The British Fashion Council has moved London Fashion Week to Somerset House for September, which means other catwalk and exhibition organisers have had to look for new homes too.

Vauxhall Fashion Scout, co-directed by FBC members Martyn Roberts and John Walford, has just announced that it will have a new home in Covent Garden.  The exact location hasn’t been revealed, but a teaser they sent out shows opulence: gold leafing, ornate crown mouldings, stone statues and stained glass.

FBC Co-Founder & Co-Chairman Alison Whelan with Martyn Roberts

Martyn came along to the Felder Felder / Daisy de Villeneuve meeting and caught up with new FBC members Annette and Daniela Felder. VFS is a launch pad for emerging designers and Felder Felder held their first London catwalk show (AW08) at VFS in February of 2008, and now they’re one of the most sought after young labels in the capital.

For more details, visit the VFS website: www.vauxhallfashionscout.co.uk

Courtney Blackman Co-Founder & Co-Chairman

On the 26th of May, FBC member and renowned fashion stylist, Rebekah Roy posted the 1000th post on her blog, Stylist Stuff. The tens of thousands of devotees are of course celebrating in style. Read by fashion followers throughout the globe, Stylist Stuff gives the all-important insider information on everything from styling a catwalk show to how to iron a shirt.

Launched in May of 2006, the 3-year-old blog was chosen by Leon Bailey-Green for The Independent’s Online Fashion 100 as one of the top 100 fashion sites, stating, “A generation of aspiring fashion industry wannabes regularly log on to keep up with fashion stylist Rebekah Roy’s blog Stylist Stuff.”

Rebekah was born in London, raised in Canada and has lived in Montreal, Toronto and Paris. She has over 12 of experience in the fashion industry, and has worked as a buyer, a costume designer, a trend shopper, and as a fashion stylist.  She regularly styles for catwalk shows, fashion shoots, commercial shoots, music videos, and editorials.  She acts as a contributing editor for several UK-based publications, including Drapers, and sits on FBC’s committee.

Get in touch with Rebekah here:  info@fashion-stylist.net

Courtney Blackman Co-Founder & Co-Chairman

Fashion Business Club (FBC) has a brand new press director, Myka Volney.  Myka brings loads of experience in public relations with a fashion and beauty background to FBC.

Myka Volney

She recently shipped over from New York, where she worked at the Lane Communications Group in as a senior account executive.  She worked with The New York Times, Vogue, Marie Claire, Allure, and InStyle, leading a team that publicised a variety of fashion and cosmetics brands.  She also worked at New York Fashion Week.

Myka will be the main FBC press liaison and will be implementing all sorts of unique ideas.  The Felder Felder / Daisy de Villeneuve meeting on the 28th of May will be Myka’s first FBC event.  Be sure to say hello!

If you would like to send Myka an email, she can be reached at:  press@fashionbusinessclub.net

 Courtney Blackman Co-Founder & Co-Chairman

Our very own co-founder and co-chairman Courtney Blackman joins the jury at this year’s Iconique and Societas Awards.

Now in its third year, the awards aim to shine the global spotlight on the best emerging talent in fashion photography, illustration and styling. Iconique and Societas, supported by media partners StyleNoir.co.uk and Jotta.com, celebrate innovation in fashions visual arts and you have the opportunity to enter…and win!

Professional photographers, illustrators and stylists are asked to submit an original fashion editorial, which fits the theme ‘Artifact’. The execution of the theme is completely up to the entree.

THE PRIZES:

Overall (Across All Three Catergories) - Key-2 Luxury

Fashion Photography - Animated fashion editorial published on Iconique.com and podcast

Fashion Illustration - Editorial in Iconique’s online gallery ‘Les Arts Digitales’

Fashion Styling - Editorial in Iconique.com

All winners also win editorial in an issue of the Stylenoir publication and Jotta.com magazine

Find out more at http://www.iconique.com/awards

And don’t forget to bribe Courtney!

Sarah Hardy Editor

After all the business talk at the May 28th Felder Felder / Daisy de Villeneuve FBC meeting you’ll no doubt want head to Camden for the FASHION.MUSIC.STYLE party.  FBC’s editor, and publisher & editor-in-chief, Sarah Hardy is hosting a bash to celebrate the launch of the magazine’s 3rd issue and would love to see all FBC members there. The magazine is now 100 pages long and is going national through Borders.  Well done, Sarah!
 
The party kicks off with a drinks reception at 7:30pm and will be held at the The Monarch, with four live bands (Sha La Las, 12 Dirty Bullets, The Delanies, and a surprise mystery band – Indie, of course), and two DJ sets (The Third Man and Princesses Des Pommes).
 
The entry fee is £3 and that bags you a copy of FMS, where mini style maven Little Boots graces the cover, including a 16-track CD. Nice.
 
Here’s the official invite:
 

The Monarch 40-42 Chalk Farm Rd, Camden NW1 8BG 

7:30pm - 1:00am

If you would like the invite emailed to you, send a note to the FMS team: info@fashionmusicstyle.com  

See you there!
 
Courtney Blackman Co-Founder & Co-Chairman 

FBC just got their very own copy of ‘Jaeger 125’ through the post, sent over by FBC member, and owner of Jaeger, Harold Tillman.  Harold was our guest speaker in January and talked, amongst other things, about the iconic British brand that he has been the chairman of since 2003.  

