OSMAN YOUSEFZADA
Osman Yousefzada made his fashion debut in 2008 at London Fashion Week. Born in Birmingham, UK, with an Afghan heritage, his mother used to run a dressmaking business, creating wedding dresses for the Asian community. Yousefzada studied at the School of African and Oriental Studies and Central Saint Martin's before going on to launch his label. Through complex cutting and draping techniques, Yousefzada's designs are said to look fantastic on all women. He stocks his label in a variety of stockists including Browns, Selfridges, MatchesFashion, Harvey Nichols and Galeries Lafayette. In 2010, Yousefzada created a limited edition collection of scarves in aid of charities worldwide, the profits from the sale of the scarves went to benefit a charity in the country each scarf was produced in. Only 100 of each scarf were produced. Yousefzada produces a bi-annual journal, The Collective, a publication for which he draws on a group of fellow artists, writers to explore the intersection of art and fashion with insightful essays. In 2007, Yousefzada was nominated for the Designer of the Year Award. He was also shortlisted for the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund in 2011, 2013 and 2015 and he was shortlisted for a Frieze Art Award in 2014. His clean lines and exceptionally precise tailoring have won Yousefzada a loyal fan base which include a wide range of famous names including; Beyonce, Helen Mirren, Lada Gaga, Alex Wek, Zhang Aiyi and Jemima Khan.
Praise for Osman Yousefzada
He understands real shapes. "The size of women who used to come to my mother's door were not small," he recalls. "Alexandra Shulman once said to me: Fashion shouldn't be about age. A 20-year-old woman and a 50-year-old woman should be able to wear it."