Clothes Show London – Report

The first-ever Clothes Show Live London took place this weekend at the Excel Centre.  We sent our roaming Reporter Alize Morand down to see first-hand what all the fuss is about.

“Armed with a pen to gain exclusive backstage gossip and a camera to snap trends among the crowd, I braved the journey to Excel on 4″ heels. I hardly had time to draw breath as I arrived in the Press Lounge to be joined by a crowd of photographers eager to take the best snaps of the celebrity-experts on hand throughout the duration of the event.

Presenter Louise Roe was looking absolutely flawless in a French Connection kaftan dress and beating me with her ‘IT’ shoes from Louis Vuitton’s ‘Safari’ Spring-Summer 09 collection. Erin O’Connor was the epitome of elegance in a lean black silhouette with gorgeous red shoes. She would later reveal to me her outfit was ‘All Moschino!’. Other celebrities included Presenter George Lamb looking very chic in his brown blazer and chinos, Stylist Nicky Hambleton-Jones rocking a bright fuchsia pink outfit and Caryn Franklin in a ruffled cobalt blue dress and clashing stilettos.

After a brief introduction to the ‘celeb-experts’, it was time to go to the Fashion Theatre for the live show. First, Erin O’Connor and George Lamb presented the Beauty Awards, chosen by the public, winners ranged from Marc Jacobs’ Daisy fragrance to YSL’s must-have Touche Éclat.

After the Awards and accompanied by a fanfare of ice-cream van music, the curtains raised to reveal a replica of a quaintly English seaside pier.  The show itself, a celebration of the traditional English summer seaside, was an energetic 45 minutes of fashion and dance. From ballet to ballroom dancing and break-dancing, a wonderfully camp take on a Miss ‘Great Britain’ Contest featuring a bevy of toned beauties in an array of swimwear, and a return to Mod culture and nod to the 80s.

Model Katie Price aka ‘Jordan’ opened the show with her ‘Equestrian Collection’: not the most obvious choice of fashion icon but the Clothes Show being more about entertainment than purist fashion, managed to cause a stir with an appearance that was acclaimed by the delighted crowd and the eager junket of press photographers.

Spotted in the main show: designs from ‘ROAR TALENT’ Designer’s Dimitri Stavrou and Rohan Kale, and ‘SPOTLIGHT’ Designer Olivia Rubin.  The future of the British fashion industry showcased alongside some of the country’s iconic labels including Jaeger, Topshop, Sarah Berman and Primark.

After the grand-finale, which consisted of a medley of this summer’s hottest dance tunes including ‘Bonkers’ it was time to shop! From high-street stands to beauty bars – with ‘Rimmel’ make-up sessions in telephone booths, Hair-dressing, ‘Jessica’ Nail bars with Champagne, ‘Benefit’ beauty advisors, sea salt hand massages, and ‘Fake Bake’ public spray tan sessions, this was a true girly day out!  Luckily for the girls free games consoles were on-hand to occupy their patient boyfriend’s, allowing them an unadulterated guilt-free pampering experience.

Several Style Experts offered advice on the latest and future fashion trends on the ‘Style Stage’. Nicky advised embracing ‘flattering’ bright colours whilst noting that big trends like ‘ethic’ or ‘acid brights’ should be sported as accessories first. The ‘More’ magazine style team was also offering some serious make-over’s with a very strong selection of the high-street’s ‘Must-Haves’: from Topshop sequined jackets to wet-look leggings, cropped t-shirts and asymmetric dresses.

Aside from the advice on offer, the trends spotted among the crowd included an overdose of bold/statement jewellery, the return of the gladiator sandal and omnipresent flower-prints. Oh, and in case you haven’t noticed yet, the colour of choice this summer is peach. I couldn’t resist: if I had to buy anything, it had to be one of the much-coveted peach nail polishes that were out of stock in Central London, but I didn’t have too: it came in the goody bag!”

- Alize Morand