This month the fashion gurus will flock to Nottingham for its first fashion week of the year and it is definitely not to be missed. It is a great opportunity for people to see the latest trends and styles away from the brighter lights of London, Paris and Milan. This doesn’t mean however that it should not be taken seriously. Nottingham still has the big-name brands, a retro vintage quarter and plenty of independent boutiques that make it a fantastic place to shop. There is plenty for the city to shout about and it will be a great week for everyone involved.
The Nottingham Fashion website outlines all of the events that are going on and how to book tickets. ‘From Friday 22nd to Saturday 30th April the city will be bursting with trend events, catwalk shows and special offers to celebrate all that’s stylish in the city.’ The events of particular note are the Style Show Live hosted by Radio One DJ Alice Levine in the Nottingham Conference Centre and Style Presentations at Nottingham Contemporary on 29th and 30th April respectively. The Style Show Live is bound to be especially popular and will possibly be the highlight of the week where you will be able to see all the latest trends straight from the catwalk. The Style Presentations is a day long series including hair tutorials, make up master classes and styling advice from businesses across the city.
There are several other events going such as the Independent Designers Showcase and the Nottingham Indie Fashion Show. It is fantastic that an event such as this is being held in Nottingham as it will benefit the city in so many ways. Primarily, it will be a chance for local designers and manufacturers to showcase their products and prove that Nottingham is one of the leaders of fashion in the UK. Nottingham is now a place where young designers and fashion entrepreneurs can find inspiration and world class teaching. In a recent article by The Week, it was pointed out that ‘the UK is officially the best place in the world to study fashion.’ Four of the top ten institutions, in this list composed by the Business of Fashion, were in the UK and Nottingham Trent Univeristy was placed 14th.
The School of Art and Design at Trent have celebrated over 170 years of art and design history in Nottingham and shows that the city and this institution has fashion heritage running through its bones. This is showcased through the teaching and enthusiasm around fashion at NTU and it is no surprise that many successful graduates studied there. NTU also has a heritage of winning prestigious awards such as the Fashion Awareness Direct Competition and the Graduate Fashion Week. Year on year, students from the Art and Design School have won or received accreditation at these national awards which is constantly strengthening the reputation of the School.
So as you can see, Nottingham is quite possibly the home of fashion in the East Midlands at least, with a considerable level of fashion prestige. This is apparent with the ever increasingly popular fashion events such as Nottingham Fashion Week or Nottingham48 showcasing the local talent and enthusiasm for fashion. Furthermore, Nottingham is producing the next generation of fashion designers at Nottingham Trent University in particular with the institution being ranked in the top 20 places in the world to study fashion design. It is a very important industry and something that is becoming a vital part of the identity of the city. The Nottingham Fashion Week is an expression of that and should be taken seriously to show that Nottingham can compete with the ‘big boys’ of the fashion world.
