Vanessa Austin Locke, Editorial Director for Brighton Fashion Week is cruelly forced our of her cashmere slouch socks to attend two exciting launch parties
You know what it’s like at this time of year… all you want to do is hibernate, watch Frozen Planet and drink endless cups of tea in cashmere slouch socks. Well, last Wednesday I was settling down to do just this when Lizzy Bishop called me.
“Are you ready?”
“For David Attenborough? Always.”
“It’s the Create launch tonight. I’m picking you up in 15 minutes.”
“The what launch?”
And then, somewhere from the depths of my winter-fuddled memory I recalled the email summoning me to the rebirth of Garage Studios as the impressive and all-inclusive Create Studios. I managed to turn it round in thirteen minutes and, grumbling slightly, I ventured out. And was I ever glad I did.
The place was heaving with every exciting, creative type in Brighton, the fizz flowed freely throughout the night, and the place looked something like I’d imagine Warhol’s Factory might look. Maybe not quite as crazy, but along those lines. You get the picture. Create Nae Garage Studios have a good reputation for turning out great editorial and commercial photography and teaching courses. They’ve been a great supporter of BFW over the years and it’s lovely to see them continue to bloom.
We were treated to the impressive musical stylings of Abi Wade, who beat her cello like a drum (how does it stay in tune?) and later there was some loud, cool-sounding music from a band called Black Black Hills. Bit too cool for me in point of fact, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it, while I whined about the noise level. Oh dear. What was really great was that I managed to do an entire month’s chitchatting and schmoosing in one night, which at this time of year is just what a girl wants (aside from a Caribbean holiday that is). All in all, a lovely Brighton evening, with our lovely, slightly bonkers, Brighton people. Take a look at Create’s new website at www.welovecreate.com.
Over on the other side of town and at the other end of the week, I was once again unceremoniously catapulted out of my slouch socks and into yet another glamorous gathering. This time we were celebrating the launch of Daniella Christina’s fashion label, which takes inspiration from vintage tailoring. I was accompanied by Estelle Kealy, our excellent beauty blogger.
There was music by Amity, a one woman band, who I remember seeing and liking a few years ago and then forgetting about, but she’s still going and she’s got a beautiful voice that’s certainly worth a listen and has some good songs. Our own Grace Cruise was modelling and she always rocks the runway, looking like a Nick Cave power damsel. Good tailoring and very wearable designs were the themes of the night here and I’ll look forward to seeing this designer develop her style and ideas. For more information go to www.daniellachristina.com.
Contact Vanessa: Vanessa@brightonfashionweek.com
Follow Vanessa on Twitter: @VnessEnvy
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