#MCRFW Day 1: Emerging Designers & Graduate Collections

Wearing Diesel shirt, disco pants and shoes from Clarks

Outfit for Day 1

Hey kittens – so, yesterday was finally the “big day”. Manchester Fashion Week 2014 Day 1! I’m not gonna lie, this is probably the speediest blog post I have ever done – or ever will do – but I wanted to give the team credit for pulling off an event which to be honest, has had doubt surrounding it. After Manchester Fashion Week 2013 kinda never happened, I know that there had been a few “will it? won’t it?” rhumours flying around the possibility of #MCRFW14 (heck, as much as I have supported MCRFW from the very start of my blog and however much I was willing it to go ahead, I did brace myself for possibly seeing a couple of new outfits go to waste), but worry we shouldn’t have, as it was a fabulous night to remember…

MCRFW14

#MCRFW14 (that’s the cool way to spell Manchester Fashion Week 2014, dontcha know?) kicked off last night, 18th April 2014 on Good Friday. And heck, what a good Friday night it proved to be! With one of my best blogger pals on my arm, Irena D, we headed over to the location, Halle St Peters, Ancoats, fashionably late for the show start time of 6pm. Before this, exhibitions had been open there from 2pm. Having never been to Halle St Peters before, I was also a little dubious about this, but, upon arriving, it turned out to be the perfect location. Just the right size – not too big, not too small – a beautiful restored cathedral building not too far outside of the Northern quarter. Gorgeous stained glass windows and high ceilings. Lovely!

With Irena D and JSKY

Presenter JSKY

After being greeted by my friends at Manchester Fashion Week, we were showed to front row seats and prepared our cameras ready for the actions. After having a few “frow” pictures taken – gotta milk it, haven’t you? – we were introduced to the evening by compare JSKY, a local presenter and singer, who did a fab job of presenting the night. After a few intros (and thank you’s at the end) it was time for the shows!

One of the first looks, by first designer up, Sophie Ho

All about the glitter for Lucy Jones

A strong look by Lunar Rising

The first night was the night of “emerging talent” – think graduates and young local designer. Personally, I find this to be one of the most exciting nights as these designers are quite literally the future of fashion. Aside from the whole range of different styles and inspirations we saw – we saw around 12 designers – it was just so interesting to see so much creativity in their designs. The designers we saw including Caiti Betterton, Sophie Ho, Annie Oakes, Lucy Cowan, Leah Jones, Adam Jones, Catherine Hudson, Lunar Rising, Helen Colville, Abigail Wright and Nina Burton. Phew!

With Irena on the runway

The model’s hair and makeup for Day 1

My favourite look of the night, by Lucy Cowan

My favourite of the night was definitely Lucy Cowan, who had quirky yet cute folk-esque designs; some things I could really see myself wearing. I also loved the mythical vibes from Lunar Rising and despite not being a fan of 90’s trends, I really loved all the glitter and pinks of Leah Jones’ collection. Although some pieces were almost ready-to-wear, there were some more creative and outlandish designs, which I personally love – fashion has got to have fun in it! Special shout out to the stuffed pigeon I saw being used as a handbag and the finale piece by Emily Shaw – a bobble hat that literally encased the whole of the models head.

Another super cute retro look by Lucy Cowan

Socks and sandals – yay or nay?

Structured shapes by Emily Shaw

Over all, I had a really lovely and enjoyable night. I chatted to some old contacts and made some new ones, including having a photoshoot by my photographer mate Leemo and the lovely people from Shopcade, who I hope to work with in the future. I also met the sponsors of #MCRFW14, 5Fashion, who were all lovely and seemed really enthusiastic about getting some of the new talent signed up with them. It was a really positive, friendly night and having experienced London Fashion Week this year – which I loved and was albeit on a much larger scale – the atmosphere last night was a million Manc times better.

After the maddness – backstage

Frow with Irena D, after the shows

So kittens, who else will I be seeing tonight? It’s set to be another fab night with some of my favourite brands I’ve worked with featured, such as OMG Fashion, Lily Lulu and Fabric Boutique. For more info on what’s coming up tonight, remember I have a full schedule for all days here. Lets get ready for take 2 tonight!

Outfit for Day 1: Smart Casual

 

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