Fashion Vs Football

Last Thursday we attended 'Fashion Vs Football' By Harvey Nichols at Elland Road. This event was in aid of Yorkshire Cancer Research.

It was our first time in the newly refurbished Centenary Pavilion at Elland Road and we had a great evening. The event featured a catwalk show by Harvey Nichols and an auction in aid of the charity. The entertainment was provided by Leeds' very own (and our new favourite live band) iCallShotGun. 

The Catwalk

Combining a catwalk with another type of live entertainment is a very difficult thing to pull off. Get it right and the results can be amazing, get it wrong and the results can be detrimental to both the fashion and the music. We are pleased to say that Harvey Nichols pulled this off perfectly. The evening was all about having some fun and the sight of Leeds United Legends Alan Clarke and Paul Reeney strutting down the catwalk with gorgeous models while iCallShotGun blasted out their version of Tinie Tempah - Pass Out... was awesome!

The show featured designers such as Stella McCartney, Paul Smith, Alexander McQueen, Jimmy Choo and Louboutin and many more. The models were having fun and the show was presented in a nice informal way.

The Auction

After a few jokes from the Leeds United legends (Alan Clarke took exception to it being suggested he was modelling something red!) we ate a lovely dinner and then moved onto the important business of the night: Raising money for Yorkshire Cancer Research.

First off, Leeds United shirts signed by Clarke and Reeney, they were quickly snapped up. Then followed holidays, tickets to events and much more. Some of the bids went into the £1000s which is all good for Yorkshire Cancer Research. 

iCallShotGun

A quick word about the evening's entertainment: iCallShotGun. Although still laying down their new tracks in the studio, these guys came out and supported the charity and did a fantastic job. We spoke with the band over a few drinks and it really is impossible to categorise their sound, which is always the sign of someone pushing new boundaries. We are looking forward to working with the band on upcoming projects and think they have great potential.

Final Word

There seemed to be a lot of money raised for Yorkshire Cancer Research which is the most important thing and we had a great time.

Harvey Nichols have been excelling themselves recently in terms of events. We have recently covered FNO and their dinner at Swillington farm and had a great time doing so. The way they combined the fashion show with the entertainment and presented it in an interesting and friendly way really helped set a nice tone for the evening.

A big well done to everyone involved: a great show for a great cause.

St. Gemma's Ethical Fashion Show

  On Wednesday Shang Ting and Stacey headed to Alwoodley to check out the Ethical Fashion Show at Seventeen Restaurant, in aid of St Gemma's Hospice. The event featured a catwalk show, stalls and live music. We asked the girls what they had made of the evening:

 So how was the event?

 Shang Ting:

The whole event had a very vintage feel. Not only did the catwalk showcase the ethical brands, but also vintage shops, organic shops, Bethany Jane Davies vintage make overs, and they even booked a 1940s style act called The Old Time String Band! Since St. Gemma's Hospice works with many charity shops in Leeds, I thought it was a good approach to brand the event as vintage, especially more and more young people in Leeds are adopting a vintage retro style.

Stacey:

We arrived just after 7.30 and we were greeted by two lovely girls who gave us a little gift bag to share which included samples from the Body Shop and Paul Mitchell. We then headed to the bar for a nice drink and after we checked out the stalls which included some nice vintage boob-tube dresses, some vegetarian shoes and a velvet corset wedding dress (which Shang Ting liked ;-) ). Shortly after taking a few snaps we sat down to watch the show which began at 8.15. Live music was provided before and during the intervals of the fashion show by the singing duo Daisy and Martyn; The Old Time String Band and they were delightful. The models were from our very own Roller derby team and they modeled free of charge for this good cause. The hair and make-up of each girl was retro and glamourous. The girls were all different shapes and sizes but they all pulled off everything and it was refreshing to see such a variety of looks. We then took part in a raffle and we won one of the prizes provided by Ringlit, which was a pack that contained a scarf and some vintage gloves. Nice :-)

 

 Who was your favorite designer at the event?

Shang Ting

Birds Yard / Birdshell Boutique had quite a lot of trendy designs, it was a pleasant surprise to see them use recycled and different fabrics to construct new garments and even couture. Though I have to give my award to Izzy lane who use their own wool and I thought their collections were of a good quality technically. 

Stacey:

Although Izzy Lane had some amazing coats i must say that my favourite clothing range came from Birdshell Vintage. So many colours and styles!

 Any observations?

