The Drama of Profile unfolds – the Gala night
14-02-2006
…and it was excellent to see all the retail sponsors out in force: Debenhams had ten representatives including main board menswear director Adam Creasey; the Hobbs contingent was eight man strong which was headed up by Nicholas Samuel the MD himself and both House of Fraser and Whistles were in full support of the Gala.
Gigi Moorley the TV presenter was absolutely brilliant. The crowd were mesmerised by her professionalism – a good heart always shines through
Last night Gigi commented “I have never seen so much vibrant design talent in one show!. I have been to many fashion shows and I am currently writing a book on fashion myself; now I can see now why Profile has grown so dramatically. The standard of both quality and design is exceptionally high and there are definite labels here that I would be interested in myself. It’s my birthday today but I just couldn’t miss this Gala tonight!” {mosimage}
Lord Stone of Blackheath, has been the patron of LFF since it’s conception four years ago. Lord Stone came to present the awards to the two winners of the Langley Park School for Boys (LPBS) Edmund Thorn and David Raper.
Flanked by their outfits worn by glamour models you can see why Edmund and David were the worthy winners of the six week Delivery Day course. Lord Stone commented “The reason why I agreed to be the patron of LFF was not just because of the glamour of fashion. I was a main board director of M&S for many years and there’s a lot of hard work that goes on behind each and every garment made. Young designers today need all the help that they can get and LFF has provided mentoring and support along with practical initiatives such as the retail boutiques providing access to market, fashioncapital, a portal for the industry that receives over 5m hits a month, and of course Profile a truly world class event that showcases such rising stars and networks the buyer with the new designers.” Lord Stone was interviewed by TV with Robert Northcott the head of LPBS and also presented both Edmund and David with certificates.
The winners were duly announced by the retailers and hearty congratulations to the following:-
Ladieswear winner by House of Fraser – Haunt
Menswear winner by Debenhams – British Eccentric
Accessories winner by Hobbs – Cheet
New Designer Award by Whistles – Britta Boyer
Ayewan
Bowho
British Eccentric
Kosibar
Jillian Edinboro
Haunt
Cheet
Emmy Collins
The Cutter
Natasha Wright
Jatin Patel
Crooked Knitwear
David Jones summed up the evening accordingly. “No one will ever appreciate how much hard work goes into this event. Where else in the world could any of the designers pay just £500 to have a stand at a premier event such as TBC? Profile designers have paid a 1/5 of the normal TBC rate and our grateful thanks to Mark McCann and Mark Bastista, the owners of TBC, for their support.
David Jones Director and Chair –
The London Fashion Forum
This has been a unique collaboration and we have been delighted to work with them both. I also have to acknowledge the staff of Profile – there has only been three members of staff working on this event and when you look of the detail behind this event from the stars on the tables to the actual fund raising itself – it’s an incredible achievement.
This seasons Profile event was not funded by the LDA and naturally this put enormous pressure on the team to secure the finance. The money has been raised purely from sponsorship with our partners WCTA, Business Link for London, Zip Cove, Jofit, Portobello Business Centre and a host of other sponsors, to numerous to mention, but includes Fuji Water. I just can’t believe the success of Profile. As Nicholas Samuel said MD from Hobbs, the event just gets better and better each season”.
Sian Lloyd – celebrity guest
Here’s to the next event!
Jenny Holloway
Industry Advisor
All pictures kindly supplied by Matt Link.
Email contact@mattlink.com
Mobile: 07747 195738
