This year’s annual fashion week in York kicked off this Monday, with crowds gathering at The Principal hotel in the centre of York to shop exclusive luxury bags handpicked by designers. The fashion celebration follows the success of last year’s debut York Fashion Week, which happened in April and saw around 3,000 people visit the city to attend 53 fashion-orientated events. The seven-day occasion celebrates creative designers, elaborate fashion and independent brands and businesses. Fashion Week hosts a range of dynamic events including workshops, runways, beauty shows and more.
The first day of this year’s event featured a huge vintage sale at nightclub-turned-shop Society. The club opened its doors much earlier than usual to reveal a fashion transformation – with racks upon racks of vintage clothing to shop and manikin models showcasing stylish outfit designs. Additionally, this year’s annual run debuted a fashion pop-up box right in the centre of York, where the public could watch make-up tutorials, gaze at incredible freshly-designed outfits by York College fashion students and have a sip of gin. ‘The Hub’ operates every day of the week-long run and is where staff hand out brochures to the public.
The first day came to a close by returning to The Principal hotel where the Louis Vuitton team hosted an afternoon tea followed by a very exclusive high-fashion runway show. Nicky Hayner (founder of York Fashion Week) took to Instagram to congratulate them on their successful night, writing “We absolutely loved how you showed such varied fashion on an array of ages, to show how your own personal style can transform an outfit”.
This year, York Fashion Week collaborated with major fashion designer Scott Henshall – who is actually Yorkshire born and lives there too. Henshall became the youngest designer to ever feature at London Fashion Week and has since appeared on various reality shows including ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’ and ‘Britain’s Next Top Model’. He hosted a special event at prestigious restaurant The Ivy, where guests attended a dinner and Henshall talked about his latest fashion collection, as well as the fashion industry and the worlds latest trends. Speaking of the event, he took to Instagram to write “I’m so excited to be showcasing my new collection during York Fashion Week. I love York. It’s where I feel at home and it’s where my heart is.”
Fashion Week ended on Mother’s Day, and rounded out with mother-inspired events including an afternoon tea and mothers runway show at the Grange Hotel, followed by an empowering event at the Marriott hotel ran by personal coaches, helping women to find clothes that make them feel good.
Overall, York Fashion Week was a huge success and made a giant impact on the city yet again – with plans already being put in place for next years event. The occasion is growing bigger and more popular year on year, so in the near future, don’t be surprised if the city of York is known for it’s fashion.