London nurtures young designer talent. It's the only fashion capitol where lesser known designers can score a high profile commercial gig that prominently plasters their name across the city while still preserving hip young-designer status. Please welcome Mr Kim Jones. Jones is known in trendy fashion circles but isn't quite an internationally recognized name yet. Clever marketing on the part of Topman, Topshop men's department, where, as we mentioned in our London CityTrend issue, is one of the only official High Street destinations for cool boys to pick up trendy basics) is putting turbo to the designer's profile. For the Void, the über-cool section at Topman, Jones debuts a collection in September that twists aggressive "Mudd Club" punk looks with swishy designs "inspired by kids from "the Plastics" era. This translates into skinny pants, rockabilly jackets, and new wave patchwork sweaters worn with oversized boots. Sexy ads are showing up in style bibles like Attitude and The Face, and edgy editorial layouts in magazines like Dazed and Confused will not only create traffic on Topman's shop floor but will raise Jones' exposure. Soon perhaps, designers in London and other cities will become national treasures like Alexandre Herchovitch did in his native Brazil for designing the highly influential Zoompt denim line, even while he struggled to build his own brand internationally. Source: JC Report