Accessories
Galio jewellery launch design competition with SAFW 2015
Work experience with renowned jeweller Shaun Leane and display time within Galio Jewellers are among the incredible prizes for the winner of the Galio Jewellery Design Competition, in conjunction with St Albans Fashion Week 2015.
A week’s worth of work experience with internationally renowned jeweller Shaun Leane is as precious to any aspiring jewellery designer as the metals and gemstones they work with. And this amazing opportunity is within their grasp thanks to a competition launched by Galio Jewellers as part of the St Albans Fashion Week’s (SAFW) Creative Next Generation Initiative.
Three runners up will have their designs displayed in store at Galio Jewellers on George St, St Albans, with the overall winning design being made in silver. The winner will be awarded their finished piece and a trophy at the St Albans Fashion and Beauty Awards, held at The Odyssey Cinema in September 2015. As well as having their talents recognised and celebrated, the winner’s skills will be honed further with the once in a lifetime opportunity of a week’s worth of work experience with internationally renowned jeweller, Shaun Leane, at his new atelier in Mayfair.
Anyone under the age of 25 who’s passionate about jewellery can enter by designing a piece of jewellery, or a muse, inspired by the iconic St Albans Cathedral. The closing date is Friday 29 May 2015. Sarah Gillow, creative director of Galio, and jeweller Shaun Leane will judge the designs. The brief has been given to selected universities and colleges in the UK, including Hertfordshire. For full details, go to www.stalbansfashionweek.com/galio-jewellery-challenge.
Gillow says: “We’re thrilled to be able to set this competition as inspiration for young designers. Having had our business in George St for 23 years, with our store overlooking the Cathedral, we thought it would be a fitting design brief. Shaun is very supportive of our aim to give recognition to young local design talent and has kindly offered the winner a work placement at his studio in London. I believe it’s essential for design to be considered within a practical and commercial context. The opportunity to see your design made commercially is amazing.” Gillow added:
“Having this link to Creative Next Generation will give the winner incredible additional exposure, with the prize giving presentation as part of SAFW 2015. The organisers of SAFW recognise the importance of generating interest in the design community locally, so we’re delighted to be able to support that with this creative competition.”
Leane says: “I’m very flattered to be able to work alongside my longstanding partner Galio for SAFW competition to discover the next rising talent. I feel it’s essential we support aspiring artisans and designers to allow our creative industries to flourish and evolve. I was very lucky to have been taught by two great masters who passed to me all their knowledge and skills. Then later to have worked alongside visionary Alexander McQueen for 15 years, for it was this combination enabled me to be the jeweller/designer I am today.”
Jewel in the crown
Famed for pushing creative boundaries, Leane worked closely with Alexander McQueen for 15 years and some of his pieces are currently on display at the hugely successful Alexander McQueen, Savage Beauty Exhibition, at the V&A Museum in London. As well as collaborating with Alexander McQueen and other designers such as Daphne Guinness, Leane’s striking pieces of work are also popular with celebrities, including Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, Cara Delevigne and Beyoncé. To work with such a recognised talent is an exceptional prize and makes this competition a must for anyone interested in jewellery design.
Creative Next Generation
Recognising talent is at the heart of SAFW’s Creative Next Generation. The initiative was set up to unearth, support and showcase the next generation of creative talent. Its aim is to build a legacy in St Albans, not only to raise the profile of fashion, design and creative students in the city, but also to be the bridge between study and the world of work. SAFW offers a large variety of work based learning opportunities across a broad spectrum of subjects, including all elements of fashion and beauty from design, photography, merchandising and show production to media and PR. Students are also offered free masterclasses and workshops with industry professionals to help prepare and support students for their next steps in the world of work.
SAFW runs during October half term (26 October – 1st November 2015) to enable students to take part fully. For details of all the amazing opportunities available to students interested in furthering their careers, go to http://stalbansfashionweek.com/creative-next-generation.
