The darker colours associated with winter are gradually disappearing and the more bright colours people choose to wear in the spring are starting to show themselves.

Clashing colours seems to be an already popular way of dressing this spring and the use . . . → Read More: Spring colours brighten the gloomy days of winter]]> It seems as if spring has almost arrived and because of this people’s fashions are changing.

The darker colours associated with winter are gradually disappearing and the more bright colours people choose to wear in the spring are starting to show themselves.

Clashing colours seems to be an already popular way of dressing this spring and the use of pastel colours is very popular. One popular look this spring is going to be bright crayon shades and these are particularly popular when seen on skinny jeans.

Pencil skirts and cardigans are remaining popular and the most popular colours for these seem to be sherbet pink and mint green. A good idea to complete the outfit is to paint your nails in the same colour as the clothes that you are wearing. If you don’t think you can quite pull off mint green then go for a more delicate shade. This can also mean that people focus on the rest of your outfit as well.

If you are going to a formal occasion this spring, such as a wedding, then one of the most popular looks to go for will be vintage inspired clothes. Dresses in varied colours have a wonderful 1950s appeal about them and combining these with accessories such as ankle socks can complete a fantastic look. You can also add a petal clutch to the outfit as this will provide a place to keep all of your essential items.

If you want to show off your body a bit but don’t want to go overboard then wearing a medium length dress is a great idea. This combines the sophistication of a longer dress with the sultry look of a short one and is a really great way to get the benefit of both looks. Combining this outfit with brightly coloured heels will complete the look and choosing jewellery to match is easy.

For those who are a bit anxious about the change of clothes for spring then they needn’t be. There are plenty of options this season and it will be easy to find something to your taste.

However, instead of showing off her sparkling personality it seemed that she was busy striking a pose attempting to look sophisticated and unaffected, much like fashion veterans Anna Wintour of Vogue, Tamara Mellon, and Hamish Bowles.

The launch of the British event was held in NYC’s Grand Central Station. Even if . . . → Read More: Victoria Beckham wows New York]]>

Victoria Beckham wows New York

However, instead of showing off her sparkling personality it seemed that she was busy striking a pose attempting to look sophisticated and unaffected, much like fashion veterans Anna Wintour of Vogue, Tamara Mellon, and Hamish Bowles.

The launch of the British event was held in NYC’s Grand Central Station. Even if her personality was a bit off, she still looked quite good in a curve hugging black dress that came from her own fashion range.

On the other hand, she may want to consider heading in a new direction with her makeup as the nude glossy lipstick and bronze eye shadow stood out starkly against her light complexion, making her look a bit clownish instead of her usual sexy self. Whether she was just too busy this week to focus on her make-up or not, the overall affect was to make her look exhausted.

Still, Beckham is still reigning at the top of the fashion world right now and given the positive murmurs that have been circulating about her new collections it’s not hard to believe that she needs a break.

The event starts this Friday and over the next six days it is expected that celebrities are going to be everywhere, both off and on the catwalk.

Some of Hollywood’s top fashion icons such as Scarlett Johansson are expected to show up to check out the new fashion lines . . . → Read More: London set to host star studded fashion week]]>

London set to host star studded fashion week

The event starts this Friday and over the next six days it is expected that celebrities are going to be everywhere, both off and on the catwalk.

Some of Hollywood’s top fashion icons such as Scarlett Johansson are expected to show up to check out the new fashion lines premiered by Alexander McQueen’s McQ, Stella McCartney, and the Cheap and Chic line by Moschino.

Fashion industry buyers from the Middle East, US, and Russia are already in London waiting for the show and Anna Wintour, the Vogue editor, has remarked that she cannot remember when there was a more culturally active time in the city.

Event organisers, the British Fashion Council, stated that every year the UK economy sees a boost from the fashion industry given the fact that it is offers £21 billion to the economy. This year it hopes to increase this number with an intense focus on winning more Chinese customers, who make up the largest spenders in the fashion scene.

Outside of attempting to win over Chinese shoppers with incentives for attendance at London Fashion Week, there is also a planned London Fashion Week showcase that will be held in Bejing to help increase interest in the lines. The emphasis of the Fashion Week this year will be on individual creativity among the designers.

The West Coast Cooler Fashion Week, one of Northern Ireland’s most prestigious fashion events, launched its programme for 2012 this week, the eighth year that the event has been held in the capital, Belfast.

This year’s Fashion Week will take place on mid-March and, among the usual catwalk shows, will feature . . . → Read More: The West Coast Cooler Fashion Week]]>

The West Coast Cooler Fashion Week

The West Coast Cooler Fashion Week, one of Northern Ireland’s most prestigious fashion events, launched its programme for 2012 this week, the eighth year that the event has been held in the capital, Belfast.

