THE CLASSIC CAR BOOT SALE, London King's Cross

The Classic Car Boot Sale returns to London on 16 - 17 April 2016 at Lewis Cubitt Square, King's Cross.  

It is the event for celebrating timeless design and future classics with 65 vintage traders, 20 designers/makers from Best of Britannia, two bespoke bars, one DJ bus, a massive collection of carefully curated young designers, designer-makers, up-cyclers, purveyors of vintage fashion, accessories and homewares,  street food vendors and over a hundred classic vehicles and bikes. Organisers say it is a family-friendly feast for the thousands of shoppers, collectors, vinyl lovers and petrol heads to get their teeth into. 

Celebrate International Women's Day!

Calming elegance!

Paintings of flowers by Chantal de Gaudio - the London-based artist of duo nationality (English/Italian) is showing at the Marylebone Hotel in London until 31st May 2016 

in conjunction with Rebecca Hossaack Gallery.

"My aim is to create art that moves and energetically inspires, giving one the feeling of being alive." - Chantal de Gaudio.

Photos: Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect Global.

Liberty’s new Chesham Cabinet Doll House project

The charity for supporting UK design graduates Texprint has announced that Liberty Art Fabrics has launched an inventive new interiors collection that pays homage to a great Texprint supporter, Anne Tyrrell, a member of the British Fashion Council advisory board and a key influencer in British fashion and interiors who died of pancreatic cancer a year ago.  The  project will also raise funds for Texprint.

From Grayson Perry to Sir Roger Moore, the new Chesham Cabinet collection of fabrics and wallpapers from Liberty has found inspiration in a spectacularly diverse selection of names and periods. And, to celebrate the launch, the design team at Liberty have created their own take on a traditional doll’s house, which displays all the designs in a playful miniature arrangement that has attracted plenty of media attention in recent weeks.

Later this year, the house will be auctioned off, with some of the proceeds destined for Texprint to support the next generation of designers.

To read about the interview with Emma Mawston, Head of Design, Liberty Fabrics, click HERE. 

Liberty and UNIQLO collaborate in new fashion line

Come March 18^th, Japanese retailer UNIQLO will unveil a new unique line that illustrates their latest collaboration with Liberty London, marrying over a hundred years of history with modern LifeWear philosophy - Simple made better.   UNIQLO call this new collection a brand new fashion hybrid perfect for the present.  The range includes allover-printed linen blouses,  T-shirts and tops, floral-fabric lined light down jackets, cropped legging trousers, culottes and shorts, for ladies, men and children.

The colourful photographs for the promotional campaign of this new range have been executed by the influential image-maker, Nick Knight, whom UNIQLO has referred to as “a pivotal figure in fashion photography for several decades”.

This new collaboration demonstrates that the quintessentially British brand, Liberty London is as relevant today as it has been through successive art movements in its 140-year history.

A selection of archive Liberty prints on show at the Fashion & Textiles Museum, London
during the Liberty in Fashion exhibition 2015.  Prints from the iconic London store archives, in particular its signature heritage florals, have fed inspiration to designers of all brands.Photo: Lucia Carpio

Liberty has been playing a key role in the world of fashion and textiles from Orientalism and Aesthetic dress in the 19th century, through the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements in early 20th century, and the revival of these styles since the 1950s. 

Liberty print fabrics on sale at the Fashion & Textile Museum shop.
Photo: Lucia Carpio

Prints from the iconic London store archives, in particular its signature heritage florals, have fed inspiration to designers of various brands and genres.

The Liberty Design Studio was established in the 1950s to produce and commission the best in patterned and woven textiles. 

During the years of the Swinging 60s, Liberty was working with designers (including Mary Quant, Foal and Tuffin and into the 1970s, Liberty prints were once again rediscovered by a new generation of designers, not just in London but also in Paris, including Yves St Laurent.

Liberty London collaboration with Nike.
Photo: Lucia Carpio

As Liberty’s collaborative relationships with designers, artists and stylists expanded from the 1990s, its distinctive prints and fabrics included a roll-call of British and international names from Cacharel, Vivienne Westwood and also the New York-based Anna Sui and Japanese designer Junya Watanabe, along with Kenzo and British brands Barbour, Harris Tweed, Dr.  Marten and sports brand Nike as shown above.

Sons rather than daughters are splashing out more on Mother’s Day gifts

God bless boys, you may hear your Mama say.  New research from market researchers at Mintel reveals Mummy’s boys lead Mother’s Day spending: Men spend £12.18 more than women on the occasion.

Flowers are popular choice for Mom on
Mother's Day.

With Mothering Sunday this weekend in the UK (Sunday 6th March), it seems it’s sons rather than daughters who will be splashing out on the occasion.  

