Introducing: James Steward

Last week we went to see our friend James Steward, without doubt one of the very best fashion designers we have in Leeds. We talked about his latest collection, his upcoming trip to Vancouver Fashion Week and a perfectly placed star-sign column which provided a motto James lives and works by.

We worked with James earlier this year on a project called Leeds in Barcelona and since then we have spoken regularly about the Leeds fashion scene and his career to date but before talking about upcoming events, we should speak a little about James' past:

Background

Having moved to Rome in 1998, James received an apprenticeship at the internationally acclaimed, Gattinoni Couture, the fashion powerhouse with an enviable list of clients spanning its rich history. Audrey Hepburn, Eva Peron, Arabian royalty and even the Pope have all worn clothes by Gattioni, and it was here that James was exposed to dress design, pattern cutting and embroidery design, using the most luxurious fabrics and finest Swarovski crystals. Although the credit went to Gattioni, James’ designs were gracing the pages of Italian Vogue, photographed by the likes of Peter Lindbergh, Ellen Von Unwerth and Steven Meisel.

Upon his return to the UK and Leeds, James set up Aqua Couture with a friend and the brand had a big effect on the Leeds fashion scene. We still have fond memories of Aqua being one of the main reasons we would visit the Corn Exchange (which back then was quite different to what it is now!) During this time his designs could be seen on important fashion opinion leaders such as Victoria Beckham and Kylie Minogue.

Since going his own way and leaving Aqua, James has created ready-to-wear collections for ASOS and many independent boutiques.  His couture bridal range has been a huge success and resulted in James receiving numerous awards. He was also brought in to work with the costume department at ITV to create the dresses for the on-screen weddings on popular British soap opera: Coronation Street.

Challenges

It has not always been plain sailing however for James. In a world dominated by disposable fashion, to stick to your beliefs and retain a dedication to quality of craft is not easy. These beliefs and dedication were ingrained in James during his time in Milan and still run through every piece of work he produces today. There are times when the easy option would of been to 'sell out' or mass produce some of his designs but James did not want to compromise quality for quantity. 

We all have moments during our careers or even our lives when we question the path we are on and if the all the hard work is worth it, James was no different. One afternoon, during one particularly hard day James began to question whether he was doing the right thing by sticking to his principles. Just at that moment a random flick through a magazine provided him with the words he needed to hear at exactly the right time. When glancing a the star-signs page, one sentence on his sign's reading jumped out of the page and provided the kick that he needed - 

Focus on your true talents and be rewarded

It is a line James now has written across the top of his studio white board and it serves as a constant reminder to stay true to his beliefs. His dedication to quality and craft now looks like it is paying off. 

Vancouver Fashion Week

A sneaky peak at James' Vancouver collectionJames international profile is set to soar to greater heights with his showing at this year's Vancouver Fashion Week in November. With the help of his awesome PR: Sam Ward (more coming soon on Sam) and Marketing Leeds, James will showcase his Spring/Summer collection and in doing so become the first British designer to show at the Canadian event. Although the collection is being kept under wraps, we got a sneak peak at some of the designs and we are very excited to see the final show. James describes the collection as 

"a cross between greek mythology and science fiction!"

It will be great to see Leeds' talent showcased to an international audience and James is obviously excited by the opportunities 'Leeds in Vancouver' creates

"It’s always an honour to be involved in these projects. Leeds in Barcelona worked by generating a huge amount of interest in the James Steward brand, and in Leeds as a city both through individuals and the media. Next stop is Leeds in Vancouver, an amazing project which sees Lisa Jayne Dann and I show our S/S11 collections at Vancouver Fashion Week. The opportunity here is incredible; with international media and buyers attending the event, it’s the perfect way of showcasing the wealth of design talent here in the city – we couldn’t have done it without the support of Marketing Leeds"

Our View

Vancouver presents a great opportunity for one of our city's best talents to showcase his work. This is a designer who has learned his trade and worked very hard to forge a successful career. His beliefs and ethics are admirable in a society seemingly obsessed with Primark and £1.50 T-Shirts. James deserves all the success he gets moving forward and hopefully the Vancouver project provides another stepping stone towards an even brighter future and career for one of Leeds' most talented creatives.

