Bath in Fashion 2012

“Bath is the place I’ve chosen to live; it’s a city I adore!” - Manolo Blahnik.

Bath in Fashion 2012 – Celebrating Style from Top to Toe

Continuing the legacy as a city at the centre of fashionable life, Bath in Fashion 2012 celebrates style from top to toe. This year’s event will showcase two of British fashion’s most influential and inspired designers: milliner, Stephen Jones and shoe designer Manolo Blahnik. Both will be sharing their style secrets during Bath in Fashion 2012, which is gearing up for another glamorous, action packed week from Sunday 25th to Saturday 31st March 2012.  Other stylish highlights include a day dedicated to Vintage Fashion; workshops by textile artist Karen Nicol and Julian Roberts; catwalk shows staged by London Fashion Week supremo, John Walford; and talks by design guru Matteo Alessi and fashion expert Rosemary Harden, Manager of the Fashion Museum, with more to be confirmed. There are also a few fabulous surprises in store from internationally acclaimed fashion artists David Downton and Julie Verhoeven. Watch this space…

Manolo Blahnik, who has been designing shoes for more than thirty years, will be talking at a special event at the new look Holburne Museum with another renowned Bath resident, fashion writer Iain R.Webb. Manolo says : “Bath is the place I’ve chosen to live; it’s a city I adore!” This is a rare opportunity to hear his story and views on life, shoes and the city he calls home. Stephen Jones, who has been described as ‘the maker of the most beautiful hats in the world’, will be introducing one of his favourite films at the Little Theatre Cinema during Bath in Fashion on Film and sharing his thoughts on his career and his inspirations for the season ahead. He has collaborated with some of the most illustrious fashion houses and designers of our time, including Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood, Thierry Mugler, Christian Dior, John Galliano, Comme des Garçons and Marc Jacobs and his clients have included everyone from Boy George to Beyoncé. ‘A hat really is the cherry on the cake!’ says Jones, who was last year awarded an OBE for services to millinery.

Building on a heritage of fashion, Bath’s spa and retail scene is as popular today as it was in the Georgian era. Modern day duchesses will be checking out the spring and summer collections in venues across the city.  Shows will be produced by long-time Vivienne Westwood collaborator, John Walford who stages twenty or more shows during London Fashion Week, working with stylist, Rebekah Roy.

The Bath Fashion Museum will be joining in with the nation’s sporting euphoria with another dynamic exhibition tracking the development of sportswear from the 19th century right up to the latest collection for the 2012 Olympics by British designer Stella McCartney.  The prestigious Dress of the Year award, a design that epitomises fashion over the past twelve months, will also be unveiled at the Fashion Museum. This year, we are excited to announce it will be selected by Hamish Bowles, American Vogue’s European editor-at-large who is acknowledged as one of the world’s most respected authorities on fashion.

Supported by the Bath Business Improvement District and Bath and North & Somerset Council, Bath in Fashion is designed to highlight the city’s vibrant retail scene.  Combining independent boutiques with top designer labels and leading high street names, Bath offers a delightful shopping proposition against a magical historic backdrop.  Bath in Fashion Chair and Director of Milsom Place Sarah Mansfield, says, “Bath in Fashion draws on the creative energy and originality of the city’s retail sector and sets contemporary fashion against exquisite historic backdrops.  Our events programme celebrates Bath’s unique style and we hope it will appeal to a broad range of interests”.  This year’s designer fashion show will take place at the newly refurbished Holburne Museum and the season’s high street fashion catwalk show will be staged in the Guildhall.  Bath in Fashion is underpinned by support from Milsom Place, with its heady mix of independents like Traffic People and Image and smart high street stores such as Hobbs and Phase 8 as well as SouthGate a pristine new shopping centre, home to The Apple Store, Urban Outfitters, All Saints plus Hollister opening in October.

As a creative hub, Bath supports one of the best fashion design courses in the country at Bath Spa University with graduates working for celebrated British designers such as Erdem, Boudicca and Nicol Fahri along with brands like Mulberry, Levi’s, Joseph, Adidas and Harvey Nichols among others. Matteo Alessi will be visiting one of the most successful Alessi stores in the UK; Quadri at Milsom Place and giving a talk about the Alessi story, a business started by his great grandfather some ninety years ago that is featured in the V&A’s latest exhibition, Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970-1990.

