Now a staple on the city’s events calendar, West Coast Cooler FASHIONWEEK is an integral part of Belfast’s busy shopping and fashion scene. Always fresh, new and exciting, the event provides an inexpensive night out to thousands of fashion fans each season, and this October audience members will not be disappointed, as the runway shows move to a dedicated new space at the Europa FASHIONWEEK centre in Glengall Street.
But before that, the opening night will kick off the jam-packed schedule with an edgy, underground car park show in Victoria Square on Wednesday 13 October, where every audience member will have a front row view of the steel runway which will snake its way around the car park.
Featuring the latest collections from House of Fraser, Cruise, Urban Outfitters, Ted Baker and Reiss, among others, the Victoria Square show once again provides another вЂfirst’ for the city by the event’s creative team. The catwalk then moves to the Europa FASHIONWEEK centre in Glengall Street where a night of designer shows follows, with Una Rodden and Alan Beattie among those showcasing, as well as the region’s top boutiques such as Silk in Newry, SarahJane Boutique in Magherafelt,
The Boudoir Dungannon and Candy Plum in Hillsborough. The high street night on Thursday 15 October will showcase a mixture of stores – from French Connection and Karen Millen to Lipsy, Wonderbra, M&S and Hot Diamonds. The wonderful catwalk finale on Saturday 16th will feature a вЂLove it Light’ student design competition sponsored by Diet Coke as well as a selection from Westfield CastleCourt stores including Dorothy Perkins, New Look and Miss Selfridge.
Director Cathy Martin said: “I never get bored of fashion, and never want any of our audience members to get bored of FASHIONWEEK, so we brainstorm every season to come up with new ideas and fresh locations. The car park idea is very urban, very edgy and very cool. And speaking of cool, anyone worried about the temperature in the car park can rest assured that it is really quite warm under there!
“Also, the new location for the main catwalk shows in Glengall Street is superb, as our growing audiences prefer larger venues with plenty of space to mingle and watch the shows. I’m particularly looking forward to the Diet Coke design competition winner’s outfits on Saturday as well as the menswear from stores such as Blue Inc in CastleCourt, with plenty of eye candy for the girls!”
For the first time, FASHIONWEEK will add to its master class series with a model industry master class including top experts from the industry in Ireland as well as special guest, stylist Grace Woodward, who is a judge on popular TV show Britain’s Next Top Model.
Taking place on Saturday 16 October, this one day course will allow participants to walk away with portfolio shots by top fashion photographer Khara Pringle as well as learning about how to get on in the industry – how to pose, how to walk, how to manage portfolios and how to stand out at castings. One lucky girl on the day will be chosen to model in the finale show, giving her a once in a lifetime opportunity to kick start her career. But all bookings include a ticket to the finale show, so everyone will get to soak up the atmosphere.
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