There are lots of really interesting projects and collaborations taking place in Leeds' fashion and music scenes at the moment and we can not wait to make some announcements of our own in the next few weeks. On another personal note it is great to see this project being supported by Marketing Leeds: this is exactly the type of project that has both international and local appeal, with James being the first British designer to showcase in Vancouver. We hope more and more projects like this get the green light and support in the city. The days of big budget advertising campaigns are gone, lets create more targeted projects that showcase the talent Leeds has to offer.

Leeds Street Style: 11/10/2010

James

Top: G-Star
Bottom: Nudie Jeans
Coat: Lee
Shoes: Flossy
Necklace: Yum Yums
Bracelet: Grenson shoe lace

James' favorite Leeds clothes shop: Accent/ Blue Rinse
Describe the Leeds fashion scene in 1 word: Metropolitan

Polly Wilson

Dress: Australian Vintage
Coat: Vintage
Shoes: Flossy
Sweater: French Connection

Polly's favorite Leeds clothes shop: Best Vintage Leeds
Describe the Leeds fashion scene in 1 word: Unique

Stephen Bahooshy

Top: Topman
Bottom: Topman
Shoes: Dune
Bag: Reusable bag
Belt: Hugo Boss
Watch: River Island
Umbrella: Topman

Stephen's favorite Leeds clothes shop: Zara
Describe the Leeds fashion scene in 1 word: Unique

My Thoughts:

It was just the greatest experience meeting James, Polly, and Stephen. They were some of the nicest strangers you can ever expect to meet while out taking pictures. I always think proportion is the most important thing when you're going for a vintage style, because when you spot a good vintage piece in the shop it normally won't be your size and this couple had the perfect balance. And I also like the way Stephen uses the oversize bag and boots along with his slim, fitted style.

UK Observing Diary

Last week you may have seen a post on the Guardian Leeds website about the UK Observing Diary. Here we will give a little more information on the project, it's background, future and how it is helping to raise awareness of Leeds in the Far East.

Background

Last year our very own Shang Ting Peng arrived in England after studying in Barcelona for three years. During her early days here in the UK she began to photograph and document interesting places, products or projects. This led to her creating the Facebook Page: England Observing Diary. Since then, a friend in London also contributes to the page giving a unique insight into both the North and South of England. The page now focuses on two cities: Leeds and London.

Having studied Fashion Communication at the European Institute of Design in Barcelona, Shang Ting already had a considerable amount of experience in blogging, cool-hunting and trend research. She already had a blog that attracted 1000s of monthly visitors, but this project had a different setting:

"I arrived in England an year ago from Barcelona, and I never been to this country before. I thought it’ll be interesting to document the stage of what I feel about being in a total new country. So I ask my friend in London which she lives there for quite a few years to observe England’s life with me, and putting on facebook fanpage. We always trying to make it relaxing, fun, visual, and most important, we try to keep a heart of a tourist, to be curious about every little thing in England, I think with all these elements, the readers can relate to the content."

The Page

The page has gone from strength to strength and now has more then 6000 members. Every week there are hundreds of comments and interactions with people in the far east asking questions and giving their response to the content created, Shang Ting expands further: 

"Our fans are mostly from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China. At the moment we have daily pictures, of things we find interesting that day. We also have cool-hunting, interviews, local knowledge guides and event reports. Me and my partner’s backgrounds are both in fashion, so we love to post fashion related things. Because of The Guardian’s post and other attention, we have started to have more English fans, so now we try have both Chinese and English language posts. I guess it’s interesting for English people to see what foreigners think of their country too"

The Future

There are exciting developments happening behind the scenes at the page at the moment and discussions with international news agencies are taking place. Shang Ting has a clear aim of what she wants to achieve with page:

"I think it’s important to establish Leeds as a city outside of Europe. I’m not saying I know what Leeds represents yet, but while I observe the city’s life style, fashion, and culture, I invite England Observing Diary’s fans to get to know Leeds with me"

We will keep you up to date with developments on this project and Shang Ting's work on this blog. There are really interesting potential projects and collaborations talks taking place at the moment and we are sure that this is just the start for Shang Ting and England Observing Diary.

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