Happy Chinese New Year! Good luck and happiness in the Year of the Sheep!

Photo taken in the Lake District, UK, by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.

Scoop International reports great success with new format planned for August and September

London’s  Scoop International trade fair for luxury fashion and brands  - held 1 – 3 February at the iconic Saatchi Gallery - was deemed a great success by organisers who also announced a new format for next season, featuring two shows for the first time to accommodate increased demands and different needs for exhibitors and buyers..

The dates for Scoop International will be 2-4 August and a new edition of Scoop London will take place 20-22 September to coincide with London Fashion Week.

Managing Director Karen Radley  comments, “the ninth edition of Scoop was our best show ever and the busiest!  The reaction we are launching Scoop London   - a second Scoop show to coincide with London Fashion Week has been extremely positive.  We will be focusing on more UK and International designers bringing first time exhibitors and interesting collections to the UK.  At this stage we are working on the designer mix but will be releasing more details shortly.”

 As for the recently concluded February event, Scoop was consolidated from two to one main venues and thus saw an increase in both footfall as well as international buyers.  There were more than 300 International & UK premium, directional and contemporary collections on show, covering apparel, footwear, jewellery and lifestyle collections.

Exhibitor, Cabinet Jewellery’s representative Gemma Critchley also adds, ‘the effort, attention to detail and quality of the buyers that we met was really superb and we are delighted to be part of the show”.

Show organisers reported visitors from premium stores and retailers had included Selfridges, Browns, Liberty, Harrods, Brown Thomas, Harvey Nichols, Galeries Lafayette, Franck et Fils, Fenwick Stores, Anthropologie and others.

Buyer Sue Shields from Harrods comments, ‘Scoop was very strong with a healthy mixture of ready to wear through to luxury accessories set in a beautiful exhibition space at The Saatchi Gallery.  It is always interesting to visit the exhibition to take trend inspiration for future seasons and also understanding the evolution of many of the labels”

Buyer, Natalie Lacroix from Franck et Fils comments, “as a buyer Scoop really is the show not to miss”.

Next Scoop Fashion Show Dates:

Scoop, 2-4 August 2015

Scoop London, 20-22 September 2015

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Never mind the fifty shades of grey.  

Fresh flowers among displays at the Paris Premiere Vision trade fair this week.
Photo by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.

Pink and flowers are the key colour and inspiration for Spring/Summer 2016 fashion trends, according to the Premiere Vision global trade fair for international fashion professionals held in Paris earlier this week.

Look out for our report on the PV group of fairs coming soon. 

Cinderella's Glass Slipper re-imagined by top designer footwear designers and brands

Feast your eyes on these glamorous and elegant ladies footwear.

Stuart Weitzman

Disney is celebrating the European premiere of its highly anticipated live action film “Cinderella” at the Berlin Film Festival, and has revealed for the first time an enchanting collection of re-imagined Cinderella’s iconic glass slipper.  It was at this festival that the movie "Fifty Shades of Grey" was premiered earlier this week.

Jimmy Choo

The captivating collection was on display at the Cinderella Exhibit and presented by the Austrian crystal company, Swarovski.

Paul Andrew

Disney has collaborated with 11 renowned shoe designers and luxury designer shoe brands across the globe on the project. The designers in alphabetical order are: Paul Andrew, Alexandre Birman, Manolo Blahnik, Rene Caovilla, Jimmy Choo, Salvatore Ferragamo, Nicholas Kirkwood, Christian Louboutin, Charlotte Olympia, Jerome C. Rousseau, and Stuart Weitzman.  A few of their desirable creations are shown here.

Nicholas Kirkwood

 “We’re delighted to reveal the collection for the first time here in Berlin; it is a wonderful moment for everyone involved in this spectacular global project,” said David Lee, Director, Footwear, The Walt Disney Company EMEA. 

Jerome C. Rousseau

“It has been truly inspiring working with such passionate designers and the shoes they are presenting are exquisite. They have skillfully captured Cinderella’s elegance and style in their interpretations of her iconic glass slipper. The end result is a great example of how we at Disney can work with fashion brands to create one-of-a-kind imaginative products.”

Melissa Curry celebrates "Success" with inspiring jewellery

The bold designs of Melissa Curry's jewellery are inviting.  On display at her stand at the (just concluded) SCOOP International contemporary designer fair in London a couple of days ago, I felt the urge to feel and touch the colourful acrylic shapes.

