Hyve Fashion cancels London summer events, launches new digital-only forum

While UK lockdown restrictions are gradually easing, marking significant progress for businesses and the economy, trade fair organiser Hyve Fashion has decided to cancel its London fashion events for this summer, namely  Pure London, Pure Origin, Scoop and Jacket Required, due to the current challenging economic climate affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and response to feedback from their visitors and exhibitors.

However the company announced the launch of a brand-new, digital-only forum, Fashion Together, to take place on 1st and 2nd September 2020. This online forum will be open to buyers and brands, offering access to a seminar programme and practical advice designed to educate and inform delegates.

The teams behind the scene are now turning their attention to bringing Pure London, Pure Origin, Scoop and Jacket Required back to the UK capital in time for the AW21/22 editions on 14th – 16th February 2021.

Sccop London draws European brands such as Mhudi and Kyomai

London is an aspirational market for emerging European brands.

At Scoop, held at Saatchi Gallery this week (until July 23)  in the heart of London, Italian label Mhudi's designer Francesca Passeri hopes her own range of headwear made with selected fabrics will bring Italian know-how, culture and crafts from to London, a city she loves.  Her speciality lies in her ability to choose coordinating or contrasting fabrics for reversible designs which would give the wearer flexibility.  Some of the designs are shaped like a beanie hat, another is like a turban with interesting twisted fabrics and decorations.  Others are like headbands.


Another brand eyeing the British market is French label Kyomai, which uses traditional Obi belts or sashes to created clutch bags handmade in France. 

Nicolas Amouroux, president of the company, had lived in Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital, for some years and was a collector of the Obi fabrics worn traditionally with kimonos.  Since his return to France, he had decided to turn his passion to good use.

His communication manager Julia Drouet was happy to showcase a couple of designs to coordinate with her kimono-inspired jacket she was wearing at Scoop.  The bags come with a chain for added functional flexibility.

Each Obi belt features uniquely jacquard silk woven with gold, silver and platinum threads.  One belt can be transformed into 3 - 5 clutchbags.  Each bag is also numbered and thus limited editions thus ideal as collector's items.

All photos© Lucia Carpio 2019.

Flower Power - in fashion, textile and in art

Flowers with all their evoking qualities and colours are key influencing factors in fashion as in art.

A glorious display of flowers at the Scoop London trade fair held at the Saatchi Gallery.  Described by biologists as the reproductive structure of flowering plants, the part of a plant that is often brightly coloured and has a pleasant smell, flowers are often the source of inspiration for fashion as well as in art.

Flowers are the reproductive structure of flowering plants, the part of a plant that is often brightly coloured and has a pleasant smell, with the promise of spring and with it the return of warmer weather, the emergence of blooming flowers is Mother Nature's to bring us optimism. 

Spotted at the recently concluded Scoop London trade fair a few days ago at the Saatchi Gallery in London (which coincided with London Fashion Week), Nordic knitwear brand Steinum by Johanna av Steinum showed this chunky knitted wool cardigan featuring a blooming rose on its bell-shaped sleeves.  The black background shows off the vibrant colour of the intarsia rose motif to great effect.

Currently on show at the Marylebone Hotel in London is a exhibition of flowers by London-based artist Chantal de Gaudio presented by the Rebecca Hossack Gallery.

On until the end of May, de Gaudio's unique artwork provide a welcome boost this Spring.   Here is a sampling of a few of her works.

In the world of fashion and textiles, with surface treatments, textures and prints being strong trends, flowers provide strong sources of inspiration for designers and material developers.  

With the promise of Spring in the air, blossoms were in full bloom recently at the Première Vision Paris trade fair (held 16- 18 February 2016 at the Parc des Expositions de Paris Nord-Villepinte).

Taking the cue from Mother Nature, the forum disiplay designs throughout the fair took on a garden theme, in particular flowers with all their evoking qualities as the main influencing factors of the Spring/Summer 2017 season. 

On textiles, at the forefront of trends, colours chracteristic of nature, and designs taken from plant life and in particular flora and fauna remain strong sources of inspiration for designers, textile and material developers.  

Read in full, click HERE.  

All photos by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect Global.

Italian fashion brands making a strong presence at SCOOP London

Neera

Italy is amongst the leading countries in the world when it comes to fashion, design and culture, and the umbrella term "Made in Italy" is, itself, synonymous with quality, creativity, craftsmanship, quality and finesse.  Milan, Rome and Florence commonly hold the tri-colour flag of green, white and red as the principal cities for Italian fashion houses and luxury brands.

 

Gala Gloves

Now come 21 – 23 February, Italian fashion and accessory brands and designer labels will be in London showing their Autumn/Winter 2016 collections as the SCOOP London fashion fair and exhibition at the prestigious Saatchi Gallery.  

