Details of another two Fashion workshops taking place in Inverness have been announced as part of this year’s goNORTH event.

The details of these events are:

goNORTH Fringe Wed 8th June, Ironworks, Inverness

Fashion Trash Challenge (9.30am – 12.30pm)
Become a fashion designer for the day/morning! Learn about fashion design, the design process and textile techniques. Make a fabulous fashionista dress out of paper/plastic bags with Orkney designer Kirsteen Stewart.

Virtual Worlds & Second Life Fashion Marketplace (13.00 – 16.00)
Bring your fashion designs to life in the virtual world of Second Life and stage a virtual catwalk show.

The above workshops must be pre book through gillian.macgregor@hient.co.uk

HIE and HI~Arts are pleased to host a series of fashion and textile workshops as part of this year’s goNORTH in Inverness. We still have spaces available at the following events:

goNORTH Fashion/Textile Workshops
9th and 10th June 2011
Ramada Inverness, Church Street, Inverness, IV1 1QY

Trend & Product Design Workshop

Delivered by industry specialists Upper Quartile this workshop running on Thursday 9th June 2011 is designed specifically for fashion, design and textile companies covering:

• Colour, design and product trends textiles, fashion and accessories for Autumn/Winter 2012/13
• Product, interior, retail and lifestyle trends
• Trade Fairs – attending and showing

Workshop outline:

The morning session kicking off at 10am will focus on colour fashion design trends, with an update on product, interior, retail and lifestyle trends and international trade shows.  Following a networking lunch, bookable 1-2-1 appointments will be available to delegates (please note 1-2-1 appointment slots are limited).

Speakers:

Anne Ritchie has a wealth of experience in the textile and design industries, having previously worked for leading brand names in design and product development roles. She advises widely on design, products and trends to the UK and international clients.

Business of Fashion Workshop:

Leading UK creative economy experts Andrew Senior Associates will present a four hour workshop on Friday 10th June 2011.

The workshop will be focussed on the business of fashion, with a particular emphasis on ethical fashion, fair trade and sustainability, sustainability in economic, environmental and social terms. It will look at the issues of conviction, integrity and quality, and why these make a product stand out. The workshop will also examine the importance of provenance and its impact on branding and positioning in the market.

Our methodology will be a series of presentations and group tasks, designed to allow participants to answer key questions that affect the strategic development of their business and will allow them to course a path to market success!

The workshop will begin at 10:30am, with an introduction to the day. We’ll then kick off with Colin McDowell, the renowned fashion commentator and founder of Fashion Fringe, who will ask the question “Why are we here?” His presentation will be challenging and will set the tone of enquiry for the rest of the day.

We’ll then move on to look at the issue of concept, what’s the idea behind the business and what are you trying to express as a designer? To help us to interrogate this we’ll be joined by Annegret Affolderbach, the founder of Choolips, one of the leading sustainable fashion brands, who currently produces by working with artisan communities in Ghana and India in ways which ensure knowledge transfer and the rejuvenation of traditional textile and design traditions.

From here we’ll move on to consider the retail environment, just how do you find a market for your products and how do go about building your brand. To do this we’ll be joined by Melanie Frame, formerly the driving force behind Top Shop’s move to ethical fashion and the champion of “crafted” at All Saints, who now has her own specialist agency, and Nikki Rowntree, specialist in fashion communications and formerly responsible for communications at House of Fraser.

Interwoven into these activities will be the issue of working internationally, from the perspective of sourcing and selling, and we’ll consider the importance of London to these relationships and wider success.

With a working lunch from 12:30pm to 13:30pm and a networking afternoon tea from 15:30pm to 16:30pm, there will be plenty of opportunities to ask individual questions.

The workshop proper will end at 15:30pm by which time our aim is that you can identify your USP of being a fashion and textiles based in the Highlands & Islands.

To attend any of the following workshops please book your place by contacting Avril Souter at HI-Arts on avril@hi-arts.co.uk

Source: HI-Arts Craft Development