Edward Enninful | Photo: Kevin Trageser for BoF

NEW YORK, United States — “What we all aim for is to make it more approachable, but that doesn’t mean low end,” said Edward Enninful, who, as style and fashion director of W, is a critical part of the international A-team that’s been tasked with transforming the iconic Condé Nast magazine, which has seen the top tier of its masthead completely turn over in a series of shakeups since Stefano Tonchi’s appointment as editor-in-chief in early 2010.

Since joining W last April, 40 year-old Enninful, whose team now includes Marie-Amélie Sauvé and Giovanna Battaglia, has moved the magazine’s fashion editorial towards greater and more direct emphasis on the woman. “Sometimes in the past, you didn’t see the woman. You’ll see a cloud, you’ll see a forest and you have to find a woman that’s in there,” explained Enninful. “But the woman is first for us. No matter what the context of the photography is, the woman has to be very present.”

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Tim Coppens Autumn/Winter 2012 | Source: Tim Coppens

NEW YORK, United States — This month, the BoF Spotlight shines on Tim Coppens, a promising Belgian-born designer who is rapidly ascending the menswear ranks in New York.

Young menswear designers face the tricky challenge of pushing aesthetic boundaries while staying within the relatively limited sartorial confines of what the vast majority of men are willing to wear. Few succeed. But Coppens — who is a 2012 Ecco Domani award winner and draws on technical prowess honed at Ralph Lauren’s RLX, an activewear line where he served as design director from 2008 to 2011 — has struck a winning balance after just two seasons.

With an aesthetic that blends tailoring with the technical detailing of activewear, Coppens has carved out an enviable spot for himself in the narrow American menswear space, earning the attention of influential stockists like Barneys New York, Dover Street Market and LN-CC.

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Phillip Lim | Photo: But Sou Lai

NEW YORK, United States — “I always believed in making clothes with affordable prices,” said Phillip Lim, one of the many young designers to have emerged in New York over the past few years. But unlike his peers, when Lim launched his label back in the autumn of 2005, he made a conscious decision not to compete in the high-end designer category. Instead, Lim’s vision was to offer his customers beautifully made, well-designed clothing at a contemporary price point.

Lim’s fashion journey began with Development, a Los Angeles-based line he started with partners in 2000. But four years later, after relationships turned thorny, Lim walked away from the label. Soon after, a friend he had met in Paris convinced Lim to come to New York, just to ‘hang out’ for the week. That friend was Wen Zhou, who would soon become chief executive of Lim’s new brand and his new business partner in an entrepreneurial venture that is on track to turn over more than $60 million this year — not bad for seven years of hard work.

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Anya Hindmarch | Source: Anya Hindmarch

LONDON, United Kingdom — “I started my business when I was 18,” said luxury handbag designer Anya Hindmarch. On her gap year in Florence, Italy, she saw a bag that was all the rage among the cool Italian girls and she bought it. “I took it to London and everyone loved it,” she recalls.

The reaction, it seems, helped her identify a business opportunity. “I found a factory, had a similar bag made and took it back to the UK.” Her first break came when she persuaded Harpers & Queen to offer the bags to their readers, resulting in 500 orders. These initial sales sparked demand among the cult London stores of the time, and soon, orders came in from big New York stores too, including Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman and Henri Bendel.

Although success came early for Hindmarch she admits that it was a difficult time, replete with growing pains. “You don’t have the volume for the factories to give you much time. And the designs have to be the most special to win the customers over. Basically, you have to sweet talk and sell to the suppliers as much as to the customers,” recalls Hindmarch. “You have to be determined, beyond sense almost, to get through that phase.”

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