Stylish Scots Take a Stand at London Fashion Week as Glasgow Designers Arrive in Town
Glasgow’s reputation as one of the style capitals of Europe was sealed, as eight young designer brands take London Fashion Week (LFW) by storm as part of the Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective.
The initiative has previously enjoyed three successful seasons at LFW and has returned for a fourth season to showcase fashion trailblazers Aimee McWilliams, Deryck Walker, Olanic and Vidler & Nixon, alongside Alice Palmer, BeBaroque, Graeme Armour and Jamie Bruski-Tetsill, who together represent the project’s Next Generation of design talent.
As well as offering each of the designers a chance to preview their eagerly awaited Spring Summer ’09 collections at ‘The Tents’ at the Natural History Museum, this year the project has also enabled Vidler & Nixon, Olanic and Deryck Walker to bring their collections to life with innovative fashion films. In addition, Olanic’s Niki Taylor presented her debut catwalk show at LFW at Vauxhall Fashion Scout.
As part of the LFW activity, a VIP reception was held at the cutting-edge 33 Portland Place, attracting industry buyers, media and style setters.
Funded jointly by Glasgow City Marketing Bureau and the Scottish Government - together with assistance this season from Scottish Enterprise Textiles Team - the £90k initiative at London Fashion Week encompasses designer support; PR and marketing; development of the bespoke microsite seeglasgow.com/design.
The project has been supported by the British Fashion Council for the past four seasons and Simon Ward, Head of Operations, says: “Since its inception in September 06, the Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective has been successful in showcasing the talents of Glasgow’s next design stars at London Fashion Week.
“It’s fantastic to see that not only are young designers offered this support, but are given a platform to enter the industry at professional level. Glasgow is now synonymous with style and, every year, the Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective has grown bigger and brighter and is always one of the highlights of London Fashion Week for fashion buyers, media and enthusiasts alike.”
Minister for Culture Linda Fabiani confirmed: "This is a wonderful opportunity for eight of our brightest young fashion designers to showcase their talent to a global audience. Our higher and further education institutions have a strong track record in producing excellent creative talent and in line with our renowned textiles industry, Scotland is a fashionable destination.”
Bailie Liz Cameron, Vice-Chair - Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, added: “We are delighted to provide this high profile platform for a fourth season at London Fashion Week to the city’s fastest rising fashion stars.
“We are also thrilled that Glaswegians will not have to wait long to see Aimee, Alice, Jamie, and Vidler & Nixon on their home turf when their new collections are showcased on the catwalk as part of the Scottish Style Awards Runway Show in Glasgow’s Old Fruitmarket on 23rd October.”
A bespoke website can be accessed at: www.seeglasgow.com/design
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For more information and images, please contact:
Jenny Ingram / Lesley Morton at Stripe Communications
T: 0131 561 8628 / 07717 677 446 E-mail : GSWS@stripecom.co.uk
Moira Dyer, Senior Manager, Public Relations at Glasgow City Marketing Bureau
T: 0141 566 0831 E-mail: moira.dyer@seeglasgow.com
Notes to Editors
1. The Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective’s first two seasons at London Fashion Week (September 06, February 07) were funded solely by Glasgow City Marketing Bureau and jointly with The Scottish Government in September 07 and the forthcoming season in September 08. Scottish Textiles is also providing additional financial support for the forthcoming session.
1. The Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective’s first two seasons at London Fashion Week (September 06, February 07) were funded solely by Glasgow City Marketing Bureau and jointly with The Scottish Government in September 07 and the forthcoming season in September 08. Scottish Textiles is also providing additional financial support for the forthcoming session.
2. The 2008 Glasgow-based advisory panel comprised; Jimmy Stephen-Cran, Head of Textiles – School of Design, The Glasgow School of Art; Nancy McLardie, Head of Public Relations and Moira Dyer, Senior Manager – Public Relations, Glasgow City Marketing Bureau; Justine Watt – Marketing and Events Manager and Ian Hartley - Marketing Manager, Brand -International Projects Division, Scottish Government and Stewart Roxburgh – Scottish Textiles.
3. Scottish Enterprise Textiles Team’s designer/manufacturer collaboration initiative is helping to address two key areas of the Scottish Textiles Industry Strategy: raising the international profile of Scottish textiles companies and encouraging greater levels of innovation and collaboration within the sector.
4. London Fashion Week takes place from 14-19 September in ‘The Tents’ at the Natural History Museum.
The Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective – September 08
- Aimee McWilliams spent her early years in Metropolitan Glasgow before moving to London. Graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2004 with a first class BA Honours in fashion womenswear, Aimee is considered one of the UK’s most successful rising designers.
- Deryck Walker studied fashion/textiles in Glasgow, and launched his menswear label in 2004. He showed his first-ever womenswear collection at OnIOff during LFW as part of the Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective in September 07. Deryck has recently relocated back to Glasgow from London and now works out of the Studio Warehouse (SWG3) in the city’s Yorkhill district.
- Olanic creative force, Niki Taylor, is driven by the idea of heightening everyday, practical styles with a directional, tailored edge. Olanic has exhibited over three seasons as part of the Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective and as a result got the opportunity to dress the band Faithless at LFW for their world tour.
- Vidler & Nixon is the successful working partnership of Glasgow born Kerry Nixon and Stefan Vidler, who, after a chance meeting, have together sparked a range of intricate one-off pieces. Their first collection was in Spring/Summer 06 and celebrity fans of their designs include Sienna Miller, Keira Knightly and Björk.
Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective ‘Next Generation’
- Alice Palmer graduated from The Glasgow School of Art in 2000 and in the same year designed a knitted fabric that combined silk with wire that was displayed at an inventors' showcase at the Glasgow Science Centre and named as one of country's most creative products. She has since gained a Masters from the Royal College of Art specialising in Knitted Textiles, and explores unconventional methods of construction, allowing a three dimensional form. This is her first season showing at London Fashion Week.
- BeBaroque was established in 2007 by fashion duo Mhairi McNicol and Chloe Patience after both designers completed an Honours degree in Textiles at The Glasgow School of Art. Both designers then went on to gain Master degrees in Textiles and Fashion; Chloe completing her course at Edinburgh College of Art, and Mhairi at The Glasgow School of Art. Combining Chloe’s artistic skills with Mhairi’s embroidery, they have created distinctive hosiery unique in the current fashion market. Their work has quickly been adopted by leading stockists including Diverse, Bordello, Boudiche, ASOS.com and New York’s Brooklyn Fox Lingerie. They were the recipients of Scottish Accessory Designer of the Year award at the 2008 Scottish Fashion Awards.
- Glasgow-born Graeme Armour is a graduate of Central Saint Martins whose talent was spotted by Alexander McQueen as early as 2004. Representing cutting edge, iconoclastic talent in both design and creativity, Graeme was singled out as a 2007 finalist in the prestigious Fashion Fringe for his work in silks, organza and jersey. As well as being part of the Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective Stand, Graeme will also have a catwalk show at LFW. He was the recipient of the Scottish Young Designer of the Year award at the 2008 Scottish Fashion Awards.
- Jamie Bruski Tetsill left The Glasgow School of Art in 2005 with a first class BA Honours degree in Textiles, and graduated with an MA in Fashion from Central Saint Martins in 2007. Jamie showed his S/S 08 collection at London Fashion Week in September 07 as part of the Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective.