Thursday, December 16, 2010

LUNN







LUNN, the new collection from the French fashion company Lilith, is designed with a relaxed and comfortable sensibility. Fitting women of all shapes and sizes, the simple pieces are infused with the Lilith whimsy and poetry, each with an artistic or avant garde detail.

Their agent for UK and Ireland: Lyn Burns, lynburnsfashions@yahoo.co.uk

Brand of the Week- Rodika Zanian


Rodika Zanian, based in Paris, is a subtle and chic womenswear brand. Next season is all about animal inspiration, with fake fur, fake leather, jacquard leopard and snake. The colours are natural with warm greys, camel and ivory all making an appearance.
Rodika Zanian’s agent for UK and Ireland:
Julia KNIGHT
Tel: +44 208 605 2454
E-mail: juliaknight1@msn.com

Brand of the Week- Lunn


LUNN, the new collection from the French fashion company Lilith, is designed with a relaxed and comfortable sensibility. Fitting women of all shapes and sizes, the simple pieces are infused with the Lilith whimsy and poetry, each with an artistic or avant garde detail.

Their agent for UK and Ireland: Lyn Burns, lynburnsfashions@yahoo.co.uk




Foundation Boutique



Husband-and-wife team James & Gemma Wiseman (former designers for firms as diverse as Mulberry, and Nokia), opened the first Foundation shop in Stow in early 2003 (their original shop name was dropped after the name 'Foundation' appeared in a dream - Don't ask!), to offer a striking, 'hand-picked' selection of interesting clothes, homewares and accessories, by smaller, up-and-coming designers, with the emphasis on style, and above all wearability. The shop soon became a 'cult' favourite, and before long all sorts of famous, not-so-famous, and above-all wonderful customers became Foundation's friends!
Buoyed by this positive reaction, and throwing caution to the wind, a second, larger store was opened on the ground floor of a Regency building in Cheltenham's bohemian Montpellier area, some 18 months later. 4 years after that, in November 2009, Foundation took over the whole of the building, and opened a brand new showroom on the first floor (Upstairs at Foundation) showcasing even more clothing, shoes, homewares, fabrics and wallpaper.

Foundation, Stow-on-The-Wold
The Square, Stow-on-The-Wold, Gloucestershire GL54 1AB
Tel: (01451) 832453 Email
Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 10-5.30. Sun 11-4 Sun (in Season)
Brands Include: Nicole Farhi, ASH, James Jeans, Hartford, Paige Denim, Issa, Rützou, Odd Molly, Libélula, Olive & Orange,Ann Louise Roswald, Cash Ca, Megan Park, Anglomania, Paul Smith black Label, Goat, Sita Murt, Marilyn Moore, By Malene Birger, Miller Harris, Erickson Beamon, J & M Davidson, NEOM and many more!

Foundation, Cheltenham
22, Montpellier Walk , Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 1SD
Tel: (01242) 232777
Manager: Dawn Lozinski - Email
Opening Hours: Mon - Sat 10-5.30
Brands Include: Nicole Farhi, Farhi, NEOM, ASH, Paige Denim, Turnover, Rützou, Odd Molly, Libélula, Megan Park, Ann Louise Roswald, Eribe, Erickson Beamon, Anglomania, Paul Smith Black Label, Goat, Sita Murt, Marilyn Moore, J & M Davidson, By Malene Birger, Miller Harris, Alex Monroe, Bjorg, Thomas Paul, Branksome, Rapture & Wright, Foundation

Rodika Zanian




Rodika Zanian, based in Paris, is a subtle and chic womenswear brand. Next season is all about animal inspiration, with fake fur, fake leather, jacquard leopard and snake. The colours are natural with warm greys, camel and ivory all making an appearance.



Rodika Zanian’s agent for UK and Ireland:
Julia KNIGHT
Tel: +44 208 605 2454
E-mail: juliaknight1@msn.com

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Lara Boutique


WWW.LARASFASHION.COM

Lara’s Boutique founded by Lara Casey, started nearly 10 years ago with its first boutique shop opening in Dame Lane, Dublin. This shop Lara planned to open with her mother but sadly she passed away the year before. However Lara still went ahead and launched the shop in her mums honour with her mum’s signature above the door to this day. The shops objective was to fill the gap in the market for quirky, fashionable designer labels and party wear. In 2003 Lara’s Boutique was flourishing and the business premises were doubled to 3,000 sq ft in size so it could cater for its expanding client base. The shop is so unique filled with chandeliers, candles and immense charm. Lara became the place to be seen to buy clothes. Every model, TV presenter and celebrity in Ireland graced Lara’s doors.

In 2005 just two years later and with over 10,000 customers Lara opened a second shop in her home town of Terenure, Dublin offering even more exclusive, high-end womenswear. She secured the exclusivity rights for the leading American brand Jovani in Ireland and this bought occasion wear to another dimension. Lara also at this time secured a regular slot styling on Irelands No 1 TV Station RTE on The Café show. This led her to work in the celebrity styling industry and one of her first jobs was styling top Irish boyband Boyzone for their first music video they recorded. This also meant customers would come from far and wide for Lara’s expert styling advice and they appreciated the passion she showed whilst picking outfits for her customers.

