OREANDA-NEWS. DHL and IMG have announced the winners of DHL Exported Cycle Two. Marcel Ostertag, Sid Neigum, Atsushi Nakashima and Marques' Almeida have won the opportunity to grow their businesses and brands internationally by showing their Fall/Winter 2016 and Spring/Summer 2017 collections on global fashion stages.

As part of the program, DHL Exported offers business strategy consultancy, PR and social media support to the winning designers to help expand their business. All DHL Exported Cycle One designers took on new markets, reporting significant increases in sales as well as international coverage and media interest. Francesca Liberatore, Milan-based Cycle One winning designer who showed her collections in New York, noted an increase of 400 percent in e-Commerce, while Nicholas K, who showed in Milan as part of DHL Exported Cycle One, experienced 50 percent sales growth compared to the previous year.  

"The overwhelming positive feedback we received from the DHL Exported Cycle One graduates emphasizes the value and sustainability of the program. It was a great pleasure to see talented designers expanding into new international markets and growing their businesses," said Arjan Sissing, Senior Vice President Corporate Brand Marketing, Deutsche Post DHL Group. "Now four new designers are about to start on a similar journey. As the most international company in the world, we are excited to offer them our expertise and support on their path to international success."

The application for the DHL Exported Program was open from July 8th through July 31st. Finalists were chosen by a panel of industry veterans and logistics experts. Designers were asked to select a fashion week stage for presenting their collections based on their business expansion strategy. For each show, a committee of regional experts reviewed the applications and chose the designer that showed the most potential to succeed.

"The selection process was extremely difficult this year, with many talented designers from around the world applying for the invaluable opportunity that DHL Exported offers," said Catherine Bennett, SVP and Managing Director, IMG Fashion Events & Properties. "The decision came down to designers who not only demonstrated themselves as skilled artists, but also demonstrated the proper infrastructure to support international expansion. We look forward to working with these up and coming stars and helping them grow their businesses globally.

Along with a guaranteed spot on the event's schedule, designers will receive two fully funded and produced runway shows, and DHL will also provide logistics advice and cover international shipping and exporting of hard goods related to delivering the collection to New York, London, Milan or Tokyo for the designers' runway debut.

The winners will present their collections as follows:

  • Marcel Ostertag, New York Fashion Week
  • Sid Neigum, London Fashion Week
  • Atsushi Nakashima, Milan Fashion Week
  • Marques' Almeida, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo

The Cycle Two DHL Exported shows will take place in February & September 2016 at New York Fashion Week, London Fashion Week and Milan Fashion Week, as well as in March & October 2016 at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo.