(Image:  Mike Wilkinson/The Prince's Foundation)
Cover (Image: Mike Wilkinson/The Prince's Foundation)

Will the Prince of Wales be bringing his sartorial style to the online retailer?

Besides championing environmental conservation and sustainability, there is also one thing that Prince Charles is known for—and that’s his impeccable dress sense. Favouring tailored suits from Savile Row, the heir apparent to the British throne is always sharply dressed for every occasion. His quintessentially British style has earned him a place in many best-dressed lists.

Now, it seems like the royal is putting his sense of style to charitable causes, with the upcoming launch of his first-ever fashion collection. Following his daughter-in-law Meghan Markle’s footsteps, the initiative will see The Prince’s Foundation collaborating with online retail group Yoox Net-a-porter to produce a capsule collection for both men and women.

Called The Modern Artisan, the project’s inaugural 17-piece collection is designed by six Italian fashion students from Politecnico di Milano, drawing inspiration from Leonardo Da Vinci’s works in tribute to the Italian polymath’s 500th death anniversary. Combining British heritage and Italian textile craftsmanship, the design process is supported by the Politecnico’s Fashion in Process (FiP) research laboratory.

The clothing will then be manufactured by six British students in the luxury small batch production program at Dumfries House, a historic estate and educational centre in Scotland acquired by the Prince’s Foundation in 2007.

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(Image:  Mike Wilkinson/The Prince's Foundation)
Above Prince Charles and Federico Marchetti with The Modern Artisan students (Image: Mike Wilkinson/The Prince's Foundation)

“Designed in Italy and crafted in the UK, The Modern Artisan collection will be an important expression of how talent and technology can work across boundaries and borders,” Federico Marchetti, chairman and CEO of Yoox Net-a-Porter said.

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(Image:  Mike Wilkinson/The Prince's Foundation)
Above Prince Charles and Federico Marchetti (Image: Mike Wilkinson/The Prince's Foundation)

The project, which is part of a long-term partnership between Yoox Net-a-Porter and The Prince’s Foundation, aims to equip young men and women with skills to “fuse traditional craft with digitally-infused creativity” in a sustainable manner.

“This project is the culmination of our Future Textiles initiative, which starts by giving school pupils an introduction to the textile industry and goes right through to the Modern Artisan project which offers an inspiring progression route to any young person wishing to enter the fashion and textile industry,” said Jacqueline Farrell, education director at Dumfries House.

The Modern Artisan autumn/winter collection will launch next summer at Net-a-Porter, Mr Porter, The Outnet and Yoox, with profits going towards The Prince’s Foundation. It will then be exhibited at the Michelangelo Foundation’s 2020 Homo Faber showcase of European craftsmanship.

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