Brits are estimated to have spent over half a billion (£510 million) on products for Mother’s Day in 2015.  For those purchasing Mother’s Day gifts last year, the average spend was £34.76 rising to £87.12 for Londoners. 

Overall 60% of Brits spent money for Mother’s Day last year and whilst almost one third (31%) of Brits bought cards, 29% bought flowers and 15% bought chocolate gifts. Brits are estimated to have spent over half a billion (£510 million) on products for Mother’s Day in 2015.

    

For men who spent money on the occasion, the average spend was £41.15, whilst the average spend for women was £28.97. Indeed, rather than preparing for the event, men are more likely to have bought on impulse. One quarter (24%) of men who bought gifts for Mother’s Day last year said they bought on impulse, compared to 18% of women.   Despite this, Mintel research shows that more women than men splashed out for Mother’s Day last year - 62% of women purchased gifts, compared to 57% of men.    

Nick Carroll, Retail Analyst at Mintel, said:    “Mother’s Day is one of the biggest events in the retail calendar, with the majority of Brits purchasing for the event.   The fact that men spend £12 more on the event than women is due in part to the fact that men are more likely to purchase gifts on impulse, pushing up the average spend.  Men with young children may also have to purchase mother’s day presents for both their own mother’s and their partners which additionally impacts the average spend.”

Cléo shows AW2016 silk scarves and accessories in Paris Premiere Classe

Cléo shows AW2016 silk scarves and accessories in Paris Premiere Classe

Cléo SS2016

London-based Cléo is participating in Premiere Classe in Paris this week (4 - 7 March) to showcase the new Autumn Winter 2016 collection of silk scarves and accessories.

Christopher Lam of Cléo Ferin Mercury says their A/W16 collection is all about the secret winter gardens; pretty beetles, beautiful butterflies, hidden gems amongst tropical flowers arranged together with intricate paisley designs.  Their new Look Book is presented in much the same way to showcase their beautiful designs to great effect. 

“We are very pleased to welcome a small range of faux fur scarves and collars,” said Christopher.  “These are available in three sizes and each piece is carefully hand crafted featuring Swarovski embellishments.”

The Cléo signature animal scarves also make a welcome return, available now in three sizes: large, small and mini, and come in different colours from vibrant neons to playful patterns too!

Here’s one of my favourites, the blue tiger long scarf that I had worn last season.

Their SS2016 collection, full of fun and with a nautical theme is currently available online.

To read more Scarf news of other labels, click HERE.

Aldi launches Fairtrade certified cotton T-shirts this March

 Aldi’s range of Fairtrade Cotton T-Shirts will be available in stores
from 3rd March, as part of the Ladies and Men’s Spring Fashion range. 

Discount store chain Aldi is offering a new range of Fairtrade certified cotton T-shirts in stores across the UK from 3 March 2016, while announcing its continuous commitment to sustainable sourcing

The new cotton range builds on existing Fairtrade commitments made by Aldi in 2011 to convert a range of bananas, coffee, tea, flowers and chocolate to Fairtrade in a programme that quickly rolled out to other Fairtrade markets such as Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

Aldi PA India factory.

Jonathan Neale, Joint Managing Director for Corporate Buying at Aldi, comments:
“We’re proud to offer clothing that supports the Fairtrade project, which brings life changing development to communities by improving working and living conditions, education and health care.”

The Fairtrade Cotton Briefing provides a detailed overview of the cotton industry and its challenges, and explores why Fairtrade is needed and what it can achieve.

Aldi Photo. Agrocel, India ©Peter Caton

Cotton is grown in more than 100 countries, and plays a major role in the economic and social welfare of developing and newly industrialised countries. However, despite supplying the raw commodity that the multi-billion-dollar global clothing and textile industries depend on, growing cotton is failing to provide millions of poor rural households in developing countries with a sustainable and profitable livelihood. With high levels of illiteracy and limited land holdings, many cotton farmers live below the poverty line and are dependent on the middle men or ginners who buy their cotton, often at prices below the cost of production.

By offering Fairtrade cotton products, businesses contribute to a more sustainable future for cotton farmers, their communities and the environment.  Members of Agrocel hope to invest their Fairtrade Premium from Fairtrade sales in funding higher education for farmers’ children, upskilling women in local craft businesses and building a water, pesticide and carbon footprint database of individual farmers and using technology to share with brands.

Fairtrade Standards provide a framework for cotton farmers to form democratic organisations or strengthen existing organisations. This enables farmers to increase their negotiating power in the marketplace, improve business systems, access new markets, develop long-term trading partnerships and implement sustainable farming practices. Fairtrade Minimum Prices contribute to financial stability, while Fairtrade Premium can be invested in improving cotton quality and productivity, climate change adaptation and improving community welfare.