Here’s a few words about the latest this week from our editor…
What a rainy old week it’s been, great for wellies & umbrellas but not so great for all those summer frocks. Statistics show that the weather does affect shopping habits with many lessons harshly learned during our mild winter. If the forecasters are to be believed we can look forward to higher temperatures and heavier rainfall across the UK.
Photographer Nicole Winkler took to the streets of Covent Garden to see how the stylish are coping with the elements. The answer: light layers and a roomy bag to cope with every eventuality. To check out her report click here
It’s never too early to talk about London Fashion Week and this week the British Fashion Council and TopShop have announced the fifteen designers that will receive New Generation sponsorship this September. To read the full article click here. The up-and-coming designers will be showing alongside the likes of Luella Bartley and Matthew Williamson who will be joining the schedule, albeit for one season only.
For the moment the focus is on menswear with the Spring/Summer 08 catwalk collections taking place in Milan. So far the mood is optimistic with a nod towards surfer influences, Brit rock and Formula One references amongst others. Sportswear is looking particularly strong – let’s hope stylish wet weather gear has been given some consideration for the coming year.
Our sister company Fashion-Enter has been keeping busy as per usual. Last Friday Jenny Holloway took Shahid Choudhri from Reiss around 11 top CMT units in North London with a view to possible work opportunities.
As a result of our commitment to local manufacturing it was fantastic to see this letter from Naz in Draper’s Record this week…
Long live London manufacturing!
Where would our thriving fashion business be without the local CMTs! For many years I can’t believe how much money the Government has poured into the designer sector of the fashion industry. I have sat there watching patiently for the “manufacturers” turn to take some priority and at last it’s financially happened.
The true experts of fashion are NOT the designers. Many designers fresh from Graduate Fashion Week have not got a clue how the real world of fashion actually works. They may be great in inspiration, trend prediction, and market research but when it comes down to production matters, cloth utilisation, dockets, amends to patterns and grades they are hopelessly out of touch.
CCS Ltd has recently teamed up with Fashion Enter who has genuinely helped my business. I have received a free online showroom so I can attract new orders (funding from MAS here) and I have also just secured almost £100,000 from the LDA to develop my business (funding from City Fringe Partnerships here). At last…there is hope for the UK manufacturers of today.
The on-line showroom on www.fashioncapital.co.uk has lead to a flood of orders coming in and I find that I spend so much time helping the designers with first samples its almost unproductive but, I guess, at the moment, I am happy to give some of my expertise out.
It’s fine for designers to design but this does not make a business. I will be opening a new factory soon and I will be working with Fashion Enter to have a proper training facility to genuinely help the industry.
Thanks to the LDA for making this happen…at last the Government is prioritising the production industries.
Naz Aksu
CCS unit: 7, 2/6 Gourley place, Tottenham, London N15 5NF at
Profile, the designer platform for up and coming talent, has been attracting plenty of attention. Due to the fantastic response we will have to impose a deadline for applications very soon – any interested womenswear or accessories designers should apply now to ensure they get to the next stage of interviews. To apply click here
Boutique Pick of the Week:
Sheena May tutti fruity pomprint silk scarf – perfect to liven up those cloudy days.
LFW’s New Generation Sponsored by TopShop twelve seasons in a row The New Generation Award provides a much needed promotional kick start for new talent. Previous New Generation designers include: Alexander McQueen, Matthew Williamson and Sophia Kokosalaki. The scheme sponsors a selection of up and coming designers to either exhibit or present a catwalk show, or both, at the prestigious arena that is London Fashion Week. [More->>]
Double Take: Twinkle Twinkle Little Skull [More->>]
Reiss Reviews London Based CMTs On Friday Fashion-Enter escorted Reiss around 11 top CMT units in London that had been carefully screened and reviewed in accordance with the retailers market needs. [More->>]
The Talent Magazine Launch GET YOUR DIARIES OUT – THE DATE HAS CHANGED… [More->>]
Divinity Models is Launching its Top Model Search [More->>]
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