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Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective at London Fashion Week
Some of Glasgow’s emerging young fashion and visual designers will get the opportunity to showcase their talent and represent the city during London Fashion Week (LFW) from September 18-22 under the banner of the Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective.
Christopher Kane will present his inaugural Spring/Summer 07 catwalk show as part of the New Generation programme at LFW. The young designer who hails from just outside Glasgow recently caused waves in the fashion world due to his award-winning Central St Martin’s graduate show.
Scottish Textile/Cashmere Designer of the Year 2006, Jennifer Lang, will be exhibiting garments within the main tents at the Natural History Museum.
Silversmith and jewellery designer Sarah Raffel of Brazen and womenswear designer Niki Taylor of Olanic will both be showcasing at the On|Off event, situated in The Royal Horticultural Halls.
The Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective is being project managed on behalf of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau (GCMB) by Chris Hunt of local marketing consultancy Genuine who devised the concept for London Fashion Week.
The initiative forms part of the strategic repositioning of Glasgow, which has been underway since the launch of Glasgow: Scotland with style in March 2004 and uses a wide range of ‘products’ whether these be art, architecture, design, events, food, fashion, film, sport or the performing arts to profile the city.
The candidates were carefully chosen by an advisory panel from Cruise, the Glasgow School of Art, Johnstons, Sunday Herald and the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau. Their unanimous final decision was successfully presented to the British Fashion Council and the organisers of On|Off.
Leading Glasgow designers Timorous Beasties have also lent their support by allowing one of their unique designs to be incorporated into the artwork for the advertising creative.
In addition a group of emerging visual artists based at the Studio Warehouse Glasgow (SWG3) and specialising in painting, photography, sculpture and graphic design will also travel to London during LFW as part of the Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective to exhibit at London’s T Bar in Shoreditch where much of London’s cutting-edge design community and creative agencies are located.
T Bar is located within the Tea Building and one of the week’s highlights will be several ‘works-in-progress’ that will evolve throughout the week.
It will also be the venue for the Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective ‘wrap party’ on Friday, 22 September, the last night of London Fashion Week.
Guests at the special event will enjoy DJ sets from T Bar residents, Bones & Ramsey as well as Glasgow’s own Paul Cawley of Fenetik records, Sons and Daughters (Domino records) and up-and-coming Smash Team Disco.
The young designers and visual artists in the Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective are all either from the Metropolitan Glasgow area, have trained here, or have chosen to be based in the city.
Commenting on the innovative concept, Project Manager Chris Hunt of Genuine said: “I met with Glasgow City Marketing Bureau in November 05 and put together a presentation on how we might work together to promote and support local design talent in their efforts to gain independent commercial success through the Glasgow: Scotland with style campaign.
“I got the go-ahead from GCMB virtually then and there as they realised the importance of nurturing new talent and so the Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective was born.”
As the sole sponsor of the Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective, GCMB has committed in excess of £35k towards the London Fashion Week initiative, which will encompass designer support, pre-publicity and advertising as well as the visual arts installations and wrap party at T Bar – all of which should help attract the attention of the UK international press and buyers.
Commenting on the initiative, Scott Taylor, Chief Executive - Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, added: “By showcasing the wealth of our indigenous design community at London Fashion Week we have created a unique platform that will allow us to reinforce Glasgow’s brand positioning to a highly influential audience of international style leaders.
“So whether you are inside the tents; checking out On|Off; part of the audience at Christopher Kane’s fashion show or dropping by T Bar in Shoreditch, you simply cannot fail to notice that the Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective is at London Fashion Week.”
A bespoke microsite for the Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective can be accessed at: www.seeglasgow.com/design
ENDS
For more information please contact:
Chris Hunt @ Genuine
Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective Project Manager
T: +44 (0) 845 838 0268. E-mail: chris@genuinepr.com
Marcus McPeake @ Genuine
Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective PR Assistant
T: +44 (0) 845 838 0268. E-mail: marcus@genuinepr.com
Moira Dyer, Senior Manager – Public Relations
Glasgow City Marketing Bureau
T: +44 (0) 141 566 0831. E-mail: moira.dyer@seeglasgow.com
Notes to editors:
- Glasgow City Marketing Bureau is currently undertaking a raft of activity as part of the £2.8 million strategic positioning campaign for Glasgow: Scotland with style in key international markets through until May 2008. The campaign includes advertising, public relations, sponsorship and web activity and was originally launched in March 2004 with a budget of £1.5 million.
- In 2005, £1.83 million was committed for its strategic positioning comprising £1.14 million from Glasgow City Council and £687,509 from the European Regional Development Fund.
- The advisory panel that was quintessential in the selection process consisted of: Eva Arrighi, Beauty and Lifestyle Editor – Sunday Herald Magazine; Alison Melton, Head of PR & Marketing – Cruise; Linny Oliphant, Brand Manager – Johnstons; Jimmy Stephen-Cran, Head of Textiles – School of Design, the Glasgow School of Art and Moira Dyer, Senior Manager – Public Relations - Glasgow City Marketing Bureau.
