Hyper Island Manchester Launch

Last Friday we attended the first official event at Hyper Island Manchester. As regular readers of our site will already know, we have been heavily involved with the project and Hyper Island globally, so we were excited to check in and meet some of the students from the first-ever class and catch up with some of our other Manchester friends.

Arriving at the Watts Brothers building on Lever Street we, along with the Hyper Island UK team, felt a bit like proud parents watching something that we have all worked so hard on, come to fruition. The first Hyper Island facility outside of Stockholm is a massive step for the brand, but one that we all believed would be a great success. The industry obviously agreed with the likes of Google, MTV, Channel 4, Wieden + Kennedy, Saatchi & Saatchi and loads more getting involved with the project.

It was really nice to spend a bit of time with the new students. They are a real interesting bunch! In just a couple of hours we had been involved in conversations about the city of Manchester, the fashion industry, the use of the word 'viral', the re-birth of speed garage, problems with restrictions when working in government and loads more random yet facinating subject! We are sure that some amazing people and projects will come out of Hyper Island Manchester in the coming months. You can see from their video above, they are already getting in the zone!

Check a couple of our previous posts related to Hyper Island here:

Hyper Island Arrives In Manchester

Creative Spaces Are Key To Creative Culture

We will keep you posted on progress of this first class on here over the summer months. In the meantime check out some of the pictures from Friday's event below:

The first class along with Hyper Island UK Director David McCall and Programme Assistant Amir LodgeShang Ting hanging with some of the studentsLee getting excited about something geeky no doubt!David McCall and some of the students along with representatives from Google, NESTA and Code Computerlove welcome everyone to the eventThe Hyper Island way already kicking inCollecting souvenir stickers of all the students :)

Leeds in Barcelona: Spotlight on Rowan Grant

One of the designers who will feature during the Leeds in Barcelona project is Rowan Grant and her jewellery brand Kitschen Sink. We checked in with Rowan to get a bit of her back-story and her take on the Leeds creative scene.

We are delighted to have Rowan involved in Leeds in Barcelona: A Creative Encounter. She has added another dimension to what we are showcasing and gives something very different to the other brands involved: James Steward Couture, Dom, Dick and Harry and Nicholas Deakins. Somehow brands that start organically have so much more 'cool' then those manufactured by the system or for purely financial gain and Rowan is a great example of that: Working her way from 99p eBay auctions to being stocked in Selfridges!

This is the final video previewing the Leeds in Barcelona project and in the coming days we will begin reporting back on the project and share loads of pictures and videos! 

Note: Big "thank you" to Neil at Testspace for hooking us up :)

Leeds in Barcelona: Spotlight on James Steward

As regular readers of our site will already know, we are big fans of James Steward. We see him as the foremost couture designer in Leeds and think he is destined for great things in the future. We are delighted to have him on board for Leeds in Barcelona: A Creative Encounter and know that he will go down a storm with both the crowd and the design students at IED.

The last 12 months have been a crazy ride for James. It was around 12 months ago we worked together on the first Leeds in Barcelona project when James showcased some of his stuff in a photo-shoot at Temple Works. Since then he has shown at Vancouver Fashion Week, featured in OK magazine and will by the time you read this smashed the Baftas with his piece for Katherine Kelly (post edit: James made front page of Daily Mirror with that!)

As part of the line-up for this project we wanted to show one of our designers who has real craftsmanship and can stand along side other designers of great pedigree who will be on the Barcelona side of this collaboration... James give us that. He is a supremely talented pattern-maker who seems to advance his body of work to new levels with every collection he produces.

As one part of the project is at the European Institute of Design we know James will provide a great example for the fashion design students who will attend and read about the event. Like many of them he went to study abroad at a foreign design institute and returned home to make a brand and business for himself. He will provide a great example and case study for some of the IED students.

We are looking forward to seeing the reaction to James in Barcelona and can't wait to see the photos after the big showcase event.

Leeds in Barcelona: Spotlight on ICS

Tonight will be the feature showcase of Leeds in Barcelona: A Creative Encounter. A main part of this showcase will be a performance from Leeds band ICS. This is the first time we are working directly with the boys on a project and we are really excited to see how there sound goes down in Barcelona.

We first met ICS at a Harvey Nichols fashion show. Immediately we knew they were the type of people we like to work with. They are fresh, innovative and heavily influenced by the underground of the city and the fashion scene. 

We think for a showcase of what is really interesting in Leeds, ICS are perfect. Last year they attracted a lot of media attention and airplay on Radio 1 and with some of the world's biggest bloggers. They have been working away on a new EP since then and they will perform their new stuff tonight for the Barcelona crowd.

Check out the video above and listen to a teaser of the new album below!

  I C S - (Release To Be Announced) by ICS.

Leeds in Barcelona: Spotlight on Dominic Al-Samarraie

We recently checked in with Leeds deisgner Dominic Al-Samarraie to talk Dom, Dick & Harry, personal fashion philosophy, the Leeds creative scene and of course the new Leeds in Barcelona project.

Why Dom

We first became aware of Dom in the build up to Leeds in Barcelona 1 last year. He seemed like a young designer with lots of potential, a strong brand and great visuals. After digging a little deeper, we realised Dom was into all kinds of creative stuff. He also worked at Blue Rinse (one of Leeds best vintage stores) and seemed to spend most of his time rolling around the Leeds underground partying with bands.

We are mega-happy to have Dom on board again for this project, he is absolutely one of our favourite people in Leeds and has great potential as a designer and general creative. We think his brand will go down a storm in Barca if the initial reaction last year is anything to go by.

The Story

During Leeds in Barcelona 1 we got to know Dom much better and we found him to be a smart, ambitious guy with an ace attitude towards the city, creativity and life in general. The Barcelona fashion crowd who visited Leeds loved Dom too. He created a really cool photo-shoot with Fie and Mayka down in Temple Works and more then anyone on the Leeds side of the project, seemed to really connect and become friends with our Barca guests.

Since that project last year Dom has stayed in contact with all the Barca fashion crowd and has been making plans to work together again. Leeds in Barcelona: A Creative Encounter gives us all that opportunity. Dom has created a new collection, with many sleepless nights ensuring it is ready in time!

In case you have not seen it yet, check out Dom in one of LeLook's trailers for the event on Saturday: