SCOTLAND DECIDES - THE KINGS & QUEENS OF SCOTTISH FASHION ARE CROWNED AT THE 2014 SCOTTISH FASHION AWARDS

London, UK – 1^st September – This evening, the great and the good of Scottish fashion kicked off the global fashion carousel as they paid tribute to the winners and honorees of the 9^th Annual Scottish Fashion Awards.

Dame Vivienne Westwood was inducted into the Hall of Fame for her undeterred loyalty and unparalleled love and passion for Scottish textiles and fabrics, which she has consistently used throughout her collections over the years.

Christopher Kane was named Scottish Designer of the Year.

Sixteen year old Jean Campbell was named Scottish Model of the Year having secured campaigns with Burberry and featuring in both British and Italian Vogue and singer Amy Macdonald was crowned Scottish Fashion Icon.

Supermodel David Gandy was given the prestigious Founders Awards for his support of Scottish and British fashion over the last nine years.

Dubbed the ‘Oscars of Scottish Fashion’, VIP guests indulged in fine dining Scottish Banquet with Scottish scallops, Highland beef, neeps & tatties served with Haggis croquettes and to finish, a raspberry cranachan, strawberry shortbread and Mars Bar shot with tempura topping!
The Russian Standard Vodka After Party served complementary Russian Mules whilst the guests danced the night away to the sounds of DJ duo, Beatnik.
Each guest received the ultimate goodie bag. A limited edition Holly Fulton for Radley tote was filled with gifts from Bobbi Brown, Toni & Guy, Deeside Water, Tunnocks, Walkers Shortbread, Hangover Mints, Russian Standard Vodka and Roundsquare Coffee.
The most extravagant gift came from the events Official Jeweller, the world’s leading simulated diamond jewellery boutique - Tru Diamonds, who gifted each guest with diamond earrings and a necklace.

The Scottish Fashion Awards 2014 winners are;

Scottish Designer of the Year – Christopher Kane 

Scottish Young Designer of the Year - Hayley Scanlan 

Scottish Textile Brand of the Year - Dhu 

Scottish Communicator of the Year - Avril Mair, Harper’s Bazaar 

Scottish Retailer of the Year - Abandon Ship Apparel 

Scottish Accessory Designer of the Year - William Chambers Millinery

Scottish Fashion Graduate of the Year - Colleen Leitch

International Designer of the Year - Simone Rocha

Scottish Model of the Year - Jean Campbell

Scottish Exporter of the Year - Mackintosh

Luxury Retailer - Harvey Nichols, Edinburgh

Fashion Icon 2014 – Amy MacDonald

Hall of Fame 2014 - Dame Vivienne Westwood

Fashion Ambassador 2014 –

Professor Christopher Moore on behalf of Professor Pamela Gillies, British School of Fashion

Belinda Earle on behalf of Marc Bolland, Marks and Spencer

Founders Awards 2014 – David Gandy

Vivienne Westwood's Red Carpet Capsule Collection

Vivienne Westwood’s Red Carpet Capsule Collection is fit for a queen especially as Westwood has taking inspiration from the gowns our own Queen wore to prestigious events in her younger days.  

The Union Jack print takes on a vintage distressed look in silk chiffon for this classicly draped corseted gown. 

Fabrics used include silk satins, tafetta, organza crepe du chine and double georgette.

Colour palette ranges from soft grey, aqua, powder pink, nude and coral to the deeper petrol

There is a more carefree approach to red carpet glamour with the addition of elegant easy to wear gowns and draped Grecian insired cocktail dresses.

The Red Carpet Collection is a capsule of ten dresses and four pairs of earrings. Prices start at £650 and regally rise up to £3000.

Available from the Vivienne Westwood store at 6 Davies Street W1 Tel: 02076293757

Royal Ascot Fashion Show 2011 - Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood's couture label Gold took to the catwalk at Royal Ascot's fashion show.

This SS11collection is titled ‘ The Only One’and was inspired by lost civilisations.

"The present collection is an extraction of some past essence, things that occurred to me as I chose fabrics and worked on cuts. Markers of different views of life, from people who saw the world differently from us. Arbitrary things-tutenkamen, little girls who were exposed on the mountains of  Peru, waiting to marry the sun, Matisse, Comedia Dell’Arte, Noh theatre, Ballet."

Baby blue cotton pillowcase dress with black frame worn with a shredded gold silk bolero.

Charcoal print box dress in crinkle cotton with turquoise and brown towel worn as a stole.

Ivory double breasted blazer with asymmetric skirt in summer wool.