This year’s Fashion Week will take place on mid-March and, among the usual catwalk shows, will feature master classes with top Irish designers, Fashion Teas at the five-star Culloden Hotel and the always popular Style Sunday.

Cathy Martin, current director of Belfast Fashion Week, promised attendees some of the most exciting clothes in the country, adding that this year the event would focus on getting young people involved in the fashion industry. A seminar co-organised by Belfast Children’s Festival promises to be one of the major highlights of this year’s Fashion Week.

The Culloden Hotel will host a series of Fashion Teas, in conjunction with High Street fashion chain CRUISE, while this year’s Style Sunday is being supported by successful local designer Una Rodden, owner of the popular ‘Please Don’t Tell’ boutique in the city centre. Independent stores and designers from throughout Northern Ireland are already lined up for catwalk shows and presentations at the March festival.

Opening night is set to feature collections from stores as far afield as Candy Plum of Hillsborough, Logans of Cloughmills as well as several representatives from The OUTLET in Banbridge, including clothes from big-name collections like DKNY, Calvin Klein and Armani. Belfast’s own independent boutiques feature strongly in the line-up too, with collections from the city’s Blush, Yoke and Jourdan stores on show at the première.

Northern Irish designers  are set to take centre stage at the event and young talent including Ruedi Maguire and Dave Henderson are set to unveil their latest collections at Fashion Week. Some of the city’s renowned milliners are also putting on their own catwalk show, featuring designs from top names such as Grainne Maher and John Paul.

It is expected that shop windows across Norwich are going to be given a revamp thanks to those at the Retail Skills Academy.

The Academy was set up to help independent retailers and students to improve their customer service skills, and their businesses overall, and they . . . → Read More: Shops of Norwich given a revamp with help from local students]]>

Shops of Norwich given a revamp with help from local students

It is expected that shop windows across Norwich are going to be given a revamp thanks to those at the Retail Skills Academy.

The Academy was set up to help independent retailers and students to improve their customer service skills, and their businesses overall, and they have recently announced a competition that is going to declare one shop as having the best window display in the entire city.

The competition is taking place in March and is being run alongside Norwich Fashion Week. It is hoped the competition will encourage retailers to create window displays that will attract more customers into their stores.

Sue Dougal is the head of the Academy and she has commented, “This is an event that is open to all retailers in Norwich and we are encouraging them to work with a student from the Academy to create a window display that will highlight everything that is great about Norwich fashion week.

“We see this not just as an opportunity for shops to create better looking window displays but also an opportunity for them to work with a student from the local Academy. We think this will strengthen relationships between education and business in the city.”

The retailer who won the competition last year was Nola, a shop located on Timberhill, and they were working with a student from the Academy to create brand-new ideas for their shopfront.

Sam Papworth who works for Nola commented, “It was a real pleasure to put together new ideas for the window display and it was great to be able to work with our fantastic student helper, Lauren Loh. The competition attracted many customers to shop and I would encourage retailers to get involved with it this year as it is a great way to attract new business.”

Over in America everyone is thinking about Superbowl Sunday, but in the fashion world everyone is calling it Beckham in His Pants Day, given it’s the brand debut of his new video that will see the 36 year old hearthrob posing sexily against the Animals classic ‘Please . . . → Read More: Beckham in his pants is the latest YouTube sensation]]>

Beckham in his pants is the latest YouTube sensation

Over in America everyone is thinking about Superbowl Sunday, but in the fashion world everyone is calling it Beckham in His Pants Day, given it’s the brand debut of his new video that will see the 36 year old hearthrob posing sexily against the Animals classic ‘Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’.

The new advert is for H&M and the famous footballer is dressed in a pair of £7.99 pants. His sons were not great fans of seeing their dad half-naked exclaiming ‘not again’ but if YouTube viewers are to be relied on it seems that everyone else loves it as it has already had nearly 1m hits. It’s also great news for H&M who spent about £2.2m for the slot.

The high street brand’s foray into long johns and briefs is not the first time that they have decided to use a celebrity to help sell clothes as they have also collaborated in the past with Stella McCartney, Comme des Garcons, Karl Lagerfeld, Jimmy Choo, and more H&M has been working for some top brands and fashion designers. Plus, almost every collaboration has been a sell-out collection which has helped boost the brand image and the amount of traffic that it receives through its doors.

Those who are part of the fashion industry so far have responded positively to the new Beckham underwear range from H&M with fashion editor Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune stating that it is only natural that David Beckham would work with H&M given the fact that everyone else already has.
She added that with the new underwear line at least now everyone can have a piece of Beckham. London shoppers most likely felt the same way as the thousands that lined up for the Wednesday launch were pretty excited and if there are more out there like them then the pants are going to be a hit.

The reason that most designers find themselves drawn towards H&M is due to the fact that it has a far reach as the collection and ranges are priced affordably so that everyone can get a bit of a taste of high end fashion even those with small budgets.

