Belfast Fashion Week

Lights, Camera, Catwalk!

FASHIONWEEK Welcomes a New Season With a New Shade… of Pink!

Belfast’s multi award-winning fashion event, West Coast Cooler FASHIONWEEK, is back with a show stopping schedule of runway shows and style events which will kick off on 09 March 2010 in the heart of the city at the old Northern Bank building in Waring Street.

Keeping in tune with the new pastel colour trends for the season, FASHIONWEEK is going pink. Audience members can expect fabulous pink runways, funky décor and of course the refreshing West Coast Cooler Rosé, which will add extra sparkle to the ever so stylish nightly catwalk shows and non stop cutting edge fashion, both on and off the catwalk.

This season’s retailer line up includes one of Northern Ireland’s largest independent multiples, Tempest/Menary’s, who will open the week, showcasing brands such as A Wear, Quiz, Oasis and Warehouse, with other high street leaders including Lipsy, French Connection, Benetton, Argento jewellery and Marks & Spencer setting the style stakes on the high street evening. Debenhams, Miss Selfridge and Vero Moda will be among those showcasing at the CastleCourt event, while local designers such as Una Rodden, Grainne Maher and Lizzie Agnew will show both static exhibitions and runway collections. Designer boutiques Cruise, Jourdan, Blush, Harrison and Candy Plum from Hillsborough will also have collections on the catwalk. Newry-based hot-young-thing Katie McGuigan, whose CCKT label is making waves with fashion industry big wigs in New York and London, will also showcase as will young Coleraine designer Bridgene Graham. Belfast Met students’ work will also shine in what is predicted to be a complete sell-out show. And sticking with the tradition of guest designers from abroad, BFW will this season offer a place to German-based designer Petra Tobias.

And as well as guest designers, the event also welcomes a guest model this season, in the form of Ireland’s only ever supermodel Kiera Gormley, who took part in the campaign photoshoot last week in between her busy schedule which often includes shoots with top photographer Mario Testino for UK & Italian Vogue. Her career CV also includes campaigns for Burberry, Agent Provocateur and MAC Cosmetics as well as catwalk shows for Vivienne Westwood and couture shows for Jean Paul Gaultier and Armani Prive to name a few.

The hair partner for this season’s event is Michael Quinn, while make up artist to the stars Paddy McGurgan has partnered with GOSH! Cosmetics to create the fab make up looks for the shows and shoots.

Organiser Cathy Martin said: “We are so excited about this season as we move to the edgy location of the old bank and usher in the season’s hottest colour, pink. We’re also welcoming back some retailers who have been with us season after season, as well as bringing on board some new collections and designers. And there will be other news closer to our show dates on master classes and style events with the industry’s top experts – both from here and abroad, so watch this space!”

Show tickets, which cost £10, are available from the Belfast Welcome Centre Box Office on 028 9024 6609 or online at www.gotobelfast.com . For further information on show schedules, tickets, links to participant retailers and designers as well as the season’s hottest trends, log on to www.belfastfashionweek.com.

Ends//

For further information, stock pictures or interviews with retailers or designers, please contact Cathy Martin or Danielle Hibbert at CMPR on:

Cathy 02890324438 or 07823882095 cathy@cathymartinpr.com

Dani 02890324437 or 07719100158 danielle@cathymartinpr.com

Belfast Fashion Week

West Coast Cooler FASHIONWEEK Continues Fifth Birthday Celebrations with a Move to City Hall.

West Coast Cooler FASHIONWEEK, Ireland’s multi-award-winning fashion event, continues its fifth year celebrations with a move to the chic surroundings of Belfast City Hall for this Autumn.

Now an established date on every fashionista’s calendar, this season’s events will be part of Belfast City Council's packed programme of activities celebrating the reopening of the iconic building; and the FASHIONWEEK events commence with a spectacular ‘Fashion Through the Decades’ showcase on 29 October. This will be followed by nightly catwalk shows, master classes, exciting exhibitions and the coolest, freshest fashion both on and off the catwalk, making the popular event bigger and better again this season. As usual, there will be showcases from the very best of the high street as well as the hottest local designers and chic boutiques.
In addition to the shows, fashion photographer Khara Pringle will also showcase her ‘Uniform of Fashion’ photography exhibition which includes beautiful and iconic images of TV personalities such as Zoe Salmon, actor James Nesbitt, singer Sharon Corr, Miss Northern Ireland Cherie Gardiner and Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody.
Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Naomi Long, welcomed the concept of a 'City Hall for All' and urged the public to support the packed programme of events planned. "We are delighted that West Coast Cooler FASHIONWEEK will be able to showcase the best of what our city has to offer in the wonderful surroundings of City Hall," she said.
"Given Belfast's proud association with the linen and textiles industry, it is fitting that we celebrate our fashion heritage and the creativity that will ensure success in the future too".
To celebrate the move, local dress designer and independent retailer Lizzie Agnew created a Victorian crinoline dress inspired by the Baroque dome. She said: “I’ve based the skirt of the dress on the distinctive copper dome with Verdis Gris shot silk cut into panels to echo the architecture. And for the top of the dress I have recreated the cupola using a dark grey, tight fitting, boned bodice. A scalloped ruffle at the edge with a ‘Toby’ frill at the waist reflects the carved stonework, so overall, the tight corseted waist with highly structured separate dome skirt reflects both the fashion at the time as well as this very solid, though delicately detailed, building.
The event is once again sponsored by the fashionista’s favourite West Coast Cooler, which is also introducing a new colour trend for the season, West Coast Cooler Rose, and the popular new drink will be served as a refreshing accessory to the glamour at every catwalk show. Brand Manager Karen Anderson said: “West Coast Cooler provides a chic and refreshing accessory to the style on and off the catwalks this season and it matches perfectly with the ethos of FASHIONWEEK. We’re delighted to be involved in bringing the freshest trends and hottest looks to the shows, as well as allowing the FASHIONWEEK audiences to sample the new autumn essential - West Coast Cooler Rose. ”
For further information on show schedules, tickets, links to participant retailers and designers as well as the season’s hottest trends, log on to http://www.belfastfashionweek.com/. For show tickets, call the Welcome Centre Box Office on 028 9024 6609