Fashion Fringe will be embarking on a regional tour of Britain between the 12th and the 20th of March 2012 – coinciding with the call for applications for the 2012 Fashion Fringe award, which opens on 12th March.

Fashion Fringe and Colin McDowell, along with a panel of the UK’s fashion elite, will be visiting leading Universities throughout the UK, offering fashion students and local fashion professionals advice on how to succeed in various career paths within the industry.

The tour will visit:
-    Edinburgh        12th March    University of Edinburgh
-    Newcastle        13th March    Northumbria University
-    Manchester     14th March    Manchester Metropolitan University
-    Nottingham     15th March    Nottingham Trent University
-    Brighton           19th March    University of Brighton

The road show will end on 20th March with a launch event in London.

The panellists, including Christopher Kane (Edinburgh), will represent diverse areas of the fashion industry from designing and styling to buying, merchandising and journalism and will talk about their own career experiences, offering unrivalled networking opportunities for all attendees. The full line up of panellists will be released in February on this website.

Events will be free to students, with limited tickets available for other members of the public.  All attendees will need to pre-register by emailing fashionfringe@imgworld.com.

PR Contact:

Good Relations Life | Katie Mitchell-Baxter | KMitchell-Baxter@goodrelations.co.uk

Ticket & Information requests:

fashionfringe@imgworld.com

Because we know that some of the best and brightest fashion stars in the UK emerge from towns and cities far beyond London’s borders, we will be embarking on a regional tour of Britain between the 12th and the 20th of March.

Like in previous years, Colin McDowell will be visiting leading Universities throughout the UK, bringing with him a panel of the UK’s fashion elite – offering fashion students and local fashion professionals advice on how to succeed in various career paths within the industry.

The fashion crowd packs in to a Fashion Fringe Road Show event in 2005

The first 2012 Road Show date in Edinburgh coincides with the call for applications for the 2012 Fashion Fringe award, which opens on 12th March.

The tour will visit:
- Edinburgh 12th March University of Edinburgh
- Newcastle 13th March Northumbria University
- Manchester 14th March Manchester Metropolitan University
- Nottingham 15th March Nottingham Trent University
- Brighton 19th March University of Brighton

The road show will end on 20th March with a launch event in London.

The panellists, including Christopher Kane (Edinburgh), will talk about their own career experiences, offering unrivalled networking opportunities for all attendees. The full line up of panellists will be released in February on this website, so check back then to find out which exciting speakers we have lined up for your area!

Events will be free to students, with limited tickets available for other members of the public. All attendees will need to pre-register by emailing fashionfringe@imgworld.com.

Colin leads the discussion with a stellar line-up at the Road Show in Edinburgh in 2005

We seem to have had a very busy time at Fashion Fringe in the last few weeks but I am not complaining. They have been stimulating and enjoyable…

VOGUE FASHION’S NIGHT OUT

Let’s start with Vogue Fashion’s Night Out, where a selection of our past winners showcased looks on live models in the Canteen Pop-Up restaurant in the market building at the heart of Covent Garden’s Piazza. While we organised our own Pop-Up Shop, just around the corner, in a perfect little Georgian House – 7 Henrietta Street.

Our ‘Pop Up’ people were the incredibly talented knitwear designer, Alice Palmer and Jade Kang, two of our finalists last year; JENA.THEO, Fashion Fringe winners in 2009; EunJeong Hong, who won in 2008 and became a heroine in South Korea, and that clever label LF Markey, runner up in the same year. For the first time, we invited dedicated bloggers and so each designer could show one preview garment.

We also shot our Look Book for Fashion Fringe 2011 in Henrietta Street – photographed by Zoe Barlingwith hair and make-up by Craig Chapman and Amanda Harrington of InParlour. It was all a very positive experience.

FASHION FRINGE 2011 CATWALK SHOW

For the finalists’ show the casting was in the safe hands of Melissa Woolford, and hosted by Georgina Carr at The London College of Fashion with her usual calm patience and authority. She is one of our ‘rocks’ who makes things happen.