Programme Highlights

• Manolo Blahnik in conversation with Iain R Webb – this is the real deal, a true artisan who understands his craft and is idolised by women the world over. Iain R Webb has many years of experience as a leading fashion commentator writing for The Times, Harpers & Queen, Elle and many more and is now a Professor of Fashion at the Royal College of Art and Central Saint Martins.


• Designer fashion event at the Holburne Museum showcasing designers from Bath independent boutiques.


• High street fashion at The Guildhall  - a fast moving showcase for the Spring/Summer Collections for 2012


• The Alessi story told by, Matteo Alessi, great grandson of Giovanni Alessi who established the business in 1921. Matteo is the only member of the family to work full time in the company today.


• Workshop by Karen Nicol, textile artist and designer in residence at Bath Spa University; a precursor to her new book which covers seven mixed media approaches using vintage ephemera for inspiration.


• Vintage Sunday – including vintage fashion market at Green Park Station, Secret Tea Party, designer Pearl Lowe judging best dressed couple, vintage car parade and vintage treasure hunt .


• Julian Roberts is to host a subtraction cutting workshop sharing his expertise in this innovative approach to garment cutting


• Fashion Your Future with career guidance from Juice Recruitment combines careers clinics and careers speed dating to bring insight into the many career opportunities available within fashion and related industries. Recent graduates and current students will also be on hand to share their experiences of working towards a career in these areas.


• Fashion & Sportswear exhibition at the Fashion Museum and talk by Manager Rosemary Harden at the BRSLI . The show will incorporate styles from up-to-the-minute fashion designers who use references to sportswear in their work.  The display at the Fashion Museum will showcase historic fashion for sports - swimming, tennis, cricket, winter sports - as well as garments worn by contemporary sportsmen and women.


• Launch of Dress of the Year at the Fashion Museum. Each year the Fashion Museum invites a top fashion writer to select a "Dress of the Year" that epitomises fashion for the previous 12 months. The Dress of the Year for 2011 will be revealed during Bath in Fashion 2012.


• Bath in Fashion on Film with The Little Theatre Cinema – film screenings introduced by a celebrity line up to include the renowned milliner Stephen Jones.


• Fashion on the Street – a lively event with in store activity and promotions across the city


• “Top to bottom” fashion show and lunch at Hall & Woodhouse with Mimi Noor and Hannah Dulcie


• In store events and promotions for Fashion’s Big Night Out – a chance to experiment with the season’s hot looks with citywide personal shopping


• Look Good Feel Better is the charity Bath in Fashion has chosen to support in 2012. This is the beauty industry’s charity.  Look Good...Feel Better helps support women undergoing treatment for cancer in the most positive and practical way. Free skincare and make-up workshops help women to look and feel as ‘normal’ as possible whilst going through their demoralising and confidence-sapping chemotherapy and other treatments.

For further information please visit www.bathinfashion.co.uk

For media enquiries and images please contact Nicky Hancock on 01225 332299 or e-mail: nicky@hancockcomm.com

Notes to Editors:



About The Bath Improvement District: About The Bath Improvement District:

The creation of Future Bath Plus grew out of a desire both the private and public sectors, represented by Bath Chamber of Commerce and Initiative and Bath and North East Somerset Council, to work together to achieve improvements for the benefit of business, residents and visitors. The Future Bath Plus Board provides strategic direction to three key areas, City Centre Management, Tourism and Culture, ensuring that these sectors work in partnership. For further information on its activities and achievements visit  www.bathbid.co.uk



About Look Good Feel Better:

Look Good...Feel Better helps support women undergoing treatment for cancer in the most positive and practical way. Free skincare and make-up workshops help women to look and feel as ‘normal’ as possible whilst going through their demoralising and confidence-sapping chemotherapy and other treatments. Sadly, over 150,000 women are being diagnosed with cancer every year and LGFB is working hard to increase their Programme and to be available to every woman needing their unique service.