Tonight:
9°c
The winner of a London Fashion Week new designer award today vowed to produce clothing for "real, curvy women".
Jena Theo, the young design duo who won the Fashion Fringe at Covent Garden, said their outfits looked best on women with more shape.
Jenny Holmes, who runs the label with Dimitris Theocharidis, said: "Our clothes only look good if you have breasts and hips and a sexy figure.
"We wanted to make clothes for real women and show they look good in them, because it's real women who we want to buy our clothes."
Their stance against clothes cut for waifs comes days after designer Mark Fast shocked his catwalk audience by showcasing skin-tight mini dresses on size 12 and 14 models. His stylist Erika Kurihara was asked to leave after a row over the choice of models, but she later denied claims it was over their size.
Speaking at her home in King's Cross, Ms Kurihara angrily denied reports that she had a problem with Fast using "plus size" models.
She said: "Everything that has been said about me in the last few days has been based on lies and rumours.
"I have always championed diversity in my work as a stylist and have absolutely no problem working with curvier women. I have curves too.
"Our disagreement was never over the use of plus size women on the catwalk, but whether the particular models had the necessary experience and technique as catwalk models."
Holmes, 29, and Theocharidis, 31, used size eight and 10 models in their winning catwalk show, but all were notable for having a feminine shape.
The pair beat more than a thousand hopefuls to win £100,000 of business support for their new label over the next year.
Hollywood's favourite red carpet designer, Roland Mouret, who nodded appreciatively in the front row of the final-round show, said all the designs were "incredible". Another guest, Girls Aloud singer Nicola Roberts, said: "I was really impressed. Designers need to be aware that not just ultra-skinny girls buy clothes. It's important to design for bigger models as it will help them sell more clothes."
Fashion Fringe, which was set up five years ago by fashion historian Colin McDowell, has soared in popularity, with applications more than quadrupling from 300 to 1,400. It is chaired by Donatella Versace.
Holmes, who studied with Theocharidis at the London College of Fashion, said: "I think the amazing mentoring Fashion Fringe offers is even more important during the recession when it's really risky to set up a business." Jena Theo described their new collection of muted coloured jersey and crepe pieces in a mix of slouchy and tailored cuts as "recession-proof".