Most of the designs are cutting edge, but the materials are just simplified a bit and the fashion is remodelled a bit so that it still holds a punch without breaking the wallet. Thus, everyone gets the chance to own a fashion name without actually paying the high end designer label price tag.

It is not known how much H&M offered Beckham to get him on board for the underwear range, but it only took 48 hours for Beckham and his business partner to agree to a two year partnership so there must have been an enticing offer.

Of course, a fat wallet is not the only reason to sign because sometimes getting your image out there to the masses is payback in itself, and keeping his name fresh is something that Beckham is likely thinking about since he moved to America and out of the British spotlight.

When models stumble on the catwalk it is often big news in the fashion industry and something that designers do not appreciate. While it might get their name on the front page it is not for the right reason and instead they want to see their . . . → Read More: Designer glues shoes to models feet to avoid catwalk mishaps]]>

Designer glues shoes to models feet to avoid catwalk mishaps

When models stumble on the catwalk it is often big news in the fashion industry and something that designers do not appreciate. While it might get their name on the front page it is not for the right reason and instead they want to see their clothes being recognised, not the model who has fallen over whilst wearing them.

In order to prevent this problem fashion designer Marc Jacobs has come up with a unique way of making sure that model’s shoes don’t come off while they are walking on the runway. Mr Jacobs is the creative director at Louis Vuitton and he glues the feet of his models to the shoes they are wearing.

Jacobs is known for spending a large amount on his catwalk shows and one that lasted less than 10 minutes last year reportedly cost him over $1 million. The vast majority of the expense was made up of the staff he employed for the models including 50 hairdressers and nearly as many make-up artists.

It is unknown which of these people is responsible for applying the glue to the models feet, he has stated that he is planning to use the same type of glue which is normally used to attach a wig to a models head.

For every show Mr Jacobs spends three months preparing and generally his show closes Paris Fashion Week so there is often a lot of extra pressure on him to do something spectacular. So far his technique of glueing his shoes onto the models is working well and most of his shows have come off without any slip-ups whatsoever, something that can’t be said about his rivals.

As yet, the number of pilot franchises has . . . → Read More: ASDA sends George to the Middle East]]> Supermarket chain ASDA has announced plans to take its successful budget clothing brand, George, into stores in the Middle East. After signing a franchise deal with a Lebanese retailer called the Azadea Group, a small number of pilot stores will open in the region before the end of 2012.

As yet, the number of pilot franchises has not yet been confirmed, nor is there any indication how many George shops the Azadea Group plans to open overall if the scheme is a success, but this is just the latest move by ASDA to promote its clothing range in other countries.

The George brand clothing currently accounts for about 50% of ASDA’s non-grocery sales and, thanks to parent company Wal-Mart, the products are available in seven different countries outside of the UK.  In a separate deal, ASDA has also announced that Channel Islands company Sandpiper will be opening George stores on both Guernsey and Jersey this year.

George executive managing director, Andrew Moore, welcomed the news that two entirely new markets would soon be able to buy the budget-price quality clothing produced by his brand and was particularly excited that his international team would be working with two experienced franchise companies in Sandpiper and the Azadea Group.

Speaking on behalf of the Azadea Group, chief executive Said Daher was looking forward to the opening of the first ever George store in the Middle East and was confident that local consumers would find plenty to interest them in the range.

Meanwhile, Tony O’Neill, the chief executive at Channel Islands-based Sandpiper was sure that the George brand would be an excellent fit alongside their current franchise operations, adding that customers in Jersey and Guernsey would soon benefit from new stores offering clothes by award-winning designers at much lower prices than on the High Street.

A specialist team has been set up at the George brand headquarters in Lutterworth with a remit to develop relationships with the company’s latest partners, as well as to identify potential opportunities for further international expansion in the future. Part of the role is to ensure that franchisees like the Azadea Group and Sandpiper continue to represent the George brand’s core values of providing stylish clothing at affordable prices.

ASDA is not the only UK supermarket which is looking internationally for new opportunities and the chance to increase sales and brand awareness. Tesco recently announced that it had signed its own deal with a Middle East organisation to open stores selling its F&F brand of clothing in the region.

The franchise deal with the largest owner of shopping malls in Saudi Arabia, Fawaz Abdulaziz Al Hokair & Co, will see the F&F range of clothing sold throughout that country as well as its Arab neighbours, where the same company also has significant business interests. Tesco’s plan is for the F&F brand, which is not as successful as ASDA’s George range in the UK, to become a recognised international fashion label.

ASDA also took the opportunity of announcing its new global franchise deals to reveal that  Arnu Misra, appointed to review the store’s “New Business Strategy” including online sales and banking, had left the company at the end of 2011.