Manchester in vogue as fashion industry looks north for a party

Manchester's Exchange Square may have been home to a ferris wheel and a giant TV screen, but currently its highest-profile link to high fashion is in the form of the glass-fronted outpost of the Selfridges department store.

All this will change in October however when the square plays host to a prestigious, global celebration of shopping and fashion hosted by Vogue magazine.

For the past four years, Vogue has held its annual 'Fashion's Night Out' in London. The evening sees retailers and shoppers congregate in a recession-busting extravaganza designed to increase footfall in high-end stores.

For the first event in 2009 Chanel held a live fashion show at its boutique on Old Bond Street, where celebrity model Daisy Lowe posed for a shoot designed by Vogue's fashion director Kate Phelan and hairdressers Toni and Guy offered exclusive discounted pamper packages. Each event has grown since, with shoppers treated to goodie bags, discounts and complimentary cocktails.

It's the sort of gathering that I imagine happens frequently in London, the home of UK fashion. London Fashion Week sees the world's most reputable labels flock to the city to showcase their latest designs, and we frequently see photographs of celebrities papped in their finery, splashing their cash in Harrods and the like. So it comes as no surprise that the capital has been the natural stomping ground for an event such as Vogue Fashion's Night Out for the past four years.

But while London has been basking in the limelight, us Northerners have been quietly building a fashion industry of our own. Manchester's Northern Quarter and Liverpool's Bold Street can hold their own when it comes to vintage shops and boutique outlets. Newcastle is often praised for its shopping, as is Leeds, York and Chester. Northern cities have everything London has, just on a smaller scale.

And the North has a pretty good history with fashion. Manchester was the beating heart of a vibrant textiles industry throughout the Industrial Revolution. Without the blood, sweat and tears of our Northern factory workers, the textile trade simply wouldn't have had the legs to support the evolution of British fashion.

Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue, said: "Manchester's importance to fashion is unquestionable. Bringing Fashion's Night Out to its streets is the next logical step in the evolution of Fashion's Night Out in the UK."

The North has produced some of UK fashion's finest talent: Sarah Burton, most famous for designing the Duchess of Cambridge's wedding dress, is from Macclesfield, and learned her craft at Manchester Metropolitan University. Burberry's chief creative officer, Christopher Bailey, hails from Yorkshire.

Selfridges and Harvey Nichols have already confirmed they will be taking part in the Vogue event on 10 October, and galleries, restaurants and museums are also expected to lay on special events. This year, Manchester is taking up its deserved place on the global fashion map and representing the UK as a city brimming with style.

Fashion Face-Off: Freida Pinto vs. Selena Gomez in Antonio Berardi

This fashion battle between Freida Pinto and Selena Gomez is a tricky one to judge.

On the surface, the two actresses are wearing completely different dresses. The Immortals star has on a racer-back sundress that's as flowy on the bottom as it is formfitting on top. Her hair is in a tight updo and she's accessorizing with silver sandals.

It's almost the polar opposite of the Spring Breakers star's ensemble: A tight, strapless mini worn with wild, curly hair and pointy black pumps. The only thing they have in common is designer Antonio Berardi's signature patchwork effect in black, blue and white.

K&G Fashion Superstore Launches Chicago Mom’s Design for Steve Harvey Women’s Collection

K&G Fashion Superstore (MW) announced today that the winning dress from the first-ever Steve Harvey “Designing Moms Challenge” will be sold online at KGstores.com and in stores beginning March 22. The dress, designed by Elysia Ganier of Chicago, Illinois, will be part of K&G’s exclusive Steve Harvey Women’s Collection.

Steve Harvey, renowned comedian, author, and radio and television host, put three moms to the test to design a dress for his fashion women’s collection that works for the office and beyond. To highlight the collection’s focus on offering modern women comfortable yet stylish outfits that fit their active lifestyles, the moms were challenged to create a day-to-night transitional look in a woman’s size 4 and 16.

Ganier, a mother of three who graduated from the International Academy of Design & Technology in Chicago and now owns her own clothing design company called Ganier Designs, described her piece as “an alternative corporate look.” Her knee-length, cream-colored dress is appropriate for formal office settings, while the draped neckline paired with added accessories can easily transition it into an exciting outfit for a night out.

Ganier’s dress will be sold online and at K&G stores in women’s sizes small – 3x for $49.99.
Harvey’s daughter, Karli Harvey, who is also the Creative Director of the Steve Harvey Women’s Collection carried exclusively at K&G stores, joined Mary Beth Blake, Executive Vice President at Men’s Wearhouse, Inc., to pick the challenge winner.