As those of you who were there know, the show was held at our new venue, 8 Northumberland, under the helpful guidance of Charles Boyd and his really ‘can-do’ team: Ellie Barnard, Hayley Economou, Lindsay Marshall-Ward & Naomi Dallas. The show space and party room worked perfectly. One of the many nice things about the night was that our current Accessories winner, Kerrie Luft, came back from Paris where she is apprenticed to Bruno Frisoni at Roger Vivier and we displayed her shows as a pointer for guests.

This year, we had a very sophisticated addition, for which we are indebted to Emma Etherton and Ben Gallop, in the shape of a Samsung Galaxy S II backstage lounge (graced by Samsung Electronics UK Managing Director, Mr. Song, as well as Samsung Mobile’s Managing Director, Simon Stanford) which was used as a chill-out hub by the designers, models and media for interviews. We felt highly honoured. There were also blogger bars in the party room – a first, thanks again to Samsung – so the news of the winner could be announced as soon as they were named.

Another first is that we invited not only photographers to record the show but also fashion artists and the experience was rewarding enough for us to want to expand this next year.

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS, SUPPLIERS AND FRIENDS

Now, one of the most pleasing things for me, thanking our partners who give so generously so much more than money. Their enthusiasm and belief in what we do is really heartening. I am sure you know their names, but it is a pleasure to list them here because without their generosity, we really couldn’t function. So, here is the roll call of honours:

All I have to add is our thanks to our panel of judges, who give so generously of their time, knowledge and experience. Again, I think you know them all, but here goes:

And, finally, a big thank you to Good Relations who worked so hard with guests lists, interviews and coverage, and, of course, John Rushworth of Pentagram, who designed the space and programme, brilliantly as always, and INCA Productions (especially Chris Ford) who, every year, work miracles with our limited budget.

But I can’t finish without thanking that very talented jeweller, Jessica McCormack, for her beautiful and very clever trophy. I marvel at how she finds a new and exciting variation on our theme every year. She doesn’t just have artistic ability in cart loads, she has a sophisticated aesthetic that is entirely modern – and that’s why we love her.

She’s been deemed a modern couturier and now Corrie’s Nielsen’s sartorial art is available for pre-order purchase via The Couture Society. Sitting alongside a global selection of designers including À La Disposition, Emilio de la Morena and Michael Sontag, Corrie’s spring/summer collection, ‘Arbiter Elegantiarum’, which dips into a dark Victorian mood with a present day Japanese twist, is officially for sale.

One of four in her class to receive a First Class BA Honours degree in Fashion Design Womenswear from Central Saint Martins, Corrie cut her teeth in bespoke tailoring and at a six-year tenure at Vivienne Westwood before being chosen by John Galliano as winner of Fashion Fringe in 2010. She launched her eponymous label soon thereafter and has been recognised worldwide as a raw talent and true fashion visionary.

London-based Corrie Nielsen is the daughter of a prominent American sculptor and she debuted her first solo catwalk show in February of 2011 for the autumn/winter 2011 season on-schedule at London Fashion Week at Somerset House.

PR Contact:

Forward PR | Courtney Blackman | courtney.blackman@forwardpr.com

Through the help and support of Fashion Fringe and the endless support of the panel including, to name a few, Claudia Schiffer, Anne Pitcher and Angela Quaintrell, I have arrived at a refined collection that is both commercially viable and also exudes confidence – all of which are characteristics that I embrace.

Strong, confident women dominated Nabil’s Fashion Fringe catwalk (c) Ian Gavan | Getty Images for Fashion Fringe

There are many highlights that I will never forget about the process. The biggest, of course, was that of the show night itself. I realised I had achieved something truly special when I observed my models talking amongst themselves in the dressing room; they were truly comfortable in my clothes, they seemed to feel empowered and – most importantly – they were wearing the clothes, not the other way around – something that has always been an objective from the outset; real clothes for real women.