Shang Ting:

Attending events like this is always much more then just a fashion show. We see the new ways people are using different materials to create interesting garments. We also discover new talent in Leeds like the wonderful band that night and vintage hair and make-up artist that I had never known before.

Stacey:

I thought the St Gemmas representative/presenter of the show was very nice and enthusiastic. It would have nice to have a little more information in the program.

Visit the St Gemma's site here and see our previous report from the St Gemma's Vintage Fair here

Hand Picked By Harvey Nichols @ Swillington Organic Farm

On Monday evening we took a trip down to the lovely  Swillington Organic Farm just outside Leeds. We were invited by Harvey Nichols to sample some of the wonderful food produced at the farm, who are a supplier of the Harvey Nichols restaurant. 

It is always good to see big brands working with local businesses. We were given a quick introduction to the farm, and the meal we were about to eat, we then took our seats for a 3 course dinner. A Harvey Nichols chef prepared the Swillington Farm food, and Tadcaster's very own Sam Smith's brewery provided the refreshments, it's selection of organic ciders and ales tasted heavenly. The food was prepared and cooked outside where we were situated and was delicious. After the meal we gathered round the fire (where the pork had been roasted earlier) and enjoyed a nice coffee. 

You can also check out what Leeds grub and Guardian Leeds made of the evening.

Case Study: Leeds In Barcelona

The bloggers' reception in Barcelona

Background

Leeds in Barcelona, was a festival of commerce and culture aimed to increase the profile of Leeds in Barcelona and wider Catalonia; but at it’s heart, aimed to forge long term business trade links between the two cities. The event was organised by Marketing Leeds.

More then 150 delegates traveled from Leeds to Barcelona for 3 days, including representatives from Leeds Legal, Financial Leeds, Leeds City Council and Creative Leeds. During the 3 days there would be a series of events and conferences aimed at building links between Leeds delegates and their Barcelona counterparts

We approached Marketing Leeds with the idea to expand the project to reach another target, in another way. Two members of our team had previously lived and studied in Barcelona at the European Institute of Design, so we were acutely aware of the influence within the city of it’s more ‘underground’ and ‘creative’ community. We knew that in order to raise awareness and interest within this community we needed a different approach, focusing on social media, interesting digital content and personal interaction.

The Plan 

Before traveling to Barcelona, we contacted all our target blogs and influencers to introduce and explain the project. This was done in very personal way, which included canvassing current opinion (if any) on Leeds. There were no press releases or traditional marketing tactics used here: purely personal conversations and research.

Following this period of ‘sounding out’ we then planned a ‘Bloggers’ Reception’ in Barcelona at the Hotel Barcelo in Raval. We knew this stunning but laid-back setting would be attractive to our target and firmly position our project in the right area.

The bloggers’ reception went very well. Every one of our target bloggers and influencers attended. The atmosphere was laid back but informative as we played a video about Leeds and people socialised to the background of carefully selected music from Leeds singers, bands and Djs. It was our very own Leeds atmosphere in the middle of Barcelona!

After the event we stayed in constant contact with the Barcelona bloggers and arranged for 10 of them to come and visit Leeds the next month to discover the city for themselves. 

The Barcelona bloggers’ would visit for 2 days and during this time had 3 main objectives: 

•  Introduce the Barcelona bloggers to the Leeds bloggers / fashion / music influencers
•  Create an interesting project for collaboration in order to have some quality digital content for social media
•  Give them some time to discover the city for themselves, in order to have differing opinions and experiences for the bloggers.

The first objective was achieved by having another bloggers’ reception in Leeds. During the event our Barcelona bloggers got to know the Leeds bloggers, fashion/music/cultural influencers and forge new relationships. 

Barcelona guests in Temple Works

For the collaboration part of the strategy, we wanted to showcase Leeds designers and talent in an interesting way. We invited Leeds fashion designers, and independent retailers to provide clothing for a photo-shoot held in a building called Temple Works, featuring Leeds models but directed and managed by the Barcelona bloggers.

Before and after the photo shoot the bloggers had time to explore Leeds, interview and ‘cool hunt’ at their own pace which resulted in some amazing content.

The Results

The results from the project were exceptional: Every major blogger/influencer we targeted became involved in the project in some way. We stimulated great interaction between the Leeds and Barcelona participants which have now turned into on-going relationships.

Both the Barcelona and Leeds based ‘Bloggers’ Receptions’ were full to capacity and received great coverage. Numerous new relationships were formed at these events, both international and local.

We covered both parts of the project, (The Leeds in Barcelona trip and the Barcelona Bloggers visit to Leeds) for The Guardian Leeds online, through a series of guest blog posts, which documented the events and gave our own personal feelings and feedback on the project.