“Elysia’s dress was beautifully designed to be flattering and comfortable for professional women of all sizes, which complements the offerings in our exclusive Steve Harvey Women’s Collection,” Blake said. “K&G offers women affordable fashion that makes them look and feel great, and the Designing Moms Challenge allowed us to celebrate our customers’ amazing talents while offering our shoppers a unique benefit — a dress created for real women, by a real woman.”

To learn more about the inspiration behind the dress, watch the interview with Ganier on the K&G Fashion Superstore Facebook page. Ganier will also appear on the Steve Harvey Show on March 22, where Karli Harvey will interview her and reveal her design on the air.

LIM College Summer Fashion Lab Programs Offer High School and College Students Experience in NYC's Fashion World

LIM College, which is located in New York City and focused exclusively on the study of business and fashion, has announced that its 2013 Summer Fashion Lab for high school students and its new Advanced Fashion Lab are now accepting registrations.

This summer marks the first time the Advanced Fashion Lab program will be offered. It is designed for visiting college students currently enrolled in a degree-granting program and upper-level high school students who have previously taken the LIM College Fashion Lab program for high school students.

Fashion Lab for high school students, which is open to students entering their sophomore, junior or senior year of high school in the fall of 2013, is a series of classes that offer participants the opportunity to begin to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to pursue careers in the fashion industry.  Advanced Fashion Lab builds upon LIM College's popular Fashion Lab program by delving deeper into the worlds of fashion buying, styling, fashion magazines and more.

This year's Summer Fashion Lab courses include: Art's Influence on Fashion, Fashion Field Trips, Celebrity Styling, Event Planning, Fashion Buying, Fashion Communications, Fashion Magazines, Fashion Photography, Fashion Show Production, Marketing Communications, Career Development Skills, Social Media & Mobile Marketing, Urban Fashion, The Vintage Clothing Industry, and Visual Merchandising & Display.

Advanced Fashion Lab courses include: Private Label and Specification Buying, Web Product Data Management, Retail Store Events, and advanced versions of courses in Celebrity Styling, Fashion Magazines and Fashion Buying.  Most courses in both programs carry one college credit.

This year, LIM College expects to enroll a record-setting 300+ students in its Summer Fashion Lab and Advanced Fashion Lab programs.

According to LIM College President Elizabeth S. Marcuse, "LIM College's Fashion Lab for high school students and our new Advanced Fashion Lab take full advantage of our prime location in New York City -- one of the world's most exciting, diverse and fashionable cities. By studying the business of fashion with talented professionals, Fashion Lab participants will explore firsthand many of the exciting career opportunities the fashion world has to offer."

Both LIM College's 2013 Summer Fashion Lab and Advanced Fashion Lab programs will run for four successive weeks, from July 8 - August 2. Most classes are one week long, with the choice of a morning session (8:45 am–12:30 pm) or an afternoon session (1:30 pm–5:15 pm). Typically, LIM College Summer Fashion Lab students register for two or more courses each. All Advanced Fashion Lab courses offer one college credit.  Last year, students came from as far away as Poland, Mexico, Brazil, California, Oregon, Texas and Montana to participate in the Summer Fashion Lab program.

LIM College offers housing to students in both programs at the state-of-the-art 1760 Residence Hall on Manhattan's Upper East Side. The residence hall has staff on duty 24/7 and features air-conditioned double and triple rooms with private bathroom facilities.

Kick-Starting a Collection

Since he was fired from Gap in May 2011, and with still-fresh wounds from his days at Perry Ellis and Paco Rabanne, Patrick Robinson checked out of fashion for a while.

He went backpacking in national parks, at Yellowstone and Acadia and Yosemite, where the snow was still deep when he visited last June. It was cold. He said he awoke one morning to find a deer snoozing outside his tent.

It was here that Mr. Robinson, now 46, began to have a vision for what his next step would be. Though he was a popular designer with a skill for turning around the image of once-heralded labels, the corporate world had not always been kind to him. After four years of trying to refresh Gap, with its 1,000-plus stores and its inherent discomfort with trendy fashion, he gave up.

“I did learn a lot about running a big business,” he said.

Another look from the line Patrick Robinson is introducing on Kickstarter.

Another look from the line Patrick Robinson is introducing on Kickstarter.