The reviews of my collection since the show have been overwhelmingly positive. It seems the press have really picked up on all of my signature points; confidence, a sense of drama and also a sense of reality behind the story. All of which are fueling AW12!

Nabil Nayal takes to the runway for his finale (c) Ian Gavan | Getty Images for Fashion Fringe

The winning designers of this year’s Fashion Fringe award, FYODOR GOLAN, are travelling to Paris this week to exhibit and sell their collection at the ZipZone trade show.

The design duo, comprising Fyodor Podgorny and Golan Frydman, will be showcasing their full winning Fashion Fringe SS12 collection, ‘Flowers of Evil’, including additional pieces from the collection not shown on the catwalk.

FYODOR GOLAN will be located at ZipZone, 111, Rue de Rivoli from 30th September to 3rd  October 2011.

For the 13th edition, and the 6th consecutive season, ZipZone Paris fashion trade show has confirmed the Museum of Decorative Arts for its venue during Paris Fashion Week. This singular location, next to Carrousel du Louvre, fashion show venues and Jardin de Tuilleries, will offer an excellent setting for 60 prestigious collections, meticulously selected by Alessandra Stretti.  Visited by more than 2,600 international buyers and press, Zip Zone Paris is a must tradeshow during Paris Fashion Week and offers an exciting opportunity for FYODOR GOLAN.

(L-R) Fyodor Podgorny and Golan Frydman (c) Nilu Izadi for Fashion Fringe
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ZIP ZONE PARIS TRADE SHOW (at Museum of Les Arts Decoratifs): 111 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris
Opening hours: 10am to 7pm (Last Day: from 10am to 5pm)
Metro: Palais Royal
Musee du Louvre – Ligne 1
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www.fashionfringe.co.uk
www.fyodorgolan.com
www.zipzonefrance.com

Sales Contact: contact@fyodorgolan.com

PR & Information Contacts:
Fashion Fringe | +44 (0)20 8233 6780 | lucie.bartlett@imgworld.com
FYODOR GOLAN | +44 (0)20 7240 9898 | Ainsley@Tracepublicity.com

Fyodor: I remember being sixteen years old in college in Latvia, burning with desire to somehow contact Colin and talk about fashion, show him my work and listen to what he would say. And now being supported by him… it is an incredible honor and what’s amazing is that it is so easy to talk to him.

We are incredibly grateful for Fashion Fringe’s support.

We are writing this between days when we are going to our Paris Show room and starting to work on our new A/W12 collection. We can’t wait to get our hands dirty in our new studios in Somerset House and that alone was so worth it; all the sleepless nights spent hand-sewing with laser-cut circles everywhere…

Fyodor (left) and Golan (right) with the impressive result of late nights spent hand sewing thousands of laser-cut circles (c) Nilu Izadi for Fashion Fringe

Golan: We really enjoyed our personal talks with the judges; when Roland came to our studio the conversation was so real, it was a pure exchange of ideas that left a mark on both of us. I will never forget Claudia and Roland whispering to us after the [winner’s] announcement to keep on doing what we are doing and to stay true to ourselves.

Throughout this process we met so many amazing people that helped us. They made us confident that fashion is not something unreachable but something worth fighting for, and that it is worth it to stand our ground. Angela Quaintrell especially was an amazing friend to us throughout the whole journey.

We know what we want and are going for it and this is something everybody needs to do.

Fashion Fringe is a family that pushes to create a future for the next generations of designers.

Fyodor and Golan walked away with the 2011 Fashion Fringe trophy, designed by Jessica McCormack (c) Ian Gavan | Getty Images for Fashion Fringe

The funny part was unpacking all the garments to see that my rails looked so sparse and the garments so tiny! But I amused myself by having a laugh at the goofy shoes – which were meant to be super ugly but ended up being one of my favourite things about the collection. It was such a personal part of me as they came from an embarrassing memory of my 90’s teen years.

