During London Fashion Week in September 2026, the JCA London Fashion Academy presented its fifth master’s degree cohort in a showcase at the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair. Six emerging designers from the MA Fashion Entrepreneurship in Design and Brand Innovation program presented individual collections representing a culmination of a year-long venture into creative development, research, and business planning.
Since its launch, the post-graduate program at JCA has supported 40 graduates. By prioritizing personal identity alongside commercial viability, the curriculum avoids dictating a unified house style, encouraging students to build distinct, independent fashion ventures.
The Six Emerging Designers and Collections
- Charlotte Kunneke — KUNNEKE
Focusing on inclusive sizing and adaptive tailoring, Kunneke introduced an AW27 womenswear line designed to adjust to diverse body types and daily routines.
- Maria Varney — VARNEY
Titled The Ritual of Dressing, Varney’s six-look collection incorporates seaweed-based biomaterials alongside her custom-developed material, Vartex, exploring sustainable alternatives in luxury wear.
- Pola Łupińska — LADYPOLA
Blending fine leather craftsmanship with tattoo artistry, Łupińska drawing on her Polish heritage created Inked Beyond the Skin—a line designed as temporary expression without permanent ink.
- Michael-Nicolas Genao — CONVERSATION/27: JOUSKA
Drawing from his Bulgarian and Dominican heritage—and a childhood split between New York and Varna—Genao’s collection examines cross-generational memory and cultural identity.
- Emily Walsh
Working at the intersection of contemporary art and apparel, Walsh produced sculptural, exaggerated silhouettes inspired by personal experiences of non-verbal communication and silence.
- Jennifer Duffy — NECESSORIES
Duffy debuted an accessories line featuring leather handbags and small goods. Influenced by historic pocket bags, family history, and background in precious metal manufacturing, the collection combines structured metal elements with bold color choices.
Leadership Perspectives
“Six designers, six individual narratives and six very different entrepreneurial propositions. Our role is not to create a JCA house style, but to give each designer the confidence, criticality and business thinking to turn their own creative identity into something meaningful, distinctive and viable.”
— Mark Ely, Programme Leader at JCA London Fashion Academy
Ely highlighted the extensive research behind each project:
“It has been a genuine pleasure to mentor and collaborate with our fifth cohort and to see these six designers showcase the culmination of an intense year of creative and entrepreneurial development. Each has worked earnestly to identify and develop their own niche, creating fashion outcomes that are distinctly personal while being underpinned by serious business thinking. There is so much more behind the clothes, and I hope people have the opportunity to meet the designers individually and discover the narratives, research and ambitions that have shaped their work.”
Lucy Choi, Director at JCA London Fashion Academy, noted the significance of the event venue and student development:
“A proud moment seeing our MA students’ collections from this year come to life with such depth, craftsmanship and individuality. Each collection reflects a distinctive voice, translating personal stories and conceptual ideas into thoughtful, considered design. It is especially rewarding to see our students given the opportunity to present their collections at the prestigious Mandarin Oriental in Mayfair, a fitting setting to celebrate their creativity, dedication, and evolving voices as designers.”