Designer Boutiques Dazzled at West Coast Cooler Belfast FASHIONWEEK AW'13!
Monday, October 21, 2013Day one of West Coast Cooler Belfast FASHIONWEEK was jam packed with events, having already attended the "FASHIONWEEK at the Fitz" Cocktail Party and Una Rodden's innovative Fashion Instillation (Read all about it HERE.) I was then hopping off to the Iconic Ulster Museum for the first of the main catwalk shows, this time featuring Designer Boutiques! I was extremely excited to see what FASHIONWEEK had in store for us, the Designer Boutiques show is always a firm favourite of mine, as it features a wide range of boutiques from across Northern Ireland!
This time garments from seven boutiques would be on show, including personal favourites of mine, CRUISE, Blush, Rio/Brazil and Diamond Dolls! Not forgetting fantastic millinery from Gráinne Maher, as well as established boutique Jourdan and boho chic from Liberty Blue!
Having recently attended CRUISE's own intimate AW'13 catwalk show instore I was curious to see which trends they would be featuring on the FASHIONWEEK catwalk! The brand "Almost Famous" featured strongly on the night, as well one of my favourite denim brands Dr Denim! (I adore my DR Denim snakeskin print jeans!!!)