The coverage we received from the Barcelona bloggers was excellent. Influential blogs such as LeLook were featuring Leeds next to cities such as Paris, Milan and London when talking about trends and fashion which is a great feather in the cap for our city and this project. All the blogs showcased great visual material and interviews with their Leeds counterparts. 

Obviously with a project like this, you never really know what people are going to find interesting and talk about. I feel Leeds sometimes chooses to promote and showcase things that are not actually that interesting to an international audience. Our guests from Barcelona chose to speak a lot about the vintage scene here, Kirkgate Market, The Nation of Shopkeepers: all things that are not usually prominent in our international 'sell'.

Here are just a few of the more the 30 separate pieces of coverage about the project:

LeLook's Leeds Mission

Stop Stealing My Look's Vintage Leeds

IT Hunter's Leeds, Live It, Love It

Coverage of the project!

What People Said

"I was expecting to come to Leeds and see a real grey, industrial city, but when I arrived I thought 'wow' this place is very cool. I have met so many nice and friendly people on this trip and definitely want to come back again." Fie, Stop Stealing My Look

“Leeds surprised me as a very beautiful city, with a lot more architecturally and culturally inspiring sites than I could ever have expected... The mix of re-generated areas around Temple-Works, historical locations like the Leeds market and the Arcade, together with some examples of modernist buildings were unexpected for me. I also met a unusually friendly, and very interesting, youth culture scene, full of great initiatives in fashion, music, and art. I would like to say thanks to all the great people I met in Leeds, and see you in the future!” Marcus, IED

"Regarding our overall impression, we feel that there is a cool side to Leeds which is mainly palpable through its numerous second hand shops. Most of the cool people from Leeds are definitely working and hanging around there, also the Nation of shopkeepers bar seems to be the meeting point of the most stylish from dusk till dawn. And on a more personal note, we loved the experience and we want to thank you again for wishing for us to be part of it" Carole, LeLook

Our thoughts

We loved this project and feel it provides a interesting model moving forward: no expensive advertising campaign, no 50,000 print run: just engaging with the right people and stimulating relationships. This is how communication works now. Push marketing and being all 'about the sell' is increasingly outdated and ineffective: especially with a younger audience. 

By creating just a small opportunity for creative collaboration allows people to take an active role in the project and have the feeling of ownership. There is no way that with traditional press releases these blogs and people would of been interested in what we had to say about Leeds, but by talking, collaborating and having fun, the results were fantastic.

With a lot of talk in the city at the moment about social media, collaborations and conversations, we hope this gives a really clear example of this type of communication working in the 'real world'. 

Save the Arts

We have been showing our support for the new 'Save the Arts' campaign by helping the team at Visual Arts London to set up their social media platforms and get this great video by David Shrigley out to the masses. Below is the official press release from the press-conference in London this morning:  

Over a hundred leading artists including David Hockney, Damien Hirst, Anthony Caro, Howard Hodgkin, Anish Kapoor, Richard Hamilton, Bridget Riley, Antony Gormley and Tracey Emin have joined the campaign to make the case against the proposed 25% cuts in government funding of the arts.

The campaign is launched today with the release of a new video animation by artist David Shrigley highlighting the effect of the funding cuts and a new work by Jeremy Deller with Scott King.  Each week the work of a different artist, created in response to the campaign, will be released. Mark Wallinger will present the next project.

Supporters of the artists’ campaign will be asked to sign a petition which will be sent to the Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt. It points out that it has taken 50 years to create a vibrant arts culture in Britain that is the envy of the world and appeals to the government not to slash arts funding and risk destroying this long-term achievement and the social and economic benefits it brings to all.

The artists acknowledge that reasonable cuts and efficiencies are necessary but they fear that the 25% cuts being proposed will destroy much of what has been achieved and will have a particularly damaging impact on national and regional museums and their collections.

The campaign is being organised by the London branch of a national consortium of over 2,000 arts organisations and artists dedicated to working together and finding new ways to support the arts in the UK. 

The costs of David Shrigley’s animation have been covered with a grant from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

Robert Dufton, Paul Hamlyn Foundation Director, said: “We are pleased to support this campaign and hope that its message is taken on board. As independent funder of the arts we are aware of the effect that cuts will have on many of the organisations we support. We stand to lose a great deal as a society if arts organisations are forced to stop the very valuable work they do.”

Make sure you sign the petition here: www.savethearts.org.uk