Liverpool opened its annual Fashion Week on Monday night, billed the biggest of its kind outside of London.
The opening night was hosted at the city’s famous waterfront landmark, the Royal Liver Building, which set the scene to celebrate Liverpool fashion and North West talent.
Amanda Moss, Liverpool Fashion Week organiser and editor of Liverpool Lifestyle magazine, told JMU Journalism: “We seem to be emulating our own style. It’s fresh and exciting.”
Moss said she thinks the Liverpool Fashion Week had grown up and had taken its own direction, without copying any other fashion.
Designers, both local and nationwide, had their 24-piece collections take to the catwalk. Opening the show was boutique, Adore Couture, with neon short skirts and dresses dripping in sequins. Glamour seemed to be the theme of the collection.
Lee Lie Lou continued with the use of neon colours, but the designer took a unique twist and teamed it with PVC and waterproofs. The garments were edgier and very different to anything that had come down the catwalk before.
Every designer had their collection shown using local models. However, the ‘Scouse look’ had been banned for the models, due to Moss’s dislike of the infamous stereotype. This included no eyelashes, big hair, no ‘Scouse brow’… and also no sunbeds.
Moss said: “I don’t think there is a Scouse style; it’s this TV reality-WAG wannabe style, that’s emulated in every city.”
However, she did say for Liverpool fashion: “We are glitz and glamour.”
Some celebrities who turned up to the event included Coronation street stars Tina O’Brien and Samia Ghadie, along with Manchester designer Nadine Merabi.
Following the woldwide press coverage of last year’s Liverpool Fashion Week, this year will incorporate international designers, who contacted Moss, eager to be involved with the event. These will be shown on various days over the course of the week.
The show came to a close with the second vintage collection of the night, for Dora Bauer, who will have another collection on show later in the week. The vintage garments were recreations of the trends of the 60s, with the models embellished with flowers for accessories.
The week, sponsored by Lambrini, will come to a close on Saturday, after five nights of catwalks.
Additional reporting by Laura Ryder & Georgie Moore, JMU Journalism TV