Carbotti

Among them are Cettina Bucca and Martina Couture, both womenswear designers; knitwear line, Neera, handbag labels MYCHOICE, Massimo Frattasio and Carbotti and glove brands Gala Gloves, Sofia G and AMCardillo.

Neera’s handmade knitwear collections are characterised by a aristo-chic aesthetic, clean lines and a distinctive minimalism. Pure wool, merino wool, linen, cashmere, cotton are just some yarns created in their own plant. Today the Company is at the third generation of the Centrulli Family. Committed to environmental issues, their production uses only energy deriving from renewable sources, reducing their emissions by 49% in just 1 year.

Established in 1956, Carbotti is an Italian company manufacturing leather handbags and fashion accessories for upscale boutiques. Featuring classic and modern models, Carbotti handbags made in their own factory in Martina Franca, are targeted to the mid-high market, successfully selling through retailers and department stores. 

The Pellone family, among masters in the art of glove-making since 1930, established the Gala Gloves brand in 1991.  Based at Casavatore, a few minuytes from the historic centre of Naples, the Gala Gloves produced in Casavatore, just a few minutes from the airport and the historic centre of Naples. Always faithful to the rites of traditional Naples, the brand’s artisans perform the more than 25 steps needed to produce a pair of gloves. 

Castellano, the bag and accessories brand showcases unique Colombian craftsmanship

To the untrained eye, these bags and bracelets from the London brand Castellano (seen last week at the Scoop trade fair in London) are beautiful in their exotic colours and unique craftsmanship.  But to the indigenous women of Colombia – the Wayuu and the Arhuaca people, they represent a cultural heritage characterised by patterns and colours unique to their tribes.  Each item represents a unique time-consuming weaving technique embedded with ancient tradition and symbolism.

"Each product is one of a kind, handwoven with love, energy and life from an ethnic culture which is proud to maintain its traditions," according to founder Daniella Castellano.

Each of the bags are handwoven with a single strand of thread which makes them very tight and strong. While the vibrant patterns are unique to their tribe, the shoulder strap of each bag is in fact adopted from a unique woven belt called si’ira, a tradition of the Wayuu tribe of Colombia and Venezuela which are used to adorn loincloths worn by their men.

Many of the bags and accessories are embroidered with Swarovski crystals too to add a touch of luxury, while he limited-edition backpacks are handcrafted and trimmed with soft leather.

 

These luxury bracelets woven by the skilled Wayuu artisans are embroidered with Swarovski crystals.

London-based designer Daniela Castellanos has founded her own brand of fashion bags and accessories (made mainly in sheep wool) based on these unique craftsmanship to help support the Wayuu and the Arhuaca people while promoting their unique craftsmanship and preserving their cultural heritage and skills.

Upon completing her degree in Journalism and Communication in December 2013, Daniella embarked on a spiritual journey throughout her native Colombia which led her to some of the most remote areas in the desert and north coast of her country.

Fascinated by the life and unique weaving artisans she had discovered, and after spending weeks learning from and sharing with these communities, she decided to launch her own fashion brand to share her passion with the world.  Daniella said part of the proceeds from the sales will go to support the manufacturers and empower local women.  Each product has its own story and its personal manufacturer’s name is known.

There is much to learn about Castellano project and details of the tribes can be obtained from her website.

All photos by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.

Meanwhile, if you want to know more about the Si'ira belt (used as shoulder straps for the Castellano bags), Netherland-based author Mirja Wark has taken a detailed look at the history and geography of these indigenous people that form a backdrop to the central role played by textile crafts in their daily life.

This book tells the story of the si’ira and the women of the Wayuu from the dry and windy Guajira peninsula of Colombia and Venezuela who weave them to adorn loincloths worn by their men and sons.  \on the simplest of upright looms, they manipulate their warps and wefts to produce the bold designs.

The book also gives an extensive collection of woven line and pattern designs but whilst new designs are being added to this living craft, much information is often lost and interestingly the Wayuu weaver is found to work from example or memory.

The book ends with a practical guide on how to weave your own si’ira, with all its twined and pleated binding cords and colourful pompons.

Mirja Wark is an enthusiastic weaver, weaving teacher and organizer of textile tours and has written numerous articles and short notes about weaving and related subjects.

Scoop London announces two shows per season. Top Drawer London reports success with new venue and format.

