If you’ve been wondering why certain members of The Industry have been a little quieter on the email than usual over the last couple of days, the answer is that they’ve been congregating at the Drapers Fashion Summit, set in the sumptuous surroundings of One Whitehall Place.
Fashion stylist Rebekah Roy wins the award for most in-demand member – not only styling the graduate catwalk show, but also sitting on panels for two sessions: “Trends Lab: 2012 – what’s hot and what’s not” and “What makes a brand ‘cool’ – creating a cult following”, hosted by the Industry’s very own fearless leader, Courtney Blackman. Never far from the action was Forward PR and The Industry’s Laura McCluskey, working autumn’s caramel leather to perfection.
One of the summit highlights was the aforementioned graduate catwalk show, featuring designs from Dominique Kral (Northbrook), Camilla Woodman (Kingston), Estee Anna Lindley (UCL), Kate Wallis (Westminster), Ume Romaan (De Montfort), and last year’s Graduate Fashion Week’s Gold Award winner, Rory Longdon (NTU). Thanks to GFW title sponsors George, from Monday 21st November you’ll be able to purchase a capsule collection of Longdon’s pieces online and in selected ASDA stores.
Neely Reyes and Ian Warren, Directors of Sapphires Model Management, were on hand to provide girls for the show – with Martyn Roberts, Director of Fashion Scout and recently appointed Director of Graduate Fashion Week looking eerily calm as his team prepped hair and make up.
Also spotted around the venue: Stine Brogaard, Market Operation Manager of Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED™ (providers of The Industry’s amazing location on Great Marlborough Street); as well as Clare Tristam, Employability Manager at London College of Fashion; Clare Morgan, Owner of Clamor Fashion Agency; Sarah Curran, Founder & CEO of my-wardrobe.com; Reemé N. Idris, Stylist & Producer at The Collective and Suzy Socker, Managing Director at Fearnhurst PR.
Other Industry members have also been having an eventful few days, with Corrie Nielsen part of a panel of young designers talking about the future of fashion, still on a high from X Factor judge Kelly Rowland wearing a look from her AW12 collection on the show last Sunday.
At the end of the day, over a glass or two of wine, I caught up with the legal profession’s most rock and roll lawyer Tahir Bashir, Partner at Sheridans Solicitors to talk Black Sabbath and Intellectual Property Law – the man himself will be running a master class for members on November 30th on sustainable growth, IP, brand protection, and fashion collaborations. Check out the EVENTS page for more information.
By Hannah Kane, Editor, PHOENIX magazine