Ellena Ophira, SAFW’s founder and organiser, says: “It’s so exciting for us that Creative Next Generation can offer this wonderful opportunity. This is exactly what we hope for CNG, that it can offer real platforms into the creative world of work. We’re grateful to Shaun Leane for giving us his time, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for a passionate budding jewellery maker and we hope that all interested apply.
“After two very long years dealing with the pandemic, we are finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel” says Blake Kuwahara. “This Spring Collection reflects that hopeful optimism with more color and adventurous shapes”. His design ethos of creating eyewear that is at once artful yet wearable is evident in his signature frame-within-a-frame laminated technique and use of contrasting colors as well as his cast bone motif used in his Grey Label Collection.
Also dropping this Summer will be a limited edition of the now iconic CHAMBERS in a custom Rainbow acetate in honor of PRIDE. “I posted a rendering of the CHAMBERS in rainbow colors on Instagram to celebrate and recognize the LGBTQ Community during PRIDE Month, and it got such an overwhelming response that we decided to produce it!”, says Kuwahara.
“With the lifting of COVID-related restrictions and a pent-up demand, retail is continuing gain traction buoyed by consumer optimism,” says Richard Mewha, President of Fade To Grey, the distributing company for Blake Kuwahara Eyewear.
Blake Kuwahara designs are available from leading independent opticians across Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire.
Kuwahara, the founder of the multi-disciplinary design agency, Focus Group West, first gained international acclaim as the creator and designer of the exclusive KATA Eyewear brand. His groundbreaking use of engineering and production techniques together with his highly curated eye reinvented the way eyewear design is approached today.
Kuwahara’s bold experimentation and innovation have gained him a following in the fashion media and has been profiled in Vogue, ELLE, Bazaar, GQ, In Style, and Esquire and has been seen on E!, Access Hollywood, MTV, and CNN. Buzzmagazine voted Kuwahara one of the “100 Coolest People in Los Angeles” and Detour magazine called him, “a gifted talent, blessed with savvy and unmistakable sense of style.”
Kuwahara was recently named by Brilliant Magazine as one of the “100 Most Important People in the Eyewear Industry”. Kuwahara has also collaborated extensively on eyewear collections for John Varvatos, Carolina Herrera, Isaac Mizrahi, Behnaz Sarapfour, Hanae Mori, and Coach.
A celebrity favorite, Kuwahara’s designs are worn by Lil Nas X, Elton John, QuestLove, Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, Charlize Theron, Halle Berry, Robert Downey, Jr., Will Smith, Jeremy Piven, Samuel L. Jackson, Casey Affleck, Slash, and Gwyneth Paltrow among many others.
Souster & Hicks is a unique and elegant bespoke family-run tailors in the heart of Georgian village Woburn in Bedfordshire. The personal one on one service is all part of the experience of shopping, and people travel from all over the world to get a feel of their tailoring magic.
With their combined experience, knowledge, skill and understanding of style, the Souster family ensure that they find the perfect outfit for every occasion. Whether it be a business suit, a casual jacket or something for a special occasion, they recognise that no two women want to be dressed the same and that all customers have individual styles to reflect their personalities.
Laura Souster, Managing Director says: “There are so many more women getting their clothes tailor-made, and of course this is great news for us as a business, but it is an even greater statement that the world is changing, and powerful women are vastly growing and being rightfully recognised.
“The importance of dressing in a way that oozes confidence, strength and professionalism is becoming a bigger factor in the business sector; not just because it is how others perceive you though. It is about how you feel within yourself. If you wear a crumpled jumper and a pair of jeans to work, then you won’t feel as powerful and professional as you do when you wear a blouse and a jacket.”
There are two wonderful tailoring options available for womenswear at Souster & Hicks; made-to-measure and bespoke. Made-to-measure consists of beautifully machine-made garments with exclusive designs, and all measurements are taken by trying samples on.