Now Mr. Robinson is returning on his own terms, or more accurately, on yours. This week, he is introducing a collection of performance apparel designed for urban environments, seeking financing through the crowd-funding site Kickstarter. He has designed about 19 styles to start, but if you don’t like them, just tell Mr. Robinson and he’ll change them. Eventually, he will take suggestions on his own site.

“I wanted to have a direct connection with the customer,” Mr. Robinson said. “I am only going to show the prototypes, which will only get made if people pre-order them.”

Mr. Robinson did not want to put his own name on the label, calling that approach old-fashioned. His line is instead called Paskho, an ancient Greek word.

On his journey here, Mr. Robinson discovered that he liked to challenge himself, physically and mentally, and this was why he decided to focus on functional athletic-inspired clothing, with styles for men and women. His designs include tapered black cotton fleece pants with tab pockets for $125, or a black V-neck in a technical blend fabric for $80, prices that are competitive given that Mr. Robinson is bypassing the traditional retailer. There will also be paperweight cargo pants and shorts, and henleys and tanks in a cotton-cashmere blend.

“It’s not just what you wear to the gym,” he said. “The best way to describe it is clothes not just to work out in, but to hang out in.”

Having invested his savings in the start-up, Mr. Robinson hopes to raise $50,000 this month on Kickstarter, where he is offering a small range of products, as well as his design sketches, and, for $2,000, you can have a workout and dinner with him. He plans to ship the first orders in July, then turn Paskho into an e-commerce business.

“I discovered I like making things again,” he said. “It was one of my passions that drove me back into business.”

By the time Matthew Terry of Ocean City, N.J., turns 22 next week, he will have starred in a fragrance ad for Calvin Klein and two underwear campaigns, most notably in the ab-tastic commercial that ran during the Super Bowl and made him an overnight celebrity. Not that anyone recognizes him on New Jersey Transit, he said, “not without my hair slicked back and my body covered with baby oil.”

Here, thoughts from his gut:

How To My No. 1 thing is to stay consistent in the gym and on a diet. Everyone cheats. I’m a huge dark-chocolate lover, and I cheat once in a while, and when that happens, I work twice as hard at the gym. I personally like to do circuit training. You’re just hopping from one exercise to another, and I find that works for me. I go to the gym five times a week, for about an hour and a half. If I go with friends, I might go for longer. We like to chitchat.

Mmmm, Chocolate I like Hershey’s dark chocolate. I like chocolate with almonds, too. I could die for that.

Question Asked Most Often Am I single?

Growing Up When I was younger, I was a hundred and nothing pounds. I was a stick. In the seventh grade, I started working out and going to the gym. Being involved with high school sports really helped. I learned a lot of the techniques that I use now, if I need to lean out. If I’m getting too bulky — playing football, you tend to bulk up with muscles, and my shoulders get too big and my neck gets too thick — I do lots of cardio and endurance training. It doesn’t add size, but it gives definition. I’ve been working on my core since, like, the eighth grade.

 The Male Gaze Going to the mall and seeing the huge posters of people in Hollister, and Abercrombie, I wanted the chance to do that. But people get the idea that they’ll never look like me. Well, I’ll never look like a body builder or a basketball player. It’s about accepting your boundaries and being able to work with them.

Justin Bieber I’ve never seen his abs. If they are real, then props to him.If not, he’s got a great Photoshop crew.

Mmmm, Abs They are the in thing. Everyone wants to be lean and cut, and ripped is the word everyone likes to use. People get upset why they can’t get abs like this. A good amount of it is genetics. It’s a decent part of the social life. Girls love abs. I’m in the right line of work, I guess.

Sometimes you might wonder where all of those pictures and tweets sent from the front rows of Fashion Week really go. According to a study this season by Krupp Group and Curalate, which analyzes social media impact, the most popular ones were from unlikely sources. The most-liked on Instagram, for example, included a picture of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, a pair of Louboutin shoes backstage at Michael van der Ham, and scenes from the Topshop show in London (taken by one eleanorj92, a k a Eleanor Calder, a k a the girlfriend of Louis Tomlinson of One Direction).

The No. 1 most-liked image, however, showed the finale of the Badgley Mischka spring collection last September (193,000 likes). It was taken by Ryan Tristan Jin, 27, a fashion market assistant at Elle, who was as surprised as anyone by its reach this season. The image was picked up from his original post by the Instagram account of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week last month, “and all of a sudden, my phone started buzzing uncontrollably,” he said, whenever he was alerted that someone liked it.

Mr. Jin had a great vantage point for the show, right at the end of the runway. “With an iPhone,” he said, “you have to be at the right place, and at the right time.”

