MEET RAPHAELLE MOORE
THE CREATIVE COUNCIL:
Kindness, community and creating magic at Fashion East.
If ever you needed proof that nice people don’t finish last, Raphaelle Moore is it. The Head of Projects at non-profit talent incubator Fashion East is sunshine incarnate. And she’s one of the most respected voices in the business.
Renowned for her work nurturing up-and-coming designers, Moore has worked alongside the legendary Lulu Kennedy MBE for the past seven years creating magic at Fashion East. Starting out as Kennedy’s assistant, Moore has expanded her role to spearhead special projects, with everything from co-ordinating catwalk shows and events at London Fashion Week and beyond to working on socials and capturing behind-the-scenes content.
“It’s mainly supporting the designers with their shows but outside of that you get to form relationships with other brands and come up with fun ideas,” explains Moore. “Fashion East is a non-profit talent incubator that supports emerging designers in the early stage of their career. So, I’m known for helping them get where they are.”
Launched in 2000 by Lulu Kennedy, Fashion East has worked to give voices to young fashion creatives, helping them launch their careers and land their labels. Their roster of designers currently includes Estonian-born, London-based womenswear designer Johanna Parv, Michael Stewart’s Standing Ground and Brazilian-born, London-based Karoline Vitto, who has become renowned for her clothes that celebrate the female body in all its guises. As for their alumni? It includes Loewe and JW Anderson’s Jonathan Anderson, Saul Nash, Simone Rocha and Grace Wales Bonner, to name a few.
When delving into those magic moments to date, it’s Fashion East’s 20th birthday that stands out. An epic party at Decimo at The Standard is described as ‘iconic’: “You know there are parties where it feels like everyone in London is there, and it’s not an industry party, it just felt different,” Moore explains. It was an event covered by everyone from Vice to Vogue to V Magazine, while a special film looking back at the past two decades of Fashion East aired on Dazed.
Moore also cites the launch of a brand-new initiative, XLNC, which looks to back designers that have made their first steps but are still looking for support, as a career high: “It just felt so good to be able to continue to support in a more meaningful way,” she explains.
It’s Moore’s appetite to help others that has shaped her career to date. “I love helping people, she [Lulu Kennedy] was like ‘same’. That is why I honestly got the job.” She explains. “I had no experience, but fashion is so niche anyway,” she explains. “I’m the luckiest person and I’m so aware of that. I’m honestly so grateful every day.”
Google Fashion East and you get served delicious headlines, like: “Fashion East went on a rowdy school trip” or “Fashion East hit Stockholm in beautifully bonkers style,” with Moore’s own photography sitting alongside the stories. It’s clear that at Fashion East building a community is key, that the team have fun every step of the way, nurturing and supporting one another as they go. “It’s all about people. People are everything; real connections for people and looking after your people,” she confirms.
IT'S ALL ABOUT PEOPLE. PEOPLE ARE EVERYTHING. REAL CONNECTIONS FOR PEOPLE AND LOOKING AFTER YOUR PEOPLE.
Earlier this year, Moore was announced as a member of the FLANNELS Creative Council, a next-generation advisory board filled with six inspiring voices in the industry. Sitting alongside artist Slawn, editor Elgar Johnson, stylist Leah Abbott, hair stylist Issac Poleon and Diet Paratha founder Anita Chhiba, Moore will be showcasing her own creative community, shining a light on those that inspire her most in life and the place that makes her tick. Stay tuned for more on that…
So, what advice does she have for the next generation coming up? “Don’t be afraid to reach out to someone, go for what you want,” she says. “But also, if you haven’t figured it out that’s totally fine. I had not figured it out and was working as an assistant for five years before the pandemic started to change things and now I feel like I’m fully doing what I was meant to do and I’d never have known that.”
As for breaking down the barriers of one of the most competitive and gatekeeping industries? “A common misconception within the fashion industry is that you have to be mean or cruel to make it,” says Moore. “And hopefully that’s something that myself and Lulu and everyone we work with is trying to dispel. Treat people with kindness, whoever they are, whatever their role, whatever level. Why not be kind?”
Warmth, humour, talent. A need to help others and the smarts to back it up. Moore proves that kindness is everything.
Stay tuned for Moore’s Creative Council project coming soon…