The stylish, 120-page black bound book is the first devoted to the brand, and was written by fashion curators Amy de la Haye and Judith Clark, from London College of Fashion.  It charts the past and present achievements of Jaeger, with original documentation dating back to 1884, and creative and business successes are thematically highlighted with a play on the word ‘Jaeger.’  

You can purchase your own piece of Jaeger history by visiting their website:  www.jaeger.com

Happy Anniversary!

Courtney Blackman Co-Founder & Co-Chairman

For anyone travelling through Trafalgar Square on Monday, you might have caught a glimpse of a photo shoot taking place.  If you looked closely, you would have spotted FBC member, Michael Herz, who under his role of head womenswear designer at Aquascutum was orchestrating the newest campaign shoot for the brand.  Nodding to an old photo of Eartha Kit donning Aquascutum, the team, consisting of Herz, mega-stylist, Edward Enniful, and photographer, Tim Walker, re-created the image with model, Malgosia Bela. In front of a fountain surrounded by doves, with a view of the National Gallery behind her, Malgosia wore an Aquascutum trench coat and silk scarf wrapped around her head, while Michael made sure his campaign vision was successfully executed.

Malgosia Bela and Michael Herz

A bit later on, FBCers went to Liberty for a photography soirée where Magnum Photos teamed up with Tanqueray Gin.  On the fashion front, Colin McDowell was there, as was very tall model and VogueTV presenter, Jade Parfitt, FBC board member, Daisy de Villeneuve (wearing a dress from Bally and a cool white resin bangle and pearl drop earrings from Mirabelle), and very small me, ParkVogel clad.

Jade Parfitt, Daisy de Villeneuve and Courtney Blackman

Catch up with Michael and Daisy at our next Fashion Business Club event on the 28^th of May, 2009 where Daisy will be interviewing cult fashion label, Felder Felder at the ICA.

Courtney Blackman Co-Founder & Co-Chairman

We love hearing about FBC members working together and were delighted to learn that FBC member and fashion stylist Anne Look teamed up with FBC members Ian Warren and Neely Reyes, partners at Sapphires Model Management/Sapphires Photography, for an event called One Night Only that took place at Harvey Nichols in Birmingham as a fundraiser for The Princes Trust.

Neely Reyes (2nd row centre in blue dress), Ian Warren (first from right, 2nd row) and Anne Look (first from right, 1st row)

Hosted by Caryn Franklin, a 25-minute catwalk show was broken down into 5 consumer-friendly, summer-focused themes and was expertly styled by Anne along with Harvey Nick’s in-house stylist.

Ian Warren & Anne Look

As well as providing models for the event, Sapphires took a series of celebrity portraits, which were signed and auctioned off.  The evening went seamlessly (FBC members are terribly professional), and celebratory drinks were passed around to mark the success.

Courtney Blackman Co-Founder & Co-Chairman

“What was that petal?” They’ll be a room in bloom at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) on Thursday 28th May, when FBCers sit back and listen to board member Daisy de Villeneuve interview cult fashion label FELDER FELDER.

Twin sisters, Daniela and Annette launched their womenswear line whilst studying at Central St Martins and were selected by Gen Art to showcase their collection during New York Fashion Week following their graduation in 2006.

Daniela & Annette Felder

Now in its fourth season, FELDER FELDER has a choice bouquet of followers such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Grace Jones. Iconic Patti Wilson styled their first show, Steven Miesel is a fan and the brand has been snapped up by top London buyers, including Browns Focus.

Join us as renowned designer, illustrator and author, Daisy, picks the brains behind FELDER FELDER and we learn of the struggles, challenges and success of a label that is fast becoming one of London’s favourite blooms. Think nectar, because this meeting is going to be sweet.

Limited guest places are available for a one-off fee of £40. All attendees must have at least two years professional experience in the fashion industry and submit a request to attend by emailing: membership@fashionbusinessclub.net

THE Time: 3pm-4:30pm, Thursday 28th May

THE Place: ICA, The Mall, London SW1Y 5AH

Sarah Hardy Editor

FBC’s new official photographer is, Dave Wise.  He joined as a member last November and he and his assistant, Ben have photographed our last few meetings.  We sealed the deal and asked him to join the committee a few weeks ago, and the great thing about Dave is he has our photos taken and edited in less than 24 hours.  The majority of our press coverage is online or in weekly publications, so it’s important for us to have the images ready almost immediately following the events.

A Dave Wise image on the cover of EM Magazine

We don’t know what Dave’s actual age is, but he’s been taking photos since he was 5.  He didn’t make the leap into photography as a profession until a bit later though.  He got a degree in computer science, taking a liking to software engineering and ran “some very interesting businesses, and worked in some less than savoury environments” in London’s East End, including company director at various technical organsations and as a doorman for a notorious pub.  In 2003 he reintroduced himself to his camera after some big life events pushed him back to it, and he’s been shooting ever since.

Dave was just appointed creative director at Every Model Magazine, a publication designed specifically for the modelling industry.  Congrats, Dave. 

Dave is honest, which is reflected in his work and the way he does business, which is what we like at FBC.  He’s always looking for new projects. Get in touch with him here:  dave@davewisephotography.com

Courtney Blackman Co-Founder & Co-Chairman