Drunken trousers and blazer in green leopard print stretch vicose.  worn underneath but not shown in the image is a ‘Loyalty to Gaia’ print t shirt. (Gaia theory sees all organisms and their inorganic surroundings to be closely integrated maintaining the conditions for life on earth. )

Black and white dotted squares suit in Jacquard cotton.

Shredded gold knit silk knit top with pink dotted dress in Jacquard cotton.

Silver embroidered mini dress with electric blue silk overlay.

Gold embroidered mini dress with overlaying gold silk tutu dress.

Black embroidered mini dress with floral cotton organdie overlay.

Long floral silk taffeta printed dress with twisted bodice and slit.

Long bronze and dark green silk taffeta and organza skirt with silver silk Duchess satin bodice.

Long brown silk grosgrain and taffeta corset dress.

And it wouldn’t be a Westwood collection without a bit of tartan. Ballerina linen floral and silk tartan dress.

Royal Ascot is 300 years old this year!

It’s hard to believe that Royal Ascot is 300 years old! Right from the start in 1711, when Queen Anne declared the area would be ideal for horseracing, it has attracted the fashionistas of society. And to celebrate the Big 300, Vivienne Westwood and Stephen Jones have designed three outfits collectively named the Three Graces. Each ensemble represents a different century- 19th, 20^th and 21^st.

The first gown is in the style of the Victorian era and made from a select silk taffeta named Quality Viola. The word taffeta is Persian in origin and means ‘twisted woven’ and is a luxurious fabric often used for ball gowns. The fabric has 100 thread counts per square centimetre and is hand dyed with 300 different colours producing an overall grey ombre shading from soft yellow, gold to violet, mauve and black.  Honouring the sewing process of the late 1800s the machine used to create the gown is more than 150 years old and each thread had to be introduced individually by hand in to the machine.

Stephen Jones bonnet is made with the same taffeta silk as the dress and is reminiscent of the prim ‘poke’ style worn in the Victorian times (called poke as the ladies could poke their hair inside the hat). But rather than hide the face with the typical forward projecting rim, Jones’ rim soars upwards to frame and reveal the face. The bow tied around the neck is flamboyantly large instead of dainty and demure, and complements Westwood’s gown. The hat’s style also is reminiscent of the jockey’s cap.

The second gown nods to the Edwardian ‘Belle Epoque’ period and was inspired by the black and white Cecil Beaton dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1964 My Fair Lady movie . In the film Eliza Doolittle attended Royal Ascot at the time of ‘Black Ascot’ in 1910 when the ladies wore large black picture hats out of respect for the death of King Edward VII. The Edwardians loved wearing white, cream or ecru as it was a symbol of wealth- it meant that you could afford plenty of maids to clean your soiled hems made dirty from a leisurely stroll on the lawn. 

Wider hats were fashionable and became a statement of extravagance with their over the top trimmings of large cabbage roses or gerberas, lace, bunches of berries, rosettes and ribbon streamers. And Stephen Jones’ large fascinator with its ears of wheat, bows, plumes and flowers is in keeping with the era and also pays homage to Cecil Beaton’s hat worn by Hepburn in My Fair Lady.

The third creation brings us in to 21st Century glamour. This lipstick red demi-couture piece is from Westwood’s Gold Label collection.  It is hand sewn with red embroidery on black silk with an all over flower theme. Sculptural finishes are seen around the neckline and shoulders.

The hat is of hi-tech lacquered straw in the same deep red as the dress. Fashioned in Jones’ signature miniature top hat style and softened with veil netting.

Throughout the fashion stakes, you can see the style may have changed but the flamboyant look always remains stable. 

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Items in this set:
Fab turtleneck in teal and purple from Forever21.com
James Perse Stretch-jersey turtleneck in grey from net-a-porter.com
Grey Ribbed Square Cardigan Coat by Vivienne Westwood Anglomania from my-wardrobe.com UGG - CLASSIC SHORT BOOTS in grey, blue and aubergine from luisaviaroma.com and jades24.com
Lilac Velvet foldover leggings from victoriassecret.com
Turquoise crochet frill scarf from dorothyperkins.com
Cmarchuska clothing - violet Hunter Scarf from moxsie.com
Alexander Wang grey Zip-front stretch leggings from net-a-porter.com
Teal chunky stitch beret from dorothyperkins.com
Cable knit berets in grey and aubergine from calvinklein.com
Large Studded Flower Brooch from missselfridge.com
Velvet flower corsages in blue and purple from dorothyperkins.co
Blue Animal Print legging from H&M