Yoox Net-A-Porter (YNAP) is continuing its partnership with UK charity The King’s Foundation and on Thursday it announced the third edition of The Modern Artisan, their initiative to nurture emerging talent and promote sustainability.

Following a the selection process, six trainees are beginning a “transformative nine-month paid training journey that will see them “immersed in responsible design and craftsmanship principles”.

So far, 16 trainees have taken part in the two editions “and have gone on to establish their own fashion brands or secure positions at renowned luxury fashion houses, as well as being hired into [YNAP’s] private label teams”.

Applications this time came from over 60 graduates from more than 30 fashion schools across the UK, with over 30% from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in the industry.

YNAP’s link-up with the charity began before Charles III became king when it was originally known as The Prince’s Foundation and its transformation into The King’s Foundation after he became monarch underline this commitment to the work it has done for many years.

So what will happen this time? The artisans’ learning experience will result in the creation of a “luxury capsule collection, which, in a unique opportunity for new graduates, will retail exclusively on Ne-A-Porter in the second half of 2024”. Half of the RRP from products sold will be donated to the charity.

The six trainees are Daisy Gray, 23, from Hertfordshire, who’s a graduate of Kingston University; Jessica Horton, 31, from Hampshire, who’s a graduate of Bournemouth University of Arts; Flavia-Maria Nistor, 23, originally from Romania and living in London after graduating from Staffordshire University; Sarah Jane Sleeba, 26, from India who’s living in London after graduating from of Kingston University and National Institute of Fashion Technology India; Georgia Wintle, 23, from Gloucestershire, who’s a graduate of University of South Wales; and Arielle Uno-Ekwang, 22, from London, who’s a graduate of University of Brighton.

During their three-month design training at YNAP in London, they’ll work alongside the in-house private label teams, “learning how to leverage data insights to design the collection with the Net-A-Porter customer in mind”.

After that, there’ll be a six-month placement follows at The King’s Foundation’s HQ in Ayrshire, Scotland, to manufacture the collection “while learning specialist craftsmanship skills”.

The programme also includes training throughout in how to “minimise impact and promote longevity, with access to over 40 brand partners and industry experts”.

As mentioned, this is the third edition of the programme and the two partners said the second one back in 2022 saw the graduates creating the first-ever Net-A-Porter castle collection “that was 100% aligned to its sustainability and circularity design guidelines, exceeding the target set for all its private labels to reach by 2025”.