  

Melissa encouraged me to experience the tactile and playful qualities of her designs.  Some look like pieces of candies, with mobile and adjustable pieces while others are tribal and provocative in their unique shapes and vibrancy.

But soon I was also intrigued to learn about another totally different collection which Mellisa launched a year ago.  

The quietly elegant range is called “Success”, designed as a gift for a woman who you want to inspire, encourage, or celebrate. 

According to Melissa, the "Success" range was launched when she had arrived at a personal point in time and it felt right for her to commemorate that special moment. 

In recognising that “success” carries a different meaning to the individual, the designer hopes the range – intended as a unique and timely gift for women and girls - will help the individual to celebrate important thresholds of the person’s life, be it a graduation, a wedding, a medical moment or a turning point in one’s career.  

The collection comprises bracelets and necklaces in sterling silver or rose gold. The Success amulet is modeled after gold and silver bullion, a bar of wealth and strength that reminds the wearer to care for herself and strive for her own independence and success.  Each Success piece comes in a small pouch accompanied by a Melissa Curry infinity tag, on which to inscribe a wish or hope.

The Success jewellery collection is also an emotive call-to-action and forms part of the designer’s campaign for women to share their own story on #Beyourownsuccess

Over a 1500 women have given or received Success since its launch, according to Melissa. The first three Success bracelets were presented to one of Melissa’s own greatest inspirations: the  First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama and her two daughters, Malia and Sasha.  Michelle Obama’s own personal strength and commitment to women’s success around the world, was inspiring to Melissa.  Another was Arianna Huffington, who also received a Success bracelet directly from the designer.

With Valentine’s Day and Mothering Sunday coming up, the Success range seems appropriate gifts to provide  encouragement and support to those special women who believe in their hopes and dreams and with to celebrate their own meaning of success in life.  

All photos by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.

British Fashion Council announces Designer Fund Shortlist and Fashion Film AW15 Winners

Image above (from ‘British Fashion Council, Shaun James Cox’ ) features designers, left to right:-  Mary Katrantzou, Michael van der Ham, Osman Yousefzada, Holly Fulton, Emilia Wickstead, Amy Powney and Sophia Webster.

These  designers have been shortlisted by the BFC/Vogue Designer Fund Judging Committee, and each was selected as they are in a strong position to develop into a global designer brand and represent the best of London's thriving fashion talent.   The winner of the award will be announced Tuesday 24th March 2015. 

The BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund provides one designer with a bespoke, high level mentoring support programme over a twelve month period, as well as a £200,000 grant to provide necessary infrastructure to take them to the next stage in their business.

The Fund, now in its sixth year is a legacy project from the BFC’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

Previous winners of the Fund are Erdem (2010), Christopher Kane (2011), Jonathan Saunders (2012), Nicholas Kirkwood (2013) and Peter Pilotto (2014).

This year the BFC has created an exclusive online video series, Designer Fashion Fund, which follows the application process, designer journeys, interviews with the judging panel and features the previous winners of the Fund. The episodes will be published over the course of 2015 and can be viewed at youtube.com/BritishFashionTV and Vogue.co.uk

Separately the British Fashion Council has also announced three designers who have received  funding to create fashion films to be presented at London Fashion Week.  They are Gareth Pugh, House of Holland and Jean-Pierre Braganza.

The BFC’s Fashion Film initiative, sponsored by River Island, supports both menswear and womenswear designers wishing to use film as a medium each season. Fashion Film provides funding and on-schedule screening opportunities at either London Fashion Week or London Collections: Men (LC:M).

Since its inception in February 2012 Fashion Film has helped fund designers including Christopher Raeburn, Eudon Choi, Jonathan Saunders, Mary Katrantzou, Nicholas Kirkwood and Sibling to work with directors and producers such as Ellen Von Unwerth, Matt Lambert and Nick Knight. For designers wishing to apply for Fashion Film please contact:
Laura Hinson, British Fashion Council +44 (0) 20 7759 1969 | laura.hinson@britishfashioncouncil.com

For more information on Fashion Film please visit: britishfashioncouncil.com/fashionfilm 

Ancient crafted footwear from Georgia

These unique hand-made shoes from the Southern Caucasus region of Georgia were not what I expected to find at SCOOP International held at the Saatchi Gallery in London earlier this week. They are from the Chiti brand and are handmade from virgin wool and natural dyes as they have been for a thousand years. They aim to appeal to lifestyle concept stores who would appreciate these unique footwear made by the Tusheti women.

As explained to me, these are meant to be worn around the house or out to the garden.  You can see the whole making process on their website: chiti.co.uk