Donatella Versace last week chaired the 2008 Fashion Fringe competition, the platform for young London design talent, which took place in a Covent Garden warehouse. This year marks Fashion Fringe’s 5th anniversary, which has previously seen Basso & Brooke, Erdem, Gavin Doublas and Aminaka Wilmont grow into established names with the aid of a bursary, programme mentoring and support at all levels of the fashion business.

The winner of the competition, which saw four designers compete on the catwalk, was Eun Jeong Hong’s label Go By a Secret Path. The Korean designer attended Kent Institute of Art and Design, completing her MA at Central Saint Martins, and showed a mix of silk and washed cotton lace, all layered and juxtaposed in shown in washed, white hues.

Fashion Fringe is supported by the CFE, L’Oreal, London Development Agency and Sunday Times Style, to name but a few. The show is produced by INCA Productions, who manage to put together a most sophisticated show, with a front row including Emma Watson, Dita von Teese and Roland Mouret.

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This year, Rupert Sanderson and Fashion Fringe at Covent Garden created a shoe competition to find a new young shoe designer. The response was small but of an exceptionally high standard and the judges, under the chairmanship of Manolo Blahnik, were unanimous over the winner, Liam Fahy, who showed a level of design originality which was outstanding in the opinion of the panel.

Image: Eun Jeong Hong