Thursday 30 April 2015

Follow The Stars

The search for S/S16's Bubble Rising Star has begun - but what about our four previous winners? Where are Wolf & Rita, Raspberry Plum, Plumeti Rain and Oh...My! now? And how have they grown since scooping the coveted award? We've been finding out...

The Wonderful Wolf & Rita won our inaugural Rising Star competition in June 2013, when it was still known as Milk & Rock. 

Launched by sisters Sonia and Claudia Rocha, the Portuguese brand was everything we'd been looking for in a Rising Star. Its young founders had cut their teeth with their family's shirt company - and specialised, unsurprisingly, in cool, high-quality shirts for children. 

We loved Wolf & Rita's original prints and chic, contemporary cuts - not to mention the traditional techniques Sonia and Claudia employed when creating their collections. 



Sonia said: "After winning The Rising Star Award, we had lots of positive feedback, and the brand has been growing steadily ever since. Today, we have 105 selling points, and agents in the US, Japan and Scandinavia. People still link Wolf & Rita to the Rising Star Award!" 

We always knew this brand was destined for stardom - and it's certainly proved us right!

RaspberryPlum


London-based brand RaspberryPlum was crowned Bubble Rising Star in A/W14, seeing off stiff competition from the likes of Young Soles, Hug and Hatch, The Little Tailor and Milk and Biscuits

The label was founded by Belgrade-born Aleksandra Stasic, a graduate of London's prestigious Royal College of Art. She'd set out to create a range of cool, original clothing, which would allow little girls to 'play, run around and get messy' in style. 

It wasn't just the brand's whimsical, retro-modern designs that won our judges over. We were also impressed by Aleksandra's commitment to supporting the apparel industry in Serbia, where her clothing is manufactured. 

According to Aleksandra, winning the award was 'the boost she needed to expand her collection' - and, today, she creates clothing for girls, boys and babies. The brand's identity - quirky and vintage-inspired, with a chic, modern twist - is as strong as ever. 







Plumeti Rain



Our S/S15 Rising Star was Spanish label Plumeti Rain, which wowed the judging panel with its exquisite girls clothing. 

Its co-founder, Laura Pena Perez, began by designing childrenswear for other brands, before studying intelligent fabrics as part of her masters degree. 

She launched her own label with a view to creating comfortable, natural childrenswear that was also beautifully-designed. 



Manufactured entirely in Spain, Laura's debut collection featured liberty prints, high-quality fabrics and traditional embellishments - including embroidery and smocking. 

S/S15 judge Claire Lomax, of Fluxlings Magazine, praised the brand's 'attention to detail and quality of production' - and the rest of the panel agreed!

Read more about Plumeti Rain's journey here

Oh...My!


And, finally, who could forget our latest Rising Star, Oh...My! (We're reliably informed that the name was inspired by an episode of Downton Abbey!)

The Homegrown brand - which was founded by designer Anna Davies and creative director Jonathan Swead - creates luxe occassionwear for 'little ladies' aged 5 - 11.  

Its first wholesale collection featured high-end fabrics, statement prints, and classic, elegant pieces, all with an irresistibly quirky twist.  

Unsurprisingly, our judges loved Oh...My!'s unique vision, naming it Bubble Rising Star A/W15. Co-founder Jonathan was 'blown away' by the attention and encouragement. 

"We're absolutely delighted to have won the award," he explained. "Now we can go to retailers and say, 'we're Bubble London's Rising Star."

The brand is now working on its S/S16 collection, and will return to Bubble in July. We can't wait!


If you're a launch brand working on your first wholesale collection, you might just be our next Rising Star! You can apply for a stand at Bubble London S/S16 here

Or, alternatively, register here to visit the show. You could discover the next Wolf & Rita, RaspberryPlum, Plumeti Rain or Oh...My!

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