Shaping a bright new future

Big names aside, some of the most exciting shows of the event involve capsule collections from up-and-coming designers who are either from, or are based in, Scotland. These undiscovered talents include recent Glasgow School of Art graduates as well as fledgling labels that have already earned themselves a cult following.

Each afternoon of the event, the GFW catwalk in George Square will be hijacked by these labels and designers. Everything from hand-printed textiles to uniquely crafted evening gowns and tribal necklaces are going on show, all created by some of the country's most talented young fashion minds.

To give you a flavour of the fresh talent that will be appearing at the event, we have picked three new labels and profiled the designers behind them.

While their collections might be radically different, each of these designers has two things in common: they've studied at one of the country's top fashion schools and are now working in Scotland on their own label. For more names to look out for, we've also got a quick run-down of other collections that it's worth keeping an eye on.

Label: Laura Vickers Designer: Laura Vickers Age: 24 "I don't like to think of myself as a fashion designer," says Laura Vickers. "I love fashion and I make clothes, but I'm a textile designer first and foremost. My textiles always come first, and the shape of my clothes is dictated by the pattern of the fabric."

Fashion designer or not, there's no disputing the fact that Vickers's simple shift dresses are beautiful. Her studio-cum-flat on Ingram Street in Glasgow is filled with her most recent designs, which she will show at Glasgow Fashion Week. Red velvet dresses with abstract floral patterns hang next to a blue and white crochet-print summer dress, while a selection of hand-crafted hats lies on the table.

"For me, it's not about creating one dress or one item," offers Vickers, who completed her masters in textile design at Glasgow School of Art last December. "I like creating a look that people can buy into. For me each dress comes with a hat, a jacket, a necklace and a belt. I like things to look complete and full - I'm one of those people that has to tell myself to stop adding things in case I go over the top."

Vickers's patterns are inspired by everything from regimented crochet stitches to "something you might see on the street". Whatever the inspiration, she hand-draws each individual pattern before transferring the design to her computer and then printing it on to her fabric of choice - currently velvet. "I'm obsessed with velvet at the moment," she adds, pinning a blood-red patterned number on to the tailor's dummy.

Given her fantastic eye for fashion, one imagines Vickers has always wanted to make clothes. However, it wasn't until her great-uncle, the artist Joseph Maxwell, encouraged her to study art that she really discovered her vocation.

"I spent a year at Leith School of Art getting my portfolio together and the teachers suggested my drawings would work well in textiles," she says. "I applied to Glasgow School of Art and it really moved on from there."

Vickers currently sells her hand-made hats in Hitherto in Glasgow's Merchant City, and her designs will appear in John Lewis's fashion window from today. She will be showing her spring/summer collection on Saturday at 1.30pm. Label: Mainey Laing Designers: Hilary Laing and Amy Currie Age: 27 and 24. Hilary Laing and Amy Currie don't believe in following garment patterns. Strict rules just aren't this design duo's style. Instead they prefer to have complete freedom from start to finish when making their clothes.

"We're both really inspired by children," offers Laing, who has worked for renowned designers such as Elspeth Gibson and Antoni & Alison. "I love the way children just work sporadically - they don't think, they just do. That's how our designs are meant to be: simple and easy to wear. We don't want to over-complicate anything."

After founding the Mainey Laing label at the end of 2006, the duo have been busy refining their collection and signature style. Laing, who studied textile design at Galashiels, spends her time hand-making the brightly coloured squiggle patterns that feature throughout their 30-piece collection. Currie, meanwhile, transforms the fabric into sweet baby-doll dresses and acid-coloured felt capes.

"Because Hilary's fabric is so brightly patterned, we didn't want to create complex dresses," says Amy, who is also a graduate of the Galashiels textile course. "The shapes I make are all quite simple in order for the fabric to shine through. We've got short baby-doll dresses and great capes with hand-embroidered scribble patterns on them."

Laing and Currie have split their collection into two parts: neon and black combinations, and a more girlie section where the brighter fabrics are tempered with nudes. Their hope is to create clothes which are individual, fun and colourful - all traits, they explain, that are characteristically found in Japanese street culture.

"We'd really love to get into the Japanese market," says Laing. "Our clothes and style really suit that culture. You really have to like colour to wear our clothes, and although there will be people in Glasgow who click with that, it will really fit into the Japanese market."

Overseas markets aside, there's no mistaking the unique beauty of some of the Mainey Laing designs. As Laing hand-draws all of the patterns, no two garments turn out the same. "We like the idea that a lot of our pieces are completely unique," adds Laing. "It makes the clothes more interesting that way."

Mainey Laing will be showing their collection on Friday at 1.30pm. Label: Onnie Designer: Veronica Renton Age: 26 What do the Queen, Princess Anne and silent-movie actresses from the 1920s have in common? Great fashion sense, according to Glasgow-based fashion designer Veronica Renton.

The 26-year-old Edinburgh School of Art graduate, who started her own label, Onnie, more than a year ago, has plastered her studio wall with iconic pictures of the royal family and silent movie heroines.

"It's not that I love the Queen in particular," she says with a laugh. "It's just I find these clothes so amazing.

"If someone walked down the street wearing something like the Queen wore as a young woman, we would think they were really trendy. But somehow we see the Queen as being completely unfashionable.

"When you actually look at the clothes, though, they're beautifully made. It's a personal challenge of mine to find out exactly how they cut these clothes. They're so complex."

Judging by a silk/satin panel dress hanging in Renton's studio, complexity and shape are two things she loves to develop in her own designs. Her most recent collection, which she will be unveiling at Glasgow Fashion Week, was inspired by a Dali painting, The Hallucinogenic Toreador.

Renton has created boned satin dresses with intricately constructed panels and ruched details, while the draping effect on one simple black dress has been inspired by the Greek-like images of the painting. "I wanted to work mostly in black and white for this collection," says Renton. "Though I've added in a couple of colours you see in the painting, such as the greens and the bright oranges."

Like many up-and-coming designers, Renton's career history is impressive and varied. "I worked with Twisted Generation straight out of university, designing their women's collection," she offers.

"Then I moved to Olanic, before working for a boilersuit-making company as a garment technician. That job really taught me a lot about how to make clothes and put them together. It was only after that experience that I decided to finally go for it and make my own label."

Renton currently sells her work in independent shops including Raw Vintage and Che Camille in Glasgow, as well as Godiva in Edinburgh.

She will be showing her spring/summer collection in the same show as Laura Vickers, on Saturday at 1.30pm. Three more to watch Jillian Trench This talented 20-year-old is in her third year at Glasgow School of Art and is already turning heads with her beautiful designs. Her most recent garments include hand-stitched ribbon sleeves and embroidery. Her collection will be appearing on Thursday at 1.30pm. Harry Gillan Menswear designer Harry Gillan recently went down a storm at the Glasgow School of Art masters catwalk show. His recent designs include plaids and knits, and there's even a leopard-print coat to look out for. His collection will be appearing on Saturday at 1.30pm.

Stuart McKirdy Another third-year at Glasgow School of Art, McKirdy makes clothes that are directional and ultimately fun.

Look out for the snake-like embellishments attached to his colourful garments. His collection will be appearing on Thursday at 1.30pm.