Taking fashion forward

Taking Fashion Forward

 

Last night at Café de Paris, Fashion Forward celebrated fashion entrepreneurs who have both the creative innovation and the business acumen to take their fashion forward. The LFF was asked to be a judge at the event, the first of its kind, and yours truly was happy to oblige!

 

It was a sell-out event at the glamorous venue, where 500 people watched the showcasing of 10 fashion entrepreneurs’ best work.

 

 

The show kick-started with a speech by the Show Producer Bonnie Chung and a presentation by Robert Bensoussan, the CEO of Jimmy Choo. Mr. Bensoussan reviewed the growth of Jimmy Choo, and how the family run business has become a multi million international corporate company. The presentation was well received from the crowd and it was interesting to see the business and strategic side of this creative company.

 

The Catwalk show was then led by the LSE’s Student Union Officer who charmed the audience and chatted about the companies showcased on the catwalk. The audience were treated with an array of innovative catwalk creations from designer companies including Enamore, Junky Styling and Positive Tees with their great slogan “The secret for living is giving”!

 

The winners of Fashion Forward were announced at the end of the evening, by the judges Robert Bensoussan, Jenny Holloway of London Fashion Forum and Maria Stammers of Portobello Business Centre, who commented on how impressed they were with the concept of the event and how Bonnie in particular had pulled off the amazing fete within just five weeks.

 

 

As a judge it was difficult to get a concrete view of the designers in question – only three garments were showcased and ideally it would have been good to have reviewed the garments on a rail so quality could have been checked. Nevertheless the buzz was there for all to see.

 

In addition we were delighted to see the collection called “Starfish” by Zoe Salmon who is a Blue Peter presenter. The cameras were rolling and the judges had their deliberations filmed…not sure about that actually, but hey – that’s showbusiness I suppose!

 

 

The winner of Fashion Forward was unanimously voted by all three judges –  Junky Styling who’s innovate business wowed the audience. Their appliqué outfits, dresses transformed from plain suits and a skirt made of ties were very impressive and Junky Styling was crowned the Future of Fashion Enterprise. They won an Internship at Jimmy Choo and a Fashion Branding Consultation package from Lines Designs.

 

The second prize winner was Denis Antoine whose menswear collection was particularly complimented for its slick suiting and advanced digitally printed fabrics. He won a tailor-made Fashion Business Course at the Portobello Business Centre. Third prize went to Craven Gene who showcased amazing silk dresses and won a fashion photo-shoot with Looker London, a Fashion Photography agency.

 

 

 

 

 

Fashion Forward’s After-Show party continued until the early hours where designers, show organisers and show-goers celebrated the end of this amazing event. 

 

Congratulations to everyone behind the event. Bonnie you can now relax and enjoy that well deserved pat on the back!

 

Jenny Holloway

Industry Advisor