Scottish Fashion Extravaganza!

Feature by Susan Anderson | 16 Apr 2006

New York, Paris, Rome, Milan... these are all major league movers and shakers in the world of fashion, but as of this summer there'll be another one to add to the list; Edinburgh is all set to explode on to the fashion scene in style this summer. Not only will the capital be playing host to the inaugural Scottish Fashion Awards at Stirling Castle on 7 May, the public will also be able to enjoy four days of fashion frolics during the inaugural Edinburgh International Fashion Festival taking place at locations across the city from 26th-29th April.

In the last week in April, Scotland will briefly become the epi-centre of the fashion world as the city delivers four fabulous days of catwalk shows, events and forums, showcasing not only Scotland's homegrown talent but also unveiling new collections from some of the biggest names on the international fashion scene.

Vivienne Westwood has styled a one off show, Fabric of Scotland, showing how she has previously used Scotland's unique textiles in her designs over the years. The public will also have the chance to take a sneak peek at what the Autumn/Winter 06 collections hold in store from Matthew Williamson and Scottish designer, Jonathan Saunders.

As well as the high profile catwalk shows, forums will also be held across the city where you'll have the opportunity to get up close and personal and have a chat with your favourite designers. No celebration of fashion on this grand scale would be complete without the chance to do some shopping. The Marketplace will offer the chance for fashionistas to pick up original designs from both a variety of well known Scottish brands and designs from fresh emerging talent. To complete the fashion extravaganza, the Edinburgh film festival will also be showing fashion-themed films over the course of the fashion week.

The following month, there's more fabulous fashion celebrations with the arrival of the Scottish Fashion Awards. Over recent years, Scotland has produced some fine fashion talent such as designer Johnathan Saunders, and now, finally, their achievements will be recognised and celebrated at the Scottish Fashion Awards. Among the impressive judging panel will be Alexandra Shulman, Editor of British Vogue and Hilary Alexander, Fashion Director at the Daily Telegraph. All it seems, are looking forward being part of this major event on the fashion calendar, "I am delighted to be a judge because I can't wait to find out what treasures there are in Scottish design." says Ms. Alexander.

Among the award categories will be Scottish Designer of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award for Contribution to Fashion (Scottish), Scottish Retailer of the Year and also Scottish Fashion Icon Award which will have been voted for by the public. Between the two events, Scotland has well and truly earned itself a place on the worldwide fashion calendar for a long time to come.

http://www.scottishfashionawards.com, www.edinfashfest.co.uk