Handbag.com to present the Style Show

Exciting news just in is that the country's leading lifestyle site Handbag.com is set to present the Style Show at the Clothes Show Live from 5^th – 10^th December 08.  FC members have recently had the outstanding opportunity to exhibit at the Style Show for incredibly low prices and due to the fantastic response there are now only limited spaces left.

Handbag.com was the first women's website to launch in the UK and is currently the country's market-leading lifestyle site. With 1.4 million unique users per month Handbag.com is a hugely popular and well know site.

Designers exhibiting at the Style show will now have access via a number of fabulous opportunities to reach out to this highly desirable and targeted consumer base.

If you are a designer do not miss out on this opportunity. Email emily@fashioncapital.co.uk or call 0208 681 5014 for further information

FashionExpo guest speakers

Profile at FashionExpo will bring together designers with retailers, buyers and manufacturers to promote local production capabilities and cutting edge design talent. The event will provide a unique opportunity for designers and manufacturers to collaborate and promote the complete London fashion offer to retailers in a truly aspirational environment. 

Confirmed speakers are Stephen Mongan – Sourcing and Technical Manager and Eimear Hawker – Senior Technologist both from Topshop.

A big thank you to Stephen and Eimear, who are also part of the panel for the Eco Bags Design Competition.

Eco Bags

As the Eco Expo event in Croydon nears, entries for the eco bag competition are still flying in thick and fast now that schools have returned from summer holidays and the £250 goody bag beckons. Topshop have confirmed Stephen Mongan and Eimear Hawker will be presenting at the launch of the Eco Expo event at the Hilton Hotel on the 17th October whilst also contributing a fabulous £50 voucher towards the staggering hamper of prizes for winners in each age category. The public online voting will close on Thursday 9th October at 5pm so hurry and submit your entries for a chance to both inspire your borough and win a host of eco friendly goodies.

SOS – Save our Shop

FashionCapital's retail unit Fashion Enter situated in Croydon has recently been on a mission to ‘Save our Shop'. The not for profit Enter Boutique applied for discretionary rate relief to continue its community work in the regeneration areas of Croydon but was scandalously refused!

Fashion Enter not only displays unique and wonderfully talented designer collections but it also aids in the development and expansion of existing residing labels and provides industry expertise, business advice and retail knowledge to individuals either wishing to commence or are in the early stages of their label.

Having taken Croydon by storm this journey may now be facing its final stages but we are certainly not going without a fight! Our petition now has over 900 names and with the support from the local community and with the local press, the Croydon Advertsier, taking an avid interest let's hope we Save Our Shop!

Trends – A/W 09/10

FashionCapital has a fantastic team of trend specialists making sure you are always up to date with the latest and more importantly, for designers and true fashionistas, future trends.

Trend boards for Autumn/Winter 09/10 are now being released on the site with the first preview depicting the ‘mushroom' trend. Over the next few weeks the full set of boards will be available only to FashionCapital members. All information and extensive research has been produced by our in house trend predictors.  FashionCapital Trend Prediction will cover Moodboard, Collection board and range planning boards.

For further information on membership please click here

asos.com

FashionCapital's fantastic relationship with the leading etailer continues to forge ahead with meetings set up this week representing both ladies and menswear designers.

This is great as sales at the fashion giant have soared 104 per cent in the last six months as online continues to defy the credit crunch.

This was an increase on the 80 per cent growth reported for the same period last year.

There are now 1.83 million registered users on its site and 890,000 active customers (who have bought in the last six months), up from 490,000 last year.

Compare this to …….

High Street Collapse

Some of the biggest high street retailers are in jeopardy as Jon Asgeir Johannesson, owner of Baugur's main source of funding collapses, the bank everyone's talking about – Glitnir. The Icelandic billionaire has large shares in many high street stores both side of the Atlantic such as French Connection, Woolworths and Debenhams. Since the beginning of this year Johannesson has lost £100 million in these investments alone!

For the full article click here

Sherine Whittle Marketing Specialist

The latest specialist advisor to join the FC team is marketing expert Sherine Whittle from Brand-U.

‘We all know how hard it is to be successful in the world, but to be a cut above the rest; to stand out from the crowd rests upon more than creativity and raw talent.  Your game has got to be fierce, it means late nights and early mornings, and a whole load of networking in between, and that's just to get your business off the ground.

Well Brand-U can provide you with not only the solutions but the practical tips and consultants who can take just some of that load off of your shoulders.'

Sherine will be on hand providing information and advice to all FC members as well as our other leading specialists.

Cora and Spink

FashionCapital members Cora and Spink have recently released new images of their divine accessories label and we were so impressed we simply had to share them with you.

Cora and Spink specialise in soft Italian leather and new reclaimed wool thus creating gorgeous bags with a distinct combination of style and elegance.

Embellished Truth

Keeping with the theme of delectable accessory labels, Embellished Truth is a brand new accessories label focusing on environmental sensibilities. Each handbag is made using the finest eco-friendly leather which has been vegetable tanned in Europe. The tanning process is free from chrome and other heavy metals and uses vegetable substances which are harvested in a sustainable way. The end result is leather which is breathable and biodegradable.

A few kind words…

The recent success of projects such as NY Profile and The Face of .. have not gone unnoticed by Regeneration Manager of Barking and Dagenham Derek Levy. Derek has shown tremendous support to Fashion Enter and without him and Regeneration Barking and Dagenham many of these projects would not have been possible. Derek commented:

‘I have been a long time advocate for and champion of support for emerging talent, and in particular giving free expression to the qualities of young people to help them fulfil their potential and make better lives for themselves than might once have seemed possible. Fashion Enter in general, and New York Profile in particular has given talented people a real belief that, with wrap around support, they really can achieve their ambitions and make their mark.'

Click here for full article

Boutique Pick of the Week

This playsuit by Joe Blake is bang on trend. It's fantastic as it can be worn during the day or on a night out. The gold trimmings match well with recent catwalk style and the slightly nautical feel is great too. Playsuits have been really hard to find despite being in all the A/W 08 catwalk shows earlier this year. This one is fabulous and well priced at just £65.00.

Dress it up with heels and a big, shiny gold belt. Dress it down for day wear with tights and a t-shirt underneath or a cardigan on top. Find it in your nearest Fashion Enter Boutique along with the Full Joe Blake range. Or log on to www.enter-boutique.com

  Until next time, have a great week 
  All the team at Fashion Capital x