Heidi’s retro shoes on the runway (c) Ian Gavan | Getty Images for Fashion Fringe

The models were so amazing as they all fit my brief so perfectly! They looked like a beautiful, mischievous tribe… and then the music!! Nothing is more fun than making up the entire story and seeing it come alive.

I was very fortunate to have met the people I’ve met through this event. They provided such wonderful company and encouragement. Fashion Fringe was an eye-opening experience that has taught me so much. Going forward, I will keep in mind what I have learned but most importantly, I hope I will get to see and work again with the people I’ve met through it.

Heidi x

Heidi’s Fashion Fringe Finale (c) Ian Gavan | Getty Images for Fashion Fringe

For the first time ever at London Fashion Week and the first time in sixty years in other fashion centres, we are augmenting our photographers’ valuable work of recording the show by adding a mini-pen for illustrators.  Six lucky young fashion illustrators will be given their own space with a prime catwalk view in order to record the work of our 3 Finalists.

The shortlisted illustrator selection will be will take place in the Fashion Fringe office, by Creative Director, Colin McDowell.

To enter:

1. Send ONE illustration of which you are proud
2. Give us your name, age, and contact details
3. BRIEFLY list relevant experience

The chosen six will arrive at the venue for our show (8 Northumberland Avenue, WC2N 5BY) by 8pm on the night of 17^th September.  They will ask for Good Relations on arrival who will take them to their relevant positions.

They will work with sketchbooks, but no drawing boards, paint or inks will be permitted in the venue.  Pencils, crayons, pastels, chalks or pre-filled pens are the only acceptable media.  

The art work will remain the intellectual property of the individual artist, but Fashion Fringe retains the right to use it for promotional purposed if required.

All art work will be collected by Charlotte Bonny after the catwalk, who will arrange for it to be stored, photocopied before being returned to the artist.

 Colin McDowell says ‘Fashion Drawing was one of the great glories of fashion throughout most of the 20^th century. In my opinion, it is long overdue for a revival and London is the right place for this to happen as the quality of illustration here is remarkably high.’

Our venue forth is year is quite a change from The Flower Cellars of previous years.  Whereas that was raw and challenging, 8 Northumberland is grand and strongly reminiscent of the days early in the last century.  We will show in the ballroom – vast, pillared & definitely stately – and our after-show party will be in the large reception room below it.  With the help of Pentagram and INCA the stateliness and grandeur will be subverted to more perfectly suit the Fashion Fringe aesthetic.  We think you will like it.  We certainly do.

A new venue and two new supporters to add to our already great list.

Samsung, whose smart phone Samsung Galaxy S II, is absolutely fabulous.  Both I and our finalists have been given one – and I even had my own induction tutor who came and explained all of the wonders – and there are lots – of this great new aid to painless communications.  And it is beautiful – both elegant & light.

 Samsung Mobile Managing Director, Simon Stanford said “The Galaxy SII is the must-have accessory for Fashion Fringe. Super slim, sleek design and extremely powerful, the Galaxy SII forms the perfect foundation for creativity.  Where Fashion Fringe offers the next generation of fashion designer, the Galaxy S II represents the next step in the evolution of mobile communication.”

 We also have a new media supporter in the shape of Fashion Monitor, a website that I am sure you are all familiar with.  They are giving free membership to this year’s winner, which is very generous.

 All of which takes me neatly into our new Bloggers Event, at which we invite a selection of blogger to an exclusive preview ‘afternoon tea, and more’ in order to meet our finalists and have a glimpse of what will be coming down the runway on September 17^th.  It is a first for us and we all think it is a great idea and one that we intend to develop in various ways in the future.  We love our bloggers so much that Samsung are setting up an exclusive bloggers bar at 8 Northumberland for them after the show.

Finally, for Vogue’s Fashion Night Out we will be in Covent Garden with our Fashion Fringe Pop-Up Shop and we hope you will pop in and say ‘hello’.