Back To School Has Never Been So Fashionable!

As of next week, the schools across Cheltenham will once again be full of students excited to begin their new year, but this year there is something else for them to be looking forward to, and that is the Student Shows at Cheltenham Fashion Week!

The two shows will be taking place on September 18 at Gloucestershire College, and will involve five local primary and eight secondary schools taking part in the first show of the day at 1pm, showcasing various creations made by children aged 7-16.

The second Student Show, taking place at 7pm, will exhibit work from nine sixth forms and colleges, alongside 10 independent graduate entries, displaying the fantastic talent that exists in Cheltenham!

Cheltenham Fashion Week are delighted to have fashion designer George Davies involved in the Student Shows, who will be offering budding designers his invaluable industry knowledge, in addition to joining the judging panel to select the winners.

A host of amazing prizes are up for grabs in each of the four categories.

The Primary School Category:

• £1000 for the winning school.

• Signed certificate from George for each child.

The Secondary School Category:

• £1000 for the winning school. 

• Three finalists, chosen by George, receive an all-expense paid shopping trip to London with a senior designer and £100 spending money 

The College and Sixth Form Category:

• £1000 for the winning school/college. 

• Three finalists to be given a week’s work experience with leading fashion designers at George Davies’ ‘The Studios’ in Draycott. 

The Independent/Graduate Category:

• Two weeks’ worth of work experience. One week at top London graphic design studio ‘Acton’, followed by a week at George Davies’ ‘The Studios’ in Draycott.

Other prizes include:

• Five of the chosen finalists will also receive a professional photography session. The shoot will include make-up and styling from celebrity stylist Stuart Holmes and will be featured in Cotswold Style magazine.

• The finalists work will be exhibited to the public during Cheltenham Fashion Week at designer shopping event ‘Boutique 24’ alongside world class designer labels. The event will see Cowley Manor transformed into the Cotswolds’ very own Somerset House, with the student finalists taking over one of Cowley Manors luxurious rooms to showcase their acclaimed designs.
So it looks like this 'back to school' will be like no other! Tickets for both Student Shows can be purchased here.

Another exciting feature of Cheltenham Fashion Week 2012 is of course the Giant Shoe Tour, who has now taken up residence inside the Regent Arcade, where it will stay in the lead-up to the Fashion Week! It seems that the shoe has been attracting quite a bit of attention, with it's appearances in local media such as the Stroud News & Journal, and ATV.

Alex xx

Cheltenham Fashion Week Hits The Heart FM Airwaves!

Last week, Sam Bawden and I headed over to meet George Davies for an interview with Duncan Cook of Heart FM. After chatting to Duncan, George also showed us around his designing hub, showing us where & how the magic happens!

We at Cheltenham Fashion Week are thrilled to have George onboard. As a headline sponsor for The Student Shows, he will be offering budding designers his invaluable industry knowledge, as well as joining the esteemed judging panel to select the 

winner.

Incase you are not so familiar with George Davies, here is a little background… “A retail legend and design guru, his career spans over 25 years. As a style visionary he created high street giant, Next in 1982, followed by George at Asda, later moving to design Per Una at Marks & Spencer to name but a few. All brands which account for 12% if the current high street!” George's latest ventures include fashion label, FG4.

After meeting at George’s country estate, he quickly zipped us over to his design studios. A five-minute drive in George’s Maserati and hidden away in the Gloucestershire countryside lies the nerve centre for FG4, George’s fashion label.

FG4 is a women, children and baby clothing chain that sells internationally. George remains heavily involved with each collection, giving input at every level. From fabric to finance every detail of the label is controlled from the hub just outside of Cheltenham. 

George prides himself in paying particular attention to every last detail of the clothing design process, starting with the retail space design, the packaging and presentation of each garment. Next he selects design detail features such as buttons and zips, then finally he designs each the garment. George also names each of his collections after an area of London, most recently Covent Garden and Hyde Park.

From swing tags to samples, George showed us every inch of the hub of his label. We met members from all stages of the retail process, from Sam and Tally in Boys and Girls clothing design, to the team in finance all the way along to Clare at Red Creative who work with the merchandising of collections.

As well as judging The Cheltenham Fashion Week Student Shows, George will also be offering one lucky winner a once in a lifetime week of work experience at his incredible studios. From what I learned in a few hours, I can tell it will definitely be a jam packed week!

The week will give the winner the chance to see the inner workings of a successful fashion label. For any budding designer this chance will definitely be a dream come true, plus it will also give the lucky winner something great to put on their CV!

As George said in our interview with Heart FM, he is always on the lookout for new, fresh talent. So he will definitely have his eyes pealed at The Student Shows scouting the creative talent The Cotswolds has to offer!

Listen live to Heart FM for news bulletins of the interview. Watch this space and follow our Twitter page @CheltFashionWk for the link to listen to the interview in full on the Heart FM website.


Keen to come to Cheltenham Fashion Week and mingle with top names such as Harvey Nichols, Jimmy Choo & Jo Malone? Tickets are selling fast and available to book either from the Cheltenham Fashion Week Box Office on the first floor of the Regent Arcade, via the Cheltenham Fashion Week website at www.cheltenhamfashionweek.co.uk or phone 0844 8808094. Can't wait to see you 
there!

Ellie xx