Bristol Fashion Week S/S 11

Bristol Fashion Week S/S 11 is here, and so is my seasonal round-up of the event. Once again the bright pink show tent landed at the Mall in Cribbs Causeway this week and while international fashion weeks may have finished, Bristol is only just getting warmed up. The event kicked off officially on Wednesday evening, with daily catwalk shows and a Beauty Zone in The Mall, packed full of free treats for shoppers to enjoy.

Any Twitter followers out there will know that I’ve been ridiculously busy with writing deadlines this week and pretty much chained to my desk (barely seeing a glimpse of the gorgeous sunshine we’ve had in Bristol) but I couldn’t wait to get away from the computer and attend the BFW press show yesterday afternoon.

Andrew Barton and Mark Heyes were back at Cribbs to present the show and I have to say they were on top form yesterday. The boys have great banter but in previous shows this has veered towards cheesy: not this time – Andrew was borderline biting with his wry comments about the royal wedding and the festival look – apparently he’d rather stay in with a nice bottle of Shiraz.

The show itself was great – I don’t want to ruin it for anyone going but the opening scene was a corker. John Lewis kicked things off with a floral theme and denim, festival fashion, wedding outfits and beachwear all cropped up.

I surprised myself by being dran to a gorgeous black jumpsuit from BHS, which I haven’t been in since the time abut ten years ago when they used to do a cracking Christmas display and joke presents. I’ve always found their window displays a little dated and lacklutre but as I say, this jumpsuit and corsage combo, left, presently surprised me.

As I’ve said before on Ship-Shape, Spring/Summer always tends to err on the side of caution with denim, maxi dresses, florals etc and the show at Bristol Fashion Week was no exception but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it forces designers to update and refresh popular trends.

I loved the safari chic look from Warehouse – they had a nude quilted leather jacket that looked divine paired with paper bag waistband trousers, while M&S had some very Mad Men style ladylike printed dresses, accessorised with cutesy umbrellas and rather dashing escorts. Oasis showcased a navy lace dress that could be the cool double of Erdem’s firey red number and there were some cracking pieces by Cath Kidson and Jager for John Lewis.

The choreography was refreshing – a mix of dance routines with a strong theme for each brand, from Rio carnivals at Wallis to gothic horror with a Dirty Dancing twist at River Island. The festival scene, complete with a rendition of Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer on a cardboard guitar by one of the child models had the crowds dancing and clapping with applause.

As well as catwalk antics we were also treated to mini cupcakes and bucks fizz, and beauty treats and goodies galore inside The Mall’s Beauty Zone, not to mention lots of discuonts to spend at Cribbs at a goodie bag full of treats – much needed after I accidentally skipped lunch!

There is more to say and more photos to follow but I’ve got to get back to the grindstone. Take a gander at some of my snaps from the day, below, and if you’ve already been to BFW or are planning on going let me know what you thought by leaving a comment : )

Bristol Fashion Week runs at The Mall, Cribbs Causeway from now until Sunday 27th March. Tickets start at £8.50 and shows run throughout the day. For ticket information visit the Cribbs Causeway website.