Harvey Nichols Spring/Summer 2013 Fashion Show

 

Hey kittens!

This Wednesday I was absolutely honoured to be invited to Harvey Nichol’s Spring/Summer 2013 Fashion Show – THE place to be for anyone who’s anyone in fashion, and they had asked me to come along! Well, I jumped at the chance and have been so excited to tell y’all all about it!

 
So kitty cats, Harvey Nichols Manchester hosted the Spring/Summer 2013 Fashion Show on Wednesday 6 March in the prestigious store amongst the crème de la crème of what’s hot in fashion, beauty and food. Guests Abbey Clancy, Natasha Hamilton, Rachel Shenton, Lisa Carrick, Jessica Lawlor, Dani Lawrence and Leanne Brown (and me!) were among many who attended the show, along with a selection of Harvey Nichols Manchester’s top customers who enjoyed the 15% fashion show discount and pre-show drinks reception whilst browsing the designer collections on accessories and beauty.

 

After browsing the Spring/Summer 2013 accessories and beauty collections on the ground floor – which included stopping by Jenna on my favourite Benefit stall – I was ushered to the press area of the fashion show. I was so delighted to see that the generous people at Harvey Nics had given me two seats on the front row – or “frow” – both with my name printed in them. Yes – “Lily Kitten” printed into the chairs! I was over the moon! On each chair was a carefully arranged press pack full of the juicy details on each outfit. Under each chair were two generous goodie bags, one from Stila and one from Harvey Nichols, but I will get onto that later… On to the fashion!

So kittens, the Fashion Show took place on the first floor, where guests were greeted with an extravagant entrance and a chic set up. Guests entered the show through 2 sets of large doors draped with white fabric, where they were met by an all white, U shape catwalk, over 400 seats and pops of colour. To start the show, the lights were switched off to create excitement, before the music queued the models to appear. Stood in the doorways on the catwalk, the models posed before walking out to a light display following their moves. The show was scented by Jo Malone’s latest fragrance, Earl Grey & Cucumber.

Top models from London and the North West donned the catwalk at the event. Britain’s Next Top Model winner Jade Thompson (who is, of course, stunning) walked along with fellow models from Manchester’s Boss Model Management and top London agencies. As they strutted their stuff down the catwalk, upbeat and themed music was played, carefully selected to accompany the trends and garments on show. Swoon!

We saw an exciting array of trends for Spring/Summer 2013 for both men and women – I especially loved the bold colours and clashing prints! Showcasing a vivid selection of colours, patterns and fabrics, trends varied from the opening ‘Time to Reflect’ – with metallics, sequins and sparkle, to the men’s ‘Bloc Party’ and women’s ‘Neon News’ which screamed colour, colour and more colour. The final looks to go down the catwalk were the movie inspired ‘Gangster Squad’ and the fabulous ‘Precision Whites’, which caused ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the eager-toshop customers. And of course, the heels were to die for!

The models’ hair was styled exclusively by Mark Izzard using L’Oreal Professional at Urban Retreat, Harvey Nichols Manchester’s in-store salon – fancy, eh? ‘We wanted the hair to be sleek and uniformed across the models, taking inspiration from designer catwalks including Gucci and Christopher Kane. My time to be creative was with the back of the hair, where I plaited, weaved and twisted ponytails creating a unique look.’ Although I wouldn’t be able to rock this look, I think the models looked very appropriately sleek and chic!

Mark Izzard, Senior Stylist Stila, which is new to Harvey Nichols, were the official makeup sponsor for the event. Using inspiration from the fabrics, colours and patterns in the trends, Stila’s artists created a glamorous and chic look. Big, bold brows were seen on the catwalks for this season, and taking inspiration from 1990’s supermodels, they left the brows untamed by combing them roughly up and out and adding Stay All Day Brow and Java eye shadow. They teamed this with a bold, bright, matte lip; a truly high impact effect that looks great on a catwalk. In fact, the make-up looked so fab, that the lipstick used, Valentina, sold out after the show!

Post Show, guests were invited to shop the pieces from the show from 9.00 – 10.30pm in a late night shopping party whilst enjoying complimentary drinks. I enjoyed looking through the contents of my goodie bags, which inlcuded a full size eyeshadow pallette and lipgloss from Stila (thank you!) and an array of high end beauty samples from Harvey Nichols. Watch out for reviews on those, coming soon!

It was a wonderful event and personally, I can’t wait until the next one. I have to say, it was a bit of a rush to get ready after work (as ever) but next time I will make sure not to forget my heels! The place was packed full of the fashion elite and it was a superb atmosphere. I never thought I’d say this – but hurry up Autumn/Winer 2013!

So kittens, what were your favourite looks from the show? Leave me a comment below and let me know! And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, like my Facebook page and subscribe to my Youtube channel to keep up to date with all things fashion!