Fashion Fans Fall for FASHIONWEEK

Style Sunday, in association with LIDL and in support of Mencap NI, was a fitting end to five days of fashion for West Coast Cooler FASHIONWEEK, and closed the event’s ten year celebrations in truly fashionable style.

Thursday 23 October 2014

The charity luncheon gave guests an up-close-and-personal look at stunning fashions from local designers over a delicious four course meal, which featured the very best of local produce and seasonal ingredients. Chef Brian McCann revealed at the end of the meal that all ingredients, including delicious Hereford fillet beef and a fantastic cheese board, had been provided by LIDL and its suppliers – many of whom are based locally here in Northern Ireland.

Jasmine O’Brien, LIDL Northern Ireland, said: “Style Sunday was a wonderful fit for LIDL Northern Ireland, unbeknown to guests until the big reveal at the end they feasted on all LIDL food, which was created in such wonderful style by SHU chef Brian McCann and his team. It tasted absolutely delicious and worked perfectly with the fashion and beauty on display, ending a wonderful five days of fashion for the city.”

FASHIONWEEK Director Cathy Martin and Cool FM presenter and stylist Rebecca McKinney took guests through the key fashion looks for autumn/winter while make-up artist Paddy McGurgan and Senior Educator John Harvey from FASHIONWEEK hair partner Peter Mark also imparted tips and tricks on the key looks for the season ahead.

Cathy said: “Style Sunday is my favourite day at FASHIONWEEK, not just because it is the last day of a very busy event, but because the atmosphere is relaxed and informal and the show itself is very intimate and fun. The presenters were popular with our audience, who also raved about the food and drinks and then collectively decided they were ‘ladies who LIDL’ after enjoying such gourmet food from LIDL.”

This season, FASHIONWEEK included three main catwalk shows; the exclusive Excel Clothing showcase kicked the catwalk shows off with a wide selection of designer names for men, women and children, then Local Designers and Independent Designer Boutiques added to the catwalk display on the Friday evening with collections from a variety of local boutiques including Blush and Jourdan from the Lisburn Road, Goddess & Swift and Diamond Dolls in Banbridge; designers such as Gráinne Maher, Julia Sokele, Lizzie Agnew, Katie Wilson and Gordon Donaldson among others, and High Street Haven ended the catwalk proceedings for A/W 2014 with fashions from Next, M&S, Jigsaw, CastleCourt and The OUTLET, Banbridge.

As if this wasn’t enough, there was Sushi Saturday and Style Sunday as well as a charity showing of “MEAN GIRLS” THE MOVIE. These FASHIONWEEK events went down a treat with guests.

“MEAN GIRLS” THE MOVIE saw a sea of pink ladies and a few gents turn up for the charity screening at BFW HQ, all wearing pink in support of breast cancer awareness month and local charity Pretty n Pink, whose founder Noleen Adair sadly passed away earlier this year.

Adding further style to the schedule, Sushi Saturday at Shiro was a sell-out sensation, with the fashion pack booking up the venue just one week after it was announced to the public. As expected, sushi and West Coast Cooler cocktails went down a treat and the fashionable looks from ‘The Director’s Cut’ ‘wowed’ over the audience.

Cathy Martin, FASHIONWEEK Director, said: “This autumn/winter season’s shows will go down in FASHIONWEEK history as being some of the most exciting we’ve ever held.

“Our audience members were treated to literally thousands of outfit combinations, which included shoes, accessories, hats and dresses, from the best fashion brands and designers available throughout Northern Ireland.

“Our new move to the Bruce Street BFW HQ has allowed us to offer so much this season and I am delighted that the pop up sushi and cocktail bar from the fashionista’s favourite eaterie Zen was so well received. I absolutely loved our new ‘shop the show’ boutique alley where show-goers browsed and bought on-trend fashion and accessories every night, plus some fabulous little extras.

Cathy concluded: “I’m so grateful for the level of support we have received over the past ten years from everyone who has attended the catwalk shows and other fringe events. Myself and the rest of the FASHIONWEEK team, including my staff, hair and beauty team and our army of volunteers, have worked very hard to make it another success and I just hope that all our participant retailers and designers have huge ongoing success from it.”

For further information on West Coast Cooler FASHIONWEEK log onto www.belfastfashionweek.com or www.facebook.com/belfastfw.

Thursday 23 October 2014