spring/Summer 2015 shows, and the Fall/Winter 2014 collections starting next February. 

German-Croatian designer Damir Doma, part of the collective for the first time, was excited by how he’d incorporate the crystals into his typically brooding looks: „It was important for us to find a material that works with our aesthetics. We looked into stone sculptures and tried to capture this rich and beautiful texture by using Swarovski crystals. We’re using the stones through our entire collection — on the shoes, dresses and also on the jackets and coats — in a very decorative way.“

The project first started in 1999 when Nadja Swarovski collaborated with a young Alexander McQueen and Isabella Blow. Over the past 15 years, over 150 designers including Alexander Wang, Hussein Chalayan, Viktor&Rolf and Christopher Kane have passed through the Swarovski Collective.