Amelia’s Magazine | Bath in Fashion 2013: A review of the Designer Fashion Show

Bath in Fashion by youdesignme1
Bath in Fashion illustration by youdesignme

Staged by the renowned John Walford, this Bath based show aimed to rival the best of them. Held on Friday the 19th of April in The Assembly Rooms (which is also the home of The Fashion Museum), this show brought out the most fashion conscious of this lovely little spa city. Shops and brands exhibiting their wares included Bloomsbury, Austin Reed, Prey, Howl and Wolf,The Frock Exchange and Paul Smith. There was even a section dedicated to Bath Spa University student collections, all of it sponsored by high end jeweller Mallory.

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion
Animals made from Linen and Champagne shaped fancy dress costumes from the 1400s were just some of the diverse exhibitions and events on show as part of this years Bath in Fashion 2013 and this kitten-walk displayed the same range and variety as the rest of the festival. Men, women, ballerinas, flower-girls, baggy jumpers, eye-wear and lingerie: all got their time in the spotlight.

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion

The baby-blue walls and extravagant chandeliers of The Assembly Rooms reminded me of the surroundings at The Savoy LFW Gyunel Show I attended this season. The interiors of a venue always make a huge difference to the impact of the show itself, and the glitzy decor definitely gave these collections some extra oomph.

Bath in Fashion by Warren Clarke
Bath in Fashion by Warren Clarke

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion

Standing at the back of the room, I could hear three women, one holding a young ‘un chattering away, giggling at the cheeky smile of a middle-aged male model who, whether clad in shorts or suited up, never failed to excite the female members of the audience. The most significant thing about this show was the audience: a far cry from the young, tottering heels and extravagant, celebrity attended shows of Londres, this down to earth audience gave the show a friendly atmosphere. At LFW the audience are an attraction in themselves and many people spend their time scouting for familiar star-studded faces in the audience while they glance over the collections. This audience was mixed, and rather than the young, fresh faces in the crowd I’m used to, the audience was made up of a more mature crowd: presumably women with actual cash to splash.

Bath in Fashion by youdesignme
Bath in Fashion illustration by youdesignme

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion

I have a few clear favourites among the collections: umbrellas lined with grey city-scapes, and pouffy skirts, as well as colourful baggy jumpers featuring geometric prints. Each time the lights changed there was a new surprise, from girls laden with three or four bags, piled up on each arm, to uber-revealing outfits showing hip-bones and side-boob. For one collection girls wearing dresses adorned with fake birds were styled carrying flowers, and yet another look featured minimal bold lipstick and dark sunglasses.

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion

Bath House Fashion by Emma Ferry
Bath in Fashion by Emma Ferry

With the knowledge that Bath in Fashion 2013 was almost over for another year, there was a vague sense of sadness as the show drew to a close. Bath in Fashion is a great week in this little town, where the shops, the streets and exhibitions all take the quiet little city by storm. Known for being just a little bit posh, Bath has built a reputation for it’s lovely little boutiques, and love of all things vintage. This is something obvious from the catwalk itself, which shows the city at its most fashionable.

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion

Bath in Fashion by Daniel Alexander
Mallory Show by Daniel Alexander

Categories ,Austin Reed, ,Bags, ,Bath, ,Bath In Fashion, ,Bath Spa Student, ,Bloomsbury, ,catwalk, ,collection, ,Dresses, ,Flowers, ,Howl and Wolf, ,Mallory, ,Prey, ,The Fashion Museum

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Amelia’s Magazine | Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration launch party illustrations: meet Andrea Peterson

ACOFI Lily Vanilli cake by Andrea Peterson
ACOFI Lily Vanilli cake by Andrea Peterson.

Over the past few days a steady trickle of fabulous illustrations from the ACOFI launch night party (read my review here) have been flooding into my inbox… and I’ve been wondering how best to put them all together. In the absence of a better plan I have decided to plow through them alphabetically… So without further ado I present to you the wonderful artwork of Andrea Peterson, pharmacy prescription also known as Artist Andrea, seek also responsible for the cover art of ACOFI. She travelled all the way from Arizona to be with us on the launch day and I think that everyone was absolutely awed by her ability to create beautiful images from just a few dabs of watercolour, live, in front of a huge crowd.

You’ve already seen this image of Jessica Bumpus from Vogue but why not show it again? I think it’s absolutely beautiful… and I love the way that Andrea has made her a Vogue cover star. Bring back illustrated covers indeed! So elegant and glamourous. You can read Jessica’s wonderful blog about the event on the Vogue Green Style Blog here. Thankyou so much Jessica!

Jessica Bumpus of Vogue by Andrea Peterson
Jessica Bumpus of Vogue by Andrea Peterson.

The lovely Alexandra Haddow very kindly provided us with Pukka teas and helped out all afternoon: she is rather fittingly illustrated with tea cup in hand. She also managed to do a lovely write up of the event on LDNfashion online, and we hope she will be joining our little fashion team soon as well.

Alexandra Haddow of Pukka Teas by Andrea Peterson
Alexandra Haddow of Pukka Teas by Andrea Peterson.

Then there’s Lupe Castro: fashion stylist and freelance writer. I love her colourful vintage Pucci outfit.

Lupe Castro by Andrea Peterson
Lupe Castro by Andrea Peterson.

Francesca from Forward PR looks so demurely wonderful holding her copy of ACOFI, which she did so well in selling on the night. I loved her energy, so positive. What a lovely girl.

Francesca of Forward PR by Andrea Peterson.
Francesca of Forward PR by Andrea Peterson.

Here’s Nyla of Ethical Heaven – she writes a blog about sustainable style and beauty, and you can read her fab write up of the launch party here.

Nyla of Ethical Heaven by Andrea Peterson
Nyla of Ethical Heaven by Andrea Peterson.

And lastly here again is a reprise of The Pipettes: who unsurprisingly inspired more than a few illustrators to get their pens and paint brushes out. Ani Saunders is herself a very talented illustrator, and she has her own blog called The Lovely Wars, where she has written about the book, complete with her own unique rendition of Andrea’s cover. Take a gander here.

The Pipettes by Andrea Peterson
The Pipettes by Andrea Peterson.

Thankyou Andrea so much for coming to visit us in the UK and showcasing your incredible talent live! I look forward to working with you for many moons to come. You can follow Andrea on twitter on @ArtistAndrea and don’t forget you can buy Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration here, with a special 10% if you use the discount code ACOFI LAUNCH up until the 28th February 2011. Lastly, here’s my interview with Andrea on youtube, accompanied by rescue chihuahua Frida (I had to heavily edit out all the bits where I was cooing over the chihuahua). Enjoy!

YouTube Preview Image

Categories ,123 Bethnal Green Road, ,ACOFI, ,Alexandra Haddow, ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,Ani Saunders, ,Artist Andrea, ,Bunker Cafe, ,Chihuahua, ,Ethical Heaven, ,Forward PR, ,Francesca, ,Frida, ,Green Style Blog, ,Jessica Bumpus, ,Lily Vanilli, ,Lupe Castro, ,Nyla, ,Pucci, ,Pukka Teas, ,The Lovely Wars, ,The Pipettes, ,vogue

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