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London Fashion Week starts today and the city is pulling out all the stops to make it extra special this season. This includes the first ever International Fashion Showcase taking place in embassies and cultural institutes across the capital. Young designers from 19 countries are duking it out for the Emerging Talent Award, to be presented on Sunday by British Fashion Council Ambassador Sarah Mower.
Representing the US is a team from the MFA Fashion Design and Society program at Parsons, who have turned the Benjamin Franklin House in Charing Cross into a gallery of knitted garments, and are showing off plenty of talent and technical craftsmanship in the process.
The work of ten students is featured in the exhibit, under the theme "Lost Time is Never Found Again." It's a varied group: Beckett Fogg showed three Céline-style minimal dresses featuring deceptive cutaways, while at the other end Aina Hussein's outfit struck a dramatic note in lacey laddered black. But our favorite was Talia Shuvalov, a former McQueen intern who won sponsorship from Zegna Baruffa to produce six sporty knit dresses in grey and neon green stripes. With American knitwear playing a bigger role in modern fashion these days—think Alex Wang and Rodarte—Baruffa's knits feel right on time for team America.
Peep some photos in the gallery above, and if you're in London, swing by the exhibition, which will be up through February 20.—ANA KINSELLA
· British Council's Guide to the International Fashion Showcase [Back of the Envelope]
· All London Fashion Week Coverage [Racked]
· Parsons MFA Fashion Design and Society program [Official Site]