Norwich fashion’s Designs on the future

Students from City College Norwich will unveil a new fashion label at Norwich Fashion Week and early indications show it is on par with international designs, says Emma Harrowing Last week London Fashion Week previewed the autumn and winter 2012 collections from some of the most coveted fashion designers.

Norwich fashion’s Designs on the future

When Norwich Fashion Week begins next week you will be treated to styles that you can wear now and for spring and summer as the collections showcased are already coming into the shops.

For one team of Norwich fashion designers this means bringing what is tipped to be at the height of fashion come next winter into fashion now – they just didn’t know that they were doing it!

Fashion and textile students from City College Norwich set up their own fashion label as part of the college’s investment in bridging the gap between education and business. Cocoon (named to incorporate the intials of City College Norwich, CCN) was set up as a business by first year fashion students and second year textile students.

“Each student had the opportunity to pitch for a position in the fashion house,” says course lecturer Claire Read, who designs and owns Poppy Valentine, in the Royal Arcade. “Therefore there was a position for a buyer, head of marketing and events manager. Each student pitched for the role they wanted and we [the lecturers] recruited to these roles.”

Earlier this year the students set to work to bring their new fashion business to life. Cocoon is a collective so each student will design an outfit to go into the collection. Future fashion and textile students will then continue the label in years to come.

The Designers Show at Norwich Fashion Week will see the launch of Cocoon and the label’s first collection. The catwalk show will take place at Project Nightclub on Tuesday, March 13, where Cocoon will be shown alongside other Norfolk fashion designers such as Jane Kenning and Marian Eve Williams who showcased at Norwich Fashion Week last year.

Martha Jones is the buyer for Cocoon. The 17 year old’s role is to predict future trends and feed her findings back to the team of designers so that their designs can be cutting edge.

Says Martha: “If you are coming to The Designers Show at Norwich Fashion Week you are in for a treat. The Cocoon collection for spring and summer is all about machinery, mechanics and repetition so expect metallics and fierce lines!

“Each design is made by a different designer so each look will be individual and will take the theme of the collection to extremes.”

A sneak peak at the young designers drawings reveals a grasp of the machinery meets fashion theme that is vast and varied. Florals, pastels and lace mix with metal and studs to create an eclectic collection that could be one of the most talked about at fashion week.

“My design is inspired by the mechanics of a fan,” says 17 year old Naomi Shea. “Pleats are a trend for summer on the high street so my design uses the pleated effect of a fan to create a 50s style prom dress.”

One design is inspired by the arms of a typewriter with printed fabric and a skirt made from metal, another takes spring’s trend for skull logos and is of a pale green shift dress torn at the shoulders. The design is inspired by the structure of antlers and horns.

Emily Wyer’s lace design is one of the many that takes a trend tipped to be big on the high street for spring and summer which is given a twist.

“My design was inspired by the mechanics and workings of a clock,” says the 17 year old designer.

“At the moment my plan is to design a blazer made from black lace to give the prettiness of lace an edgier look.”

The young designers have been busy making and adjusting their designs for the catwalk since the beginning of the year and with their ideas in place it was interesting to see a similar sci-fi inspired collection hit the catwalks at last week’s London Fashion Week.

International fashion designer Matthew Williamson’s collection for autumn and winter 2012 looked futuristic with sequins that looked like circuitry – a familiar theme to the one Cocoon is set to showcase at Norwich Fashion Week in two week’s time.

Of course the students were not to know that an international designer would have a similar theme to their collection, but it goes to show how fashion-forward these young designers are.

You can see the launch of Cocoon at The Designers Show on Tuesday, March 13, as part of Norwich Fashion Week. The shows take place at 2pm and 7pm at Project Nightclub on Riverside. Tickets cost £10 for adults and £5 for under 18s and are available from Poppy Valentine in the Royal Arcade. Norwich Fashion Week takes place from Thursday, March 8, until Thursday, March 15.

Karlie Kloss comes into sight at Paris Fashion Week

Karlie Kloss comes into sight at Paris Fashion Week

Paris Fashion Week started Tuesday, the last of the "bigs" in the multi-city cycle showing clothes for fall-winter 2012. There were only a few shows on opening day, but they included model Karlie Kloss opening the Anthony Vaccarello show (where one model, shown here, stumbled and was helped by her peers) and a mime walking the runway at the Aganovich show.

Fashion for 2012 Spring

Spring Fashion Week 2012 has gone. There are exciting new trends that have hit the fashion wave for the spring season with an array of fashion shows in New York, Paris, Milan and London. Many mature fashions have resurfaced as a hot, contemporary version of times past.

The trends that many magazines and fashion designers have decided to mention for this season are floral prints, color blocking (bright colors as a bold statement), tangerines, pastels, birds, 1920s chic and more.

The whole point of trends is to help show that your style keeps up with the times. With some of these spring fashion trends, anything you pick up off the shelves this season should compliment the “new you” in the best fashion-forward way possible.

Stefano Tonchi, the Editor in Chief for W Magazine, said, “Fashion, of course, is nothing without the women who actually bring the clothes to life.” Later on in his February Editor’s letter, he asked, “Good girls? Bad girls? Does it matter? This spring, you can play whichever role you please.”

Whether you choose high fashion or affordable wardrobe, almost anything can look good if you wear it correctly. A trend  that young women have been leaning toward -as a nod to 1920s fashion- is lace. For those seeking fashion insight from the spreads of high fashion designers, this season’s lace can be seen in ads from Valentino, Oscar De La Renta, Prada, Marc Jacobs and more.

“I have been wearing a lot of black skinny jeans lately. That is a new trend,” said Caitlin Collins ’15. “I like both lace and floral prints; I have a couple of tops in those styles.”

For college student budgets, Forever 21, H&M, Macy’s and local boutiques have the best finds for under $50. But aside from these stores, any of the spring trends mentioned can be found in this area.

“This season’s trends are introducing a lot of bright and neon colors,” said Amanda Smyth ’12, a Michael Kors intern. “I have been looking at a lot of high fashion ads recently and I have been noticing a lot of these colors.”

For those who go for the preppy, chic look, J.Crew never fails to satisfy. It is the place to start for color blocking and bold-color clothing. Although J.Crew can hit the bank account a little hard at times, they give respectable discounts to students shopping in their stores.

“A lot of the accessories, like bags and necklaces and stuff, have been showing bright colors, too,” said Smyth.

Animal prints have always been a fun print to work with, but this season, high fashion companies are pushing birds. These feather-winged friends offer lots of variety for how they can be worn. If you are flipping through the ads in magazines or shopping around, look out for colors inspired by birds’ vibrant hues or their silhouettes in general.

Fashion for the spring of 2012 is going in the right direction. Bright colors, floral prints, lace, and pastel colors are only a few of the new trends talked about and as the year develops, the trends may change. This spring, these trends should be alive on Fairfield’s campus, and whether you are spending a lot or staying on a budget, there are so many ways to stay with the times.