It’s not easy to be a new designer – an experience Albert Ayal is all too familiar with. When he started his career as a fashion publicist, Ayal worked with a number of up-and-coming designers to help them build their brands and navigate the challenges of being a young talent.
Since then, he’s leveraged his past experience to create Up Next Designer, a platform that has become an essential tool for emerging designers looking to break into the industry. What began as more of a mood board has quickly transformed into an online community and industry stakeholder. In just a few years, Up Next Designer has gained the kind of fashion credibility that can take decades to build.
It’s not your average Instagram account – a simple post from Ayal’s highly curated page can catapult an unknown name into the spotlight, bringing featured designers everything from dressing opportunities for A-list celebrities, orders from high-end retailers, and an influx of followers.
While talent discovery remains at the core of his platform, ‘UND’ is just getting started. Ayal has already begun to dive into exciting new areas. Recent projects include styling Sara Sampaio for a red carpet event (where the model wore Mirror Palais, one of Ayal’s discoveries). He now hosts a series “Ask a Professional Anything,” in which fashion heavyweights including publicist Lucien Pagès, stylist Karla Welch, and designer Giuliano Calza of GCDS have taken part. He’s also started contributing to Business of Fashion with a column that spotlights emerging talent. His impact has even caught the attention of larger houses – he was invited by Jacquemus to attend the brand’s latest show in Provence.
We sat down with Ayal to hear more about his platform and plans for the future.
How did you come up with the idea for this platform? What started all of this?
I first navigated the fashion world through the lens of my own fashion public relations agency, which allowed me to build so many incredible relationships in the industry and foster my own community in fashion. While working with my own roster of clients, I was constantly researching new designers on social media and thinking up new ways to get involved with up-and-coming brands. When the pandemic hit, I lost several existing clients and my focus naturally shifted to growing my account during that time period. I have a strong passion for discovery, and Up Next became the perfect platform to explore the fashion landscape in that capacity. My main goal with the platform was to provide emerging talent and the next generation of fashion with resources to make a name for themselves in the industry.
What has the response been since launching? Has it surprised you at all?
Every day is filled with new surprises. Whether it’s helping a designer I’ve discovered reach a career milestone, hosting an impressive industry leader on my “Ask A Professional Anything” series or providing the ‘UND’ community with a front-row seat to the industry’s top fashion shows and events, creating Up Next has allowed me to do things I never thought I would be capable of doing at such a young age. The response has been incredible because I have been able to help so many emerging designers realize their potential by facilitating industry introductions, providing insightful industry knowledge and sharing their work. Not only that, the feedback from the fashion community at large — stylists, editors, photographers, brands, you name it — has been so beautiful. From the beginning, I’ve always focused on making UND a fun, welcoming platform in fashion for people of all experience levels, where collaboration is encouraged.