Bespoke consists of the art of handwork, and every single garment is made to the standards of the world-famous Savile Row tailors. Measurements are taken by hand using a tape measure and drafted onto brown paper from scratch, this therefore becomes the master pattern. There are unlimited choices of fabrics and styling options available to choose from and the whole experience is a journey whereby a female becomes – the stronger more confident version of herself.
- Jackets start from £500
- Business suits from £780
- Special occasion outfits from £980
- Tailored dresses from £480
- Trousers, skirts, and waistcoats from £295
- Tailored shirts and blouses from £195
From tailored suits, dresses, coats, blouses – you name it Souster & Hicks has made it. Tailoring allows the modern alpha female to pick, choose and create their own fashion garments and showcase their personality in a way that reflects on their image.
Lydia Millen commented: “It’s safe to say my days of buying Balmain jackets has come to an end. I don’t know why I’d ever spend that much for a jacket that doesn’t fit me properly, when I can spend the same amount and have one made completely bespoke, and to my size and proportions perfectly. I think buying tailoring like this has been really popular with men in the past, but my goodness – that is changing!”.
About Woburn’s Souster & Hicks
Souster & Hicks is a family business established in 1978 by the husband-and-wife team, Geoff and Laura Souster, based in a stunning Georgian building located in the beautiful village of Woburn in Bedfordshire. Geoff and Laura’s eldest son Scott joined the company back in 1999 and his younger son, Wes joined in 2003. Both Scott and Wes are fully trained in the art of bespoke cutting and tailoring and will continue the future of the Souster name within the tailoring world. Scott’s wife Natalie joined the company 7 years ago to help Laura with the ladies tailoring and look after the general running of the business.
Geoff has a career spanning over 53 years, hand cutting more than 30,000 bespoke suits. Geoff was elected as the youngest ever National President of the Federation of Merchant Tailors in 1988, and also works as a consultant helping to set up and improve the patterns created for made to measure manufacturers. Souster & Hicks create bespoke tailor-made suits, cut and fitted on the premises and tailored to the same high standards as the world-renowned Savile Row tailors.
The Mall Luton has today welcomed new store TipTop Outlet to the centre, with the retailer opening its doors to eager customers looking for premium brands at affordable prices.
The store, which covers two floors, is home to an iconic line-up of brands including Nike, Adidas, Reebok and Timberland. More affordable ranges can be found on the first floor, which is accessible via staircase or lift.
Shoppers will be able to browse a huge range of shoes, clothes, and accessories, with a fantastic mix of sought-after, limited-edition lines not readily available in other stores, and great value bargains. Items such as the Nike Jordan Limited Edition trainers that usually are not available within stores in the UK will be one of the first of a selection of unique offers at the store.
Manager of TipTop Outlet, Mutaz Alhejoj, said, “We are excited to unveil the store after working hard to get it ready over the past couple of months. Tiptop is a great place to find your next pair of favourite trainers but also to browse through our collections of branded clothes and accessories. Exclusively for the opening, we have secured many pairs of the Nike Jordan Limited Edition released in 2021. We look forward to welcoming shoppers to our store!”
The opening of TipTop comes in the same week as the newly extended Primark store fully opens at The Mall, bringing an even bigger and better range of fashion and homeware to the centre. The 10,000sqft extension into an adjacent unit sees the retail giant increasing its presence in Luton and offering a wider choice of products to shoppers.
Roy Greening, General Manager, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Tiptop Outlet to The Mall. Their unique and exciting offer is a fantastic addition to our already impressive line-up here at the centre.
Roy continued, “With the opening of the extended Primark store this week, and the opening of TipTop, all just in time for the festive season, we hope shoppers will love discovering the new lines and brands now available here”.
TipTop can be found opposite H&M in The Mall. Shoppers can access the bigger and improved Primark store through an enlarged entrance within the Mall as well as via George Street.
TipTop Outlet Luton Address
The Mall Luton
Unit 188
Luton
Bedfordshire
LU1 2TL
