Hi, 

Last Thursday 24/08/17 was the press show launch of the 24th season of West Coast Cooler Belfast Fashion Week and yours truly was lucky enough to be invited by none other than Cathy Martin of CMPR! (Thanks Cathy!)

The show was held in Bullit a fairly new hotel/bar/restaurant in the city centre. I hadn’t had the chance to visit yet so I was really pleased to see this was the location for the event! It was held at lunch time 12-1 so a little different to most other events I have been to. Working full time and not in the city centre I normally wouldn’t have been able to make the event but as luck would have it I had booked the day off well in advance as I was heading to a wedding reception that evening so it worked out great! I am so glad I was able to attend my first fashion week launch! 

We were greeted with a complinatary west coast cooler on arrival in the most stylish glasses (I need to get one). And we got our photos taken as we went in. The place was packed with PR people, journalists, influencers, bloggers and fashionistas all of whom were really excited to see the show. There was a great buzz and it was so nice to see so many people I knew. 

After a little catch up it was time for the show. I had a prime spot at the beginning of the catwalk so I could see the CMPR models as they began to strut their stuff and also got a little sneak peek of who was up next. 

The biggest theme was definitely RED. It’s really got me thinking what red items I have in my wardrobe and I will definitely be on a look out for some statement red pieces coming into the autumn months. 

There was a mixture of highstreet as well as designer which I love as this makes it accessible for everyone. Some of the highstreet pieces I was sure were designer, it was so hard to tell! One of the pieces I know caught a lot of people’s eye was this shearling coat form George at Asda at only £35 I believe! 

-What I wore-

With only a couple of days notice to prepare I had a slight panic as to what to wear. We were sent out a list of all the inspirations behind this years AW17 show in order to help us plan our outfits so thankfully I had a little something to go on! I wouldn’t say I am fashionable but I do like to follow the trends (assuming they suit me and aren’t too out there!) to a certain extent. I had a rummage through my wardrobe and came across a dress I had bought recently in the next sale for only £20. I didn’t have anything in mind when I bought the dress I just thought it was a good bargain and when I tried it on I felt comfortable and dare I say it ‘stylish’. I felt the dress was flattering on me and although a bold lime green, the black panelling made it look a bit more sophisticated. I don’t have too many mid length dresses in my wardrobe so I went for it despite the daring colour. I noticed on the list of AW17 trends coloured fur was mentioned and although not fur I thought the brightness of my dress might somehow lend itself to the theme. Also bare in mind we are still in August and it was a particularly warm day so fur really wasn’t an option! With the dress I knew I needed something to go with it and so my trusty leather jacket from George at Asda which I wear all the time came too! As it would happen leather was also noted on the AW17 trend list- winner! 

For shoes I was a bit stuck! With a midi dress I would tend to wear heeled sandals but it felt too spring/summer when I tried them on. And then I had a brainwave! I had recently bought a gorgeous pair of cut out shoe boots from primark which I had yet to wear! Personally I don’t think I would have paired them with my outfit had I not been going to the fashion week launch but I guess the invite made me be a little more daring with my choices and pushed me out of my comfort zone which is great! The shoes have insect embellishment which is huge at the minute and I’m sure will be going into autumn/winter 17. The shoes also have a red floral design which fell into one of Cathy’s other inspirations for the show, RED.  The shoes although only having a little pop of red still (I hope) gave a little nod to the trend. I picked them up in the abbey centre primark recently and they were a huge hit in my Instagram at the time! (@scientist_in_the_city)

Overall I loved my outfit and what I put together, I got so many compliments and I felt really good in it. I loved that an invite to the fashion week launch pushed my fashion boundaries even just a little and gave me the confidence to wear something I hadn’t worn before in way I normally wouldn’t. I can’t wait to wear this outfit again over the autumn winter season!

When we were leaving we were given a fabulous goodie bag filled to the brim with some local producers. From Ballymaloe relish to He-Shi tan! We were very well looked after so a huge thank you to all those involved.

I can’t wait for fashion week to begin now! It’s running from 26th-30th October and the shows are being held in Belfast St.Anne’s cathedral, a beautiful venue! Top of my list is the highstreet heaven show on 27th October! 

For tickets and more info visit:

https://visitbelfast.ticketsolve.com/event-categories/126495828

http://www.belfastfashionweek.com

Thanks for reading, 

Emz xx