Vogue 'Fashion's Night Out' @ Harvey Nichols, Leeds

Last night Vogue and Harvey Nichols teamed up for the Leeds edition of 'Fashion's Night Out'. Shang Ting and Stacey from Hebe Media were at the event, here are their thoughts:

What was the event like?

Shang Ting: FNO in Leeds focused on creating a pleasant shopping experience. Live music, champagne, helpful staff (and of course the discount of brands) created a nice atmosphere. But as I know, it was quite a different scene in FNO London or FNO New York, perhaps this Leeds event was more comparable to the Victoria Quarter Shopping Affair.

Stacey: Fashion's Night out at Harvey Nichols was a nice event. I did not know what to expect as the different #fno events all over the world were doing different things. The store was packed and after a brief belly dancing show on the catwalk there was a fashion show which covered 3 floors. The models were all gorgeous, although the majority of the girls looked so much like Victoria Beckham, it was hard to tell them apart! The guys looked great too. Although the show was cool, there was a few minor hiccups: one shoe lost on the escalator, one slip off the stage and various nipple slips! Afterwards Shang Ting and I decided to have skin consultations with Clinique and we both came away with new products. Before we left, we grabbed one more glass of champagne and caught up with some of our friends.

Your personal highlight of the night? 

Shang Ting: I enjoyed the fashion show, they set catwalks through 3 floors to make sure everyone in the store could catch a glimpse. It was also cool to see the models and clothes so close up, which the made the event feel intimate. 

Stacey: My personal highlight of the night was definitely the male model who came out in referee boxers and stripy socks, the reason being, he completed his 'outfit' with a LUFC scarf! I almost started singing 'Marching On Together'...but i resisted and just took a few snap shots.

Any other observations?

Shang Ting: The FNO shopping bag they sold at the event, which was 10 pounds, said London on it, I thought I was in Leeds? 

Stacey: The live music on the cosmetics floor, it added a nice touch to the evening and the musician was very happy and friendly. Also the Soap and Glory counter... love their shower cream! PS - Where's my goodie bag? ;)

Why We Love Toms!

A product that seems to be flying off the shelves in most shoes stores at the moment is the Toms 'classic' shoe. My 'in the know' shoe spy, from a major high street retailer, confirmed that Toms were the best selling mens shoes last week and continue to become more popular every week.

Although the women's aren’t quite as popular, sales are growing by the day. With more and more people wearing the shoe, unusually I am actually not worried if I spot someone in the street in the same shoes... why? Well aside from the fact it is the comfiest shoe ever, buying a pair of Toms helps a bigger project, a project I personally think is amazing. With every pair of Toms sold, another pair of Toms are given to a child in need. Watching the video on the Toms website and seeing little children in developing countries wearing the same shoe is amazing.

While out and about in Leeds, I decided to do a little on research on why people bought the shoes. I actually thought more people would be aware of the ‘One For One’ policy but unfortunately this seems to be more of a trend. Although many people ‘claim’ to be aware of the incentive, in actual fact, they come in to buy the shoes for work, for comfort or for fashion and then find out about 'one for one' when they read the box. Although it’s a little sad that fashion is the main reason so many of these shoes are sold, I am still happy that these shoes are popular and that children in need all over the globe at least have comfy shoes and are in less risk of danger. So go out and get yourself a pair of Toms now and picture that little child running around in theirs. A small step towards a better world :-)

'Leeds Loves Shopping' Launch

Leeds Design Talent On Display Last night the Hebe Media team attended the launch event of 'Leeds Loves Shopping', a festival organised by Marketing Leeds and Leeds City Council. The event was designed to give the press a chance to meet and talk to some of the main people involved in the festival, such as Leeds Fashion Show, Leeds Rocks and some of the organisers. 

The thing that we liked most about the evening was the attention given to Leeds-based talent. Many Leeds designers showcased examples of their work and chatted with bloggers and reporters about the part they will play in the event. It gave me a chance to catch up with James Steward, who I consider one of the best designers we have in the city, and to talk about what he hoped to get out of the festival and also more long term aims (more on this in the coming weeks).

Leeds Fashion Show and Leeds Rocks are events that form two of the real stand out 'pilars' of the festival. Leeds Fashion show is now in it's 5th year and is going from strength to strength. This year it will be held at Leeds Museum on Tuesday, October 19th and will again feature the 'Leeds Designer of The Year Award' which was won by Rav Matharu last year. The people behind this show are something special: dedicated, talented and very ambitious. It is my hope that we as a city, can support this project in a big way moving forward.

Leeds Rocks is a new event, which will showcase some of the best Leeds creative talent in fashion, music, dance and art. The event will be held at Saviles Hall (Clarence Dock) on Friday 15th October. Details of the event are been kept pretty secret at the moment but we all have high hopes that the team behind it will create a special show.

Hebe Media's Shang Ting With Lomo & Pimms!Hebe Media's Stacey With The Gorgeous Cupcakes!

 There are still some plans to be finalised like the 'Merrion Centre Fashion Show', which seems interesting/strange but we are glad that during the ten day festival there seems to be some exposure and much needed help for the independent and vintage scene in Leeds and that is most definitely the part of 'Leeds Loves Shopping' that excites us the most.

We must also at this stage say a big "thank you" to Birds Yard and others for the cool goodie bags (separate blog post coming about the bags!) and to the organisers of last night's event for some very nice nibbles and Pimms. 

Ellen von Unwerth

There are moments we can all feel tired and down, then a bit of Ellen von Unwerth always reminds me how powerful and beautiful girls can be. -Stp