British Style Collective takes to Liverpool’s catwalks

A festival of style is set to take over Liverpool this weekend as some of the UK’s top fashionistas and beauty gurus flock to the centre for British Style Collective 2017.

Known as Clothes Show Live, hosted at the Birmingham NEC, for the past 27 years, the ‘citywide style takeover’ will include celebrity Q&As, a 45-minute catwalk show and a huge range of vintage and designer stalls to swarm through.

Launching today [June 7], the four venues – Albert Dock, Echo Arena, Exhibition Centre and St. George’s Hall – will come alive with music, street vendors and clothes stalls from some of high street’s biggest names.

Today, the style-savvy can join Vogue Williams for a masterclass in St. George’s Hall or visit the Shopping Halls at Exhibition Centre for tips on how to fill your summer make-up bag.

On Saturday, Girls Aloud’s Kimberley Walsh will be joining Glamour magazine editor, Jo Elvin, in a ‘dress to impress’ expert talk before Elvin heads a talk on the hidden secrets behind Glamour’s doors.

Debuting their new event FINE TUNED, HemingwayDesign will bring one of Liverpool’s cultural hubs alive by taking over Albert Docks all weekend, offering street performers, DJs, a makers market and even fashion scouts seeking out the best dressed for their ‘best in show’ award. If you’re feeling particularly sassy, parades for this award will take place at 12.00, 14.30 and 17.00 from Friday to Sunday.

If your partner isn’t up for tagging along to another make-up tutorial, perhaps they could wander over to the classic car show, which will feature more than 30 vintage vehicles – because it isn’t just clothes that are stylish.

And for some industry expertise, if the buzz of shopping and eating has tired you out, there are talks about the history of fashion, beauty blogging and even an ‘in conversation’ session with Gary McQueen, the son of the late Alexander McQueen.

For those looking to set up their own Instagram account or get creative with WordPress, broadcaster Lexi Willetts will talk about how social media can ‘enhance your life’ and River Island will teach you how to ‘break into blogging’.

This annual event has been re-branded by Haymarket Media Group as they make the move “up-north”, meaning Liverpool can now be celebrated, not only for its eclectic music scene, but for its vibrant style too.

Here is what is taking place where…

Liverpool Echo Arena

The UK’s largest catwalk show will take over Liverpool’s Echo Arena, seating over 8,000 people. The catwalk is set to showcase the latest trends alongside a series of live music acts.

Girls Aloud’s Kimberly Walsh, model Vogue Williams and Mollie King, who found fame in The Saturdays, will present and welcome models and dancers to the venue across the weekend.

St George’s Hall

Designer lovers can head to the iconic St George’s Hall, where visitors can enjoy designer catwalk shows from brands including Sorapol and Liverpool’s own Philip Armstrong. The venue will also host a series of live interviews with the creative masterminds behind the collections, hosted by fashion icon Hilary Alexander OBE.

Experts on hand will include designers Gary McQueen and Henry Holland, presenters and models Lisa Snowdon and Caryn Franklin MBE and bloggers Megan Ellaby and Olivia Purvis.

Exhibition Centre Liverpool

The Shopping Halls, taking place at the Exhibition Centre Liverpool, will be home to the biggest online brands and high street names in fashion, beauty and lifestyle across the weekend. The likes of River Island, Monsoon, Oasis, Victoria’s Secret, Accesorize and Andrew Collinge will join the line-up of more than 150 other well known brands.

The venue will also have an experts stage, where editors, bloggers and style experts will share their tips and experience.

Albert Dock  

Fine Tuned, HemingwayDesign’s new event, will be taking place at Liverpool’s Albert Dock across the weekend. The event will bring together some of the UK’s very best independent designers, alongside vintage traders and other retro treats including classic car displays.

There will also be live music and entertainment as well as a host of street food vendors and pop up catwalks.

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