With Lara’s creative vision and instinctive buying skills she saw an opportunity to expand her business over the water and in 2008 she opened a shop in the chic Chiswick High Street, London. Bringing the Lara Love over the water this business has also gone from strength to strength and this year Lara launched her own fashion label Lara Couture which is a collection of 100 breathtaking occasion wear dresses with a very much red carpet look. Lara has worked on the designs for this collection for years and since the launch this autumn she has seen amazing press coverage in OK!, London Metro and She Magazine.

In the Spring of 2011 Lara is set to launch her brand new online e-boutique – www.larasfashion.com which will mean customers from all over the world will be able to buy Lara’s Couture range as well as other brands. Over the years Lara’s Boutique shops have evolved and expanded to become one of the most successful, independent luxury boutique retailers and now boasts a customer base of over 20,000. She has secured a prestigious and loyal customer base over the years due to her teams excellent customer service skills, friendliness and styling service that they offer. Lara’s Boutique has welcomed many celebrities to its shops including Katie Price, Michelle Heaton, Alesha Dixon, Claudine Keane, Una Healey, Michelle Keegan and Kim Marsh offering styling advice along the way. With over 15 years fashion industry experience it is no surprise that Lara has been so successful in making her boutique shops so unique and sought after.

Lara Boutique London
Unit 2, 231 Chiswick High Rd, London, W4 4PU,UK
Tel: 0044 (0) 208 994 74 24




Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Sara Coleman


Middle and high range womenswear brand, founded in Spain in 2007. With an emphasis on pure lines and natural fabrics, the collections are aimed towards elegant urban women. In the SS11 collection, ruches and structured shoulders are particularly prominent, with whites, greys and oranges featuring heavily.



Stefanel


Founded in 1959 in Italy, Stefanel is an international womenswear, menswear and accessories brand. With a focus on natural fabrics and quality products, Stefanel’s SS11 collection presents themes including military and work-inspired pieces, and designs harking back to the sixties and seventies. The looks are playful, romantic and refined, encouraging the mixing of themes to create a thoroughly modern look. You can see mini-dresses, plunging necklines, childish ruches, handcrafted knitwear, playful patterns in blacks, reds, yellows and sorbet colours, all the while incorporating comfort and softness




Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Powder Puff Boutique



Powder Puff was established in 2007 and is set in a beautiful old Georgian building on the main street of Banbridge.

Powder Puff prides itself on stocking clothing that is a little bit different to make a unique outfit for any occasion. Brands are sourced from from individual and up and coming designers from London and Europe. Powder Puff also supports local talent, who produce one off creations, exclusively for the shop.

Brands include:

Almost Famous

American Retro

American Vintage

DEPT denim

Miguel de Luna

Pink Soda

Set

Soolee

Turnover

Powder Puff also carries a range of accessories from up and coming jewellery designers such as Lovett and Co, and also well established brands like One Button.

This Friday the 26th of November there is a

one off promo evening with spot prizes and a fantastic 25% off all clothing stock. The shop will be open until 8.30pm

50 Bridge Street Banbridge, Down BT32 3JU

Tel: 028 40669133 fax: 028 40662951 email: powder_puff@btconnect.com






Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Harrisons



By combining the product from our existing high street shops with an eclectic mix of specially sourced and edited on- trend quality fashion from other parts of the world and other categories like jewellery, denim and accessories we hope to bring to our online customers an exciting and functional mix which will make creating their wardrobe a pleasant and convenient process.

Harrison has won several awards for customer service, shop windows and sustainability. Below we have listed the most relevant awards.

Contact us on:
028 256 49822 or
sales@harrisonfashion.co.uk



Monday, November 15, 2010

Christmas Merchandising Tops Tips

The key success for Christmas is planning; this does not mean endless hours planning your call to action, but making a plan for your store and staff of what you want to focus on for Christmas. It is not a case of let’s focus on everything it is all about the unique ideas you can create to really attract consumers to your business,

All of these questions need to answered before you decide your final strategy:

1. What price points will I focus on?

2. What theme will I give my store?

3. What products will I promote?

4. What unique gift ideas can I offer?

5. What’s the best location in my store to use?

No matter how large or small your store, it is crucial that these questions are asked, and that the answer appeals to your target audience.

My top tips are:

  1. Create a simple yet effective window! Focus on the right products, if you do not have access to good window decorations, my advice; keep it minimal.
  2. Create a gift area, somewhere people can get inspiration from.
  3. Use aggressive signage and price points are a key idea.
  4. Get the product positioning right.
  5. Make the time to create an action plan with all your staff.

Product groupings are also very successful at Christmas time; they make shopping easier for your customers and focus their attention to what you want them to buy. Making a simple knit table will have much more impact than an over cluttered rail or a over complicated wall

Display

Presentation of goods is crucial to how your customers will spend this Christmas, as not only will they want great value, they will want it shown to them in a simple, clear and visual pleasing environment. Every year Christmas comes and goes with the blink of an eye so it’s vital that we make the time for these decisions. Not making time for these decisions means not making the time to maximise those all important sales.

www.visualsense.ie

Rowena@visualsense.ie