It’s been a busy week of catwalk shows, style master classes, pop-up performances and shopping offers as Nottingham Fashion Week took over the city.
Nottingham put on its very first week-long event to celebrate everything fashionable in the city – and fans flocked to various locations to check everything on offer – including us!
We managed to head along to the conclusion of the week when the anticipated Style Show Live took place and taking to the stage to host was BBC Radio 1 presenter Alice Levine. Before everyone hit the runway for the show, we managed to throw some questions at Alice as she took the hot seat, alongside show stylist Lola Royale and show co-coordinator Gaz Davies.
Alice, who many of you probably didn’t know is from Beeston, a Nottingham suburb, said: “It’s about time the city was recognised for its great fashion!”
About the Style Show, which featured pieces from well-known stores such as John Lewis, Debenhams, Primark, Topman and Hobbs. As well as Nottingham’s much loved independent brands and designers, including Gigi Bottega, Stick and Ribbon and Headcase Headwear, Alice added: “It’s a really nice showcase. If I say to people I’m from Nottingham, they always know about the shopping. This event is collaborating with what’s already here.
“When I come back I always shop – I love vintage and my favourite is the Sue Ryder store in Beeston. I’ve started bringing an empty bag with me when I come back.
“There are 50 retailers taking part in the live style shows and it’s good to see it all in motion.
What’s great is that people can watch the catwalk shows and then see in the programme where the clothes are from and go buy them.”
The beauty of Nottingham Fashion Week is that it is pitched at everyone perfectly. They are genuine items from our favourite high street stores, it has that achievable feel, where we know we could go out and buy it, style it and know we’re looking good for Summer. It’s one of the reasons why we wanted to take part here at High Street Gent.
At the beginning of the week there was great focus and perfect opportunity for the start-up brands and independents that Nottingham loves to display their work and ideas. We asked Alice, Lola and Gaz what they thought. Lola said: “I was over-whelmed when I went down to Made in Nottingham to see what people are achieving down there, it was humbling to see so much hard work paying off for people and some great clothing, designs and what could be future brands we know and love.”
Alice added: “It’s part of Nottingham’s charm when it comes to fashion, the brands down there have great support and nurturing from the likes of Made in Nottingham. I saw Ratchet Clothing in there and wanted to buy it all.”
The Style Show
So you’re probably wanting us to get on with why we attended Nottingham Fashion Week, and rightly so. The style show was broken down into six key trends to consider this Spring/Summer, and here goes. Well tell you a little about each and below are some photos. If you hover over each image, you’ll be able to find out where the items each model is wearing and where it is from.
Enjoy, we hope to see you wearing them this year!
Nauticaluxe
Influencing everything from apparel and accessories to colour, materials and beyond, discover how seafaring aesthetics can be updated with clean shapes and unexpected details to create effortlessly elegant styles.
Bringing the seaside to the city, nautical nostalgia is refreshed with a modern twist.
Classic stripe prints incorporate colour pops and changes in direction. Sportswear inspirations emphasise the clean appearance of designs. Uneven hems and wraparound layers introduce an urban element.
Botanicals
(Bear with us on this one, don’t be afraid!) Botanical illustrations are key as we look at the florals in a scientific manner. Sketched imagery of other wildlife such as bugs and butterflies also comes into play as the colour palette is natural with brown undertones.
Monochrome
Is there anything more timeless than black and white? The dominance of contrast prints is in this season. Which probably proves that monochrome is as relevant as ever, and the perfect way to work conversation prints and patterns into your wardrobe. We all default back to black & white if we’re unsure, so here’s the perfect opportunity to remain on trend.
Think Pink
Think pink…but not if you’re not very daring. There’s a variety of pinks you can wear, from a dusky pink (similar to ruining your white shirt in the wash with a red sock) or simply accessorising. For those bold movers out there, full hot pink can work if it’s what you want!
Dreamweaver
Think festivals. If you’re heading to a festival this year, the Dreamweaver trend is perfect for you. Think boo-hoo, think patterned, over-sized and complete hippy. Not to everyone’s choice, but you don’t have to go all out. Keep it casual.
Colour Clash
Our personal favourite from Saturday’s style show, it quite literally does what it says on the tin (pun definitely intended). Nothing is too colourful for this summer, buy it bright, buy it bold and make it clash.
So there we have it. There are a few ideas for you guys (and girls this time) to consider for this year. I’d like to take the opportunity to thank my photographer kate-henderson-photography.com for all the fantastic photos you can see. Please see below for a slide show of the whole event and for more ideas. Another thank you to Gemini PR and It’s in Nottingham.
All the images you see are copywrite and owned by Kate Henderson Photography. Should you like to use an image or borrow it, please contact dan@highstreetgent.com.
High Street Gent 
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