Wall to Wall Fashion at Clotheshow Live 05

 

Loud, in-your-face and rather a lot of fun, Clotheshow Live attracts a predominantly female audience, most of which are under the age of 21.

 

“I love Clotheshow” says Rachel, from Bristol. “It’s like having all your favourite shops under one roof.”

 

 

For those more used to the relatively sober Fashion Week shows Clotheshow Live can come as quite a shock. The audience screams with excitement, sings along with the live acts and has a keen eye (and a sharp elbow) for a bargain.   

 

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Split into four zones the exhibition offers everything from fast fashion, designer brands and vintage style to the latest hair and beauty treatments. And while the event is highly popular with teenage girls there’s something for everyone – men included.

 

 

Mark from Birmingham was dragged along to Clotheshow by his girlfriend, “I have to admit, I’ve really enjoyed it, the catwalk show was fantastic and we’ve managed to get a fair bit of Christmas shopping done too.”

 

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The impressive 45-minute catwalk theatre spectacle can be credited this year to William Baker, also known as Kylie’s stylist. Baker deliberately chose a minimal set – ‘the show had to be all about the fashion.’ Here, he successfully brought in something for everyone, from dressy red carpet gowns and high street style to the avant-garde.

 

 

Over in the Purple Zone the London Fashion Forum joined in the fashion frenzy with a selection of up-and-coming designers. Profile exhibitors – Rufus, Romeo Pires and Clarey by Design attracted a great deal of positive attention, while the general consensus was that labels aimed at a young target audience were the best sellers at this event.

 

 

 

{mosimage}It wasn’t all about sales, however, with industry advice available from fashion courses to model management. On the Designer & College stage Hilary Alexander, Fashion Director of The Daily Telegraph presented the latest designs from colleges up and down the country, along with a variety of competitions that rewards both student and school. On Day 4 (5^th Dec) Laura Kay from Salford University was announced as ‘Young Designer of the Year,’ while Becky Bush was named as the Clotheshow 05 Poster Competition winner.

 

 

Amongst all the browse and buy stands high street players such as Oasis and Whistles previewed their Spring/Summer 06 collections. Key pieces ranged from cuffed shorts, fitted waistcoats, floaty empire line dresses, cropped trousers and belted waists in a colour palette of white, tan, chocolate, turquoise, slate grey and black.

 

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On the entertainment front Charlotte Church exercised her larynx in the vast Nokia Fashion Theatre on Friday followed by a Saturday performance by the Sugarbabes. Over on the Kiss Music Stage the likes of Friday Hill, Tom Novy and Hound Dogs did their stuff while DJ’s dotted around the show kept the tempo high and the tunes a-coming.

 

 

It seems the organizers weren’t kidding when they said the show was going to be ‘bigger and better’ than ever before. Early predictions show a staggering 180,000 fashion hungry visitors bursting through those NEC doors. Don’t know about you but I’m fashioned-out already.

 

Check back on www.fashioncapital.co.uk for the latest news, info and competitions for Clotheshow 2006.

 

 

By JoJo Iles