- Visual Designers: Studio Warehouse Glasgow (SWG3) will be showcasing their creative talents with a work-in-progress installation for the duration of London Fashion Week, September 2006. Karen Hodge’s distinctive technique uses only cosmetics as a medium for her artwork. She will be joined by Gary MacKay who will be using spray-paint as the vital ingredient for his work-in-progress installation. There will also be a static exhibition from other SWG3 based artists comprising paintings from Rosemary Hogarth and Erin McGrath; photography from Wes Kingston and sculpture from Benedict Radcliff. The T Bar exhibition is being curated by SWG3’s Mutley
DESIGNERS
Christopher Kane
Christopher, 23 graduated from Central St Martin’s with a distinction and MA in Womenswear.
In February this year, he was awarded the Harrods Design Award which was followed by the Scottish Young Designer/New Talent 2006 title.
Inspired by Picasso’s line drawings and the pioneering flamboyancy of Gianni Versace fused with the American beauty pageant look, Christopher’s award-winning MA show won him praise from Anna Wintour of American Vogue and, of course, Donatella Versace, with whom he is currently consulting, in addition to developing his own label.
Christopher will be staging his highly-anticipated Spring/Summer 07 show at LFW at the Topshop New Generation Venue in W8.
Jennifer Lang
Born and raised in Glasgow, Jennifer is also a graduate of Central St Martins, this time with a distinction and MA in Fashion Knitwear that was preceded by an honours degree at the Scottish College of Textiles in Galashiels.
A successful career pattern has already developed since graduating from the MA. Already, due to her unique knit techniques and artistic references, Jennifer has been by commissioned by the likes of Kylie Minogue and has designed for London designers Jens Laugesen and Sinha-Stanic. Her major inspirations have come from the sculptural wonders of Eva Hesse and Barbara Chase-Ribould.
This year has seen Jennifer enjoy the Scottish Textile/Cashmere Designer of the Year 2006 title. Through the direct support of the Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective, Jennifer will be exhibiting pieces from her Spring/Summer 2007 collection within the Topshop New Generation tent at the Natural history Museum In London, SW7.
Sarah Raffel of Brazen
Sarah graduated in 2003 with honours in silversmithing and jewellery from the Glasgow School of Art. Her concept of Brazen Studios was allowed to materialise thanks to receiving the Deutsche Bank Pyramid Award for Design followed by further prizes from Nesta’s Creative Pioneer programme and The Princes Scottish Youth Business Trust.
Glasgow based Brazen Studios was established in April 2004 and was opened to the public by December of that year. Sarah’s ethos of hard-work, relentless dedication and attention-to-detail has seen Brazen’s representation inside the top thirty-five most cutting edge jewellery designers from across the United Kingdom.
Sarah is currently concentrating on designing and developing Brazen’s in-house Spring/Summer 07 collection as a direct result of support from the Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective. Her Autumn/Winter 06 Heraldry own-line launch was recently featured in Wallpaper* magazine.
Niki Taylor of Olanic
Glasgow based Niki Taylor is a graduate from the Scottish College of Textiles in Galashiels and, even at this early stage; her Olanic label has already savoured international success in Japan.
With a career that has seen her design skatewear for Nike, menswear for Marks and Spencer, shoes for the Playboy label and a college placement with Agent Provocateur, it is clear to see that Niki’s wealth of experience has seen her produce an array of imaginative garments that have received critical acclaim from the fashion media. So-much-so, Olanic has previously featured in both British and American Editions of Elle.
Past and present inspirations combining art, music and film has given Olanic that edgy, underground feel for the individual fashion lover. This has led to a Scottish Designer of the Year 2005 nomination, and was recently listed as one of the names to watch out for in The Times newspaper.
Quotes from Designers
Jennifer Lang
“Being supported by Glasgow City Marketing Bureau as part of the Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective is fantastic.
“It’s a great opportunity to promote the depth of talent that has emerged from Glasgow and into the wider fashion world.
“The support allows us to fully embrace all areas of producing and exporting a collection, for example, I can now afford to do more of the necessary marketing, in addition to have my stand at the main LFW tent”
Christopher Kane
“I am delighted and proud to have been chosen to be part of the Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective.
“The support received is very much appreciated and valued going towards my debut show at London Fashion Week in September.
“I look forward to further collaborations in the future. Again, I am very thankful for having support from my own part of the world in Scotland.”
Niki Taylor, Head Designer of Olanic.
“In order to be taken seriously it is important to be showing at International level alongside the best in the world.
“Without the support of the Glasgow: Scotland with style Design Collective this would be impossible to achieve at this early stage in my career.”
Sarah Raffel, Director – Brazen Studios Ltd.
“Exhibiting for the first time at London Fashion Week will open a very different platform for Brazen.
“Getting financial support from the Glasgow: Scotland with Style Design Collective is fundamental to growing our business and I’m delighted to have been chosen.”