Fashion graduates wow Kuala Lumpur

CPIT fashion graduates Phoebe Ratcliff-Reid and Melissa McIndoe are “over the moon” after winning first and second prize, with their Malaysian counterparts, in the New Zealand Week fashion competition in Kuala Lumpur last night.

The girls met legendary shoe designer Jimmy Choo, New Zealand singer Boh Runga and other celebrities at the event, but found that they were the stars of the night.

“This is the icing on the cake,” CPIT fashion tutor Nicola Chrisp said from Kuala Lumpur today. “The show was absolutely amazing and all the students had obviously worked hard.”

Education New Zealand (ENZ) created the competition as part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s New Zealand Week to showcase the quality of fashion and design courses in New Zealand to Malaysia.

The competition paired New Zealand fashion graduates with Malaysian counterparts to conceptualise, design and construct a mini collection under the theme of post-earthquake Christchurch ‘Virtual Re-Start Fashion Competition’. Third place went to one of four students from Massey University; other contestants were from WinTec, Otago Polytechnic, and Whitireia Polytechnic.

Chrisp said the students’ ability to collaborate and their excellent technical construction skills impressed the Malaysian students and the judges. The teams had just three days together to finalise their collections, but had been in touch by email and Skype previously.

“They found ways to work together. Their collections were seamless and you couldn’t tell where the Asian influence was and where the kiwi influence was.”

Ratcliff Reid said that the trip had been educational, eye opening and challenging, but her highlight had been meeting her Malaysian counterpart. “My favourite part of the whole trip was meeting Kathryn. We have become really close friends and to find someone like that who also compliments and enhances your point of view as a designer is extremely rare and amazing."

Ratcliff Reid won $10,000 for first place and McIndoe won $3,000. Both were accustomed to creating collections under pressure, having done so twice last year as part of their training. For Pitch, CPIT’s end of year fashion showcase, they each designed and sewed 10 ensembles of around 30 garments including formal dresses and suits. The strong technical emphasis of CPIT’s Fashion Technology and Design programme ensured the girls had honed their construction skills.

A stylish start to Norwich fashion week

New fashion collections from independent and high street shops were showcased on the catwalk in front of a 400-strong crowd.

The show highlighted the diversity of the city’s high street and its strong independent offering.

Among the independents showcasing, department store Jarrold brought fashion for both men and women to the catwalk alongside trend inspired fashion with a twist from Vanilla. Ethika proved how outfits made in Norwich and Norfolk from designers Marian Eve Williams and Twisted Tailor and eco-friendly pieces from national brands can embrace current trends, and Ginger, Jonathan Trumbulls and Hatters proved that they still have their finger on the fashion pulse with inspiring collections for men and women.

Joining the independent retailers this year were sets by high street brands John Lewis and Debenhams. John Lewis presented the Somerset by Alice Temperley collection that is exclusive to the store, and Debenhams showcased designer Henry Holland for women and Red Herring for men.


Opening Show of Norwich Fashion Week 2013 in the Forum, Norwich. Photo: Steve Adams
Other designers on the catwalk included Norwich jewellery designer Lisa Bambridge of Stoned and Hammered whose show-stopping upscaled silver jewellery created a buzz in the crowd when it came onto the catwalk as part of the Aurum set.

The show highlighted the growing connection between retail and local and national designers.

Show producer and co-founder of Norwich Fashion Week Louise Lace said that the night proved how Norwich has become a platform for fashion.

“This year’s show has really set the standard for fashion week and proves that there is a diversity of fashion in Norwich,” says Ms Lace.

“Not only do we have some of the country’s finest independent shops, we are also home to a wealth of designers and makers and over the past year we have got some big designer brands in the city too. All were showcased at the Ionfashion retailers show.”

Clothes were not the only element on the catwalk that caused a stir. The hairstyles on the catwalk created by the stylists at The Gallery Haircutters on Waterloo Road, pushed the boundaries of conventional updos with side partings creating an androgynous look. The styles were complemented by make-up created by MAC make-up artists from Jarrold.

“The fashion on the catwalk is just a small selection of what is available in Norwich,” says Ms Lace. “For 2014 we are looking to make the retailers show even bigger to really highlight the diversity of fashion we are lucky to have in Norwich. The show really does prove that retailers, however big or small can work together to put on an amazing show.

“It’s thanks to the growing support we have had from across the city that has enabled us to bring a bigger and bolder fashion event to Norwich,”