UK Clothes Swapping Roadshow

NATIONAL CLOTHES SWAPPING WEEK STARTS IN STYLE BY LAUNCHING THE UK’s FIRST SWISHING ‘ROADSHOW’!

 

Bigwardrobe.com, the world’s No.1 clothes swapping website, is hosting The BIG Swish™, a UK clothes swapping roadshow that will take the benefits of swishing to every corner of the UK, demonstrating that people don’t have to spend a penny to be 100% on-trend.

 

Swishing is a growing trend, where fashion-loving women get together, feast on nibbles, guzzle wine and swap their clothes. Basically, it’s ultra fashionable recycling.

 

The BIG Swish™ will be one of the largest events to happen in the clothes swapping calendar and will be the highlight of National Clothes Swapping Week1, which coincides with London Fashion Week from 18th to 22nd September. The roadshow will lead a team of designers, stylists and models around the country over 12 months.

 

The BIG Swish™ starts on 17th September in Leeds. “This will be the biggest clothes swapping party ever hosted in the UK,” said Jamie Hutchinson, co-founder of Bigwardrobe.com. “Over 1,000 guests have already registered for the event and we’re also expecting celebrities from the cast of Hollyoaks.”

 

The BIG Swish™ then visits some of the UK’s biggest cities, including Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London,Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield. In total, more than 10,000 women are expected to swap over 25,000 pre-loved items of clothing, plus bags, shoes and accessories.

 

There will be free haircuts and makeovers by TIGI®; complimentary massages by Dermalogica®; butlers ‘in the buff’ serving canapés and cocktails, female DJ’s and market stalls selling mainly eco-friendly products including jewellery and cosmetics,” continued Jamie Hutchinson.And, all ticket holders will have the chance to win a range of prizes, including a dress donated by Jodie Kidd, a signed pair of skinny jeans worn by Russell Brand, this stunning ‘Twin’ bag by Lanvin (hi-res image attached) and a magnum of Moët et Chandon champagne!”

 

DaisyGreenMagazine.co.uk, experts at managing green events, is helping to organise The BIG Swish™. “Our forte is clothes swapping parties, which attract women of all ages who love fashion, girl’s nights out, and helping to reduce clothing waste in the environment. The Big Swish is a fabulous concept and we’re delighted to be working with Bigwardrobe.com,” commented M.D. Nicola Alexander.

 

Lucy Shea, founder of Swishing and Director of Futerra Sustainability Communications, which is promoting The BIG Swish™ said, “Chances are that as a woman, your wardrobe is one of your biggest environmental impacts. The Big Swish provides an excuse to party with friends and get new clothes, while going easy on the pocket and the planet. It’s the perfect guilt-free fashion fix.”

 

All clothes, shoes and accessories left over after each event will be donated to Cancer Research UK to help them beat cancer.

 

For more information and to buy tickets online please go to: www.Bigwardrobe.com/TheBigSwish. Or contact:

 

Andy Price

 

07511 784321

 

andy@bigwardrobe.com

 

http://www.bigwardrobe.com

 

For quotes on the swishing concept or the environmental impact of swishing, please contact Ashley Dow at Futerra on 020 7549 4694 or ashleydow@futerra.co.uk.

 

National Clothes Swapping Week is a bi-annual event which coincides with London Fashion Week in February and September. It is organised by Bigwardrobe.com and aims to show that people don’t have to spend a single penny to be 100% on-trend.

 

Notes to editors: 

• The dictionary definition of Swishing is to rustle, as silk. Futerra’s definition is to rustle clothes from friends. “We designed Swishing parties to give women who love both shopping and the environment the thrill of retail therapy, guilt free,” said Lucy Shea, founder of Swishing.

• UK Government statistics show that there are 2.4bn pieces of clothing unworn for an entire 12 months (many possibly brand new) cluttering up the national wardrobe, which adds up to a whopping £10bn worth of unused clothes, shoes, bags etc. Source: YouGov.

• The average UK woman spends nearly £13,000 on clothes she’ll never wear. Source: BBC.

• Swapping will be a major trend for 2009, according to research that suggests 5.5m people (12 per cent) exchanged goods with others in 2008. A further 11m (24%) plan to swap items in 2009, the poll, conducted by ICM for broadband provider TalkTalk, indicated. Clothing topped the list (19%) followed by cosmetics (9%) and books (8%). Source: TalkTalk.

• The aim of Bigwardrobe.com is to create the world's biggest online wardrobe, where the huge quantity of un-worn/stockpiled fashion in people's wardrobes around the world is redistributed online - rather than going to landfill. Nearly 2m tonnes of discarded clothing, shoes and accessories go to UK landfill sites every year. This represents nearly 4% of all the waste in Britain that is sent to landfill annually. Source: The Observer.

• Bigwardrobe.com launched in May 2008 with the help of celebrities including Russell Brand and Peaches Geldoff, who donated items from their wardrobes to help raise money for charity. More celebrity wardrobes are planned during 2009.

• Bigwardrobe.com enables members to update their wardrobes without paying eBay’s fees, and with more focus on fashion than Freecycle.

• More than 100,000 items have been listed on Bigwardrobe.com to date; 4,000 new items are added every week; 90% of members are female; the site receives 250,000 unique page views per month; there are around 300 swap offers every day.

• The DaisyGreenMagazine.co.uk girls have been described as a cross between Sex in the City and The Good Life. Daisygreenmagazine.co.uk aims to act as role models for those people who wish to live a more sustainable life, but without preaching. The team are a group of normal girls, all who have their own distinct ideas on sustainability, but who look good doing it! For more information please visit: http://www.daisygreenmagazine.co.uk