The format of fashion industry trade fairs as we know it is being challenged today as many in the industry are now examining how the growing number of exhibition around the world are competing for both exhibitors and quality attendees.   
The way trade shows operate and their formats have become hot topics in recent weeks due to the cancellation of the Bread & Butter January 2015 fair after 13 years which caught many by surprise.  An interesting article recently reported by The Ethical Fashion Source Intelligence:- Trends in Tradeshows: It’sTime For An Evolution - offers insights into the changing trade show landscape. 
The general consensus in the industry is that fair organisers cannot take past successes for granted and their fairs need to evolve to meet the needs of all parties concerned in order to maintain the relevance of their shows for both exhibitors and trade attendees.That is why it was great to learn two London-based fairs see the importance to evolve according to the needs of the industry and traders.

For one, Scoop London has just announced that from this summer onwards there will be not one but two SCOOP shows taking place each season at the Saatchi Gallery.  That means four shows a year. The changes will take effect next season.

This timetable allows for pre-collections at the beginning of the season and another to coincide with London Fashion Week.  

According to SCOOP founder and managing director Karen Radley, the first show, Scoop International, will be held on August 2-4 this year as previously announced and will have a similar profile to the existing show by featuring primarily international contemporary collections. The second show of the season, Scoop London, will feature international designer collections, first and second lines and collections from emerging British designers.  It will run during London Fashion Week at the Saatchi Gallery, on September 20-22 this year.

In a recent interview, Ms Radley said the two-show solution has been devised to cater for overseas labels and their production agendas as well as the high-end collections and young British designers.  No doubt other trade fair and event organisers will be keeping a close watch on this new development. 

This season, Scoop will be held soley at the Saatchi Gallery from February 1-3, rather than the two venues it has previously been held at for the past three seasons.

Colourful clutch by Aspiga. Clothes by Rosalyn Hind.
Photos by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.

Meanwhile, Top Drawer London has reported a phenomenal success for its recent edition held last week thanks to a face-lift that met with industry approval.  Organisers at Clarion Events said a major reason for positive feedbacks from exhibitors and the industry was due to the new Fashion & Accessories Floor created this season, and the move to a new venue - Kensington Olympia.

Shopping bag by Ceannis Living Accessories.
Clothes by Ines Arconada Vazquez.

Occupying the first floor gallery, the Fashion & Accessories floor provided exhibitors a new platform to showcase their collections.  There were more than 300 fashion & accessories brands making up 1/3 of the Top Drawer Exhibition.  Also Clarion had seen a 10% increase in ‘fashion’ related brands, with many using the exhibition to launch collections and new product lines.

Rubber band jewellery by Delight London.
Clothes by Rosalyn Hind.

Michelle Prah Top Drawer Fashion & Accessories Director said: “We wanted to launch fashion of Top Drawer as it's own entity:  to give it its own dedicated platform within the show, to achieve this we've invested heavily in a focused marketing campaign to attract fashion buyers from the UK and Europe.

Direct feedback from exhibitors reveal the “high quality” flow of buyers has been constant over all three days of the exhibition, she said, and has seen a significant increase in international buyers, with orders being written and placed on exhibitor stands. Clarion report “excellent” numbers of Fashion & Accessories exhibitors booking on site to stand again, at the September show.

Ms Prah adds, “As I have known most of these fashion exhibitors for nearly 5 years, I know they will always give me their honest feedback on how a show has performed...for it to be working so well for them in terms of new contacts, amount of orders and interest from overseas makes me feel extremely proud of what has been achieved.”

Jewellery by Tempest Design.
Photos by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.

In addition to the new location and Fashion & Accessories platform Top Drawer London added an extra ‘style’ element to the exhibition with the introduction of the Fashion & Accessories catwalk shows produced by Cult of Fashion.   

Made in Italy CenCe Tak shoes introduced at SCOOP London

CenCe Tak which literally means “without heels” in Italian is a footwear brand that was recently introduced at the SCOOP International London fashion trade show held earlier this month concurrently at two venues - the Saatchi Gallery and Phillips.

On hand to explain the brand’s ethos were Nicoletta Dileno, Simona Dellutri & Tiziano Picogna (himself an haute couture tailor and designer).

What CenCe Tak does have is a unique story about its origin which is based on an ecological upcycling concept and hand-made tradition that produce these comfy unique and timeless footwear.

The shoes – for men, women and children – are 100% Made in Italy. They are made out of natural fabrics, and assembled only by sewing the pieces together without using glue, thanks to the 19^th century tradition of the Friulani craftsmen and craftswomen who still loyally preserve the technique and tradition. 

CenCeTak is offered a variety of “friulane” styles, in velvet, leather, silks, brocade, and recycled materials (such as canvas coffee sacks), and the designs can be customized with brooches or decorative feathers.

Traditionally the “Friulane” were hand-made using left over fabrics, old dresses or cut outs - referred to as “blecs” – and then the shoes were moulded into a design that has never changed throughout the years and is as modern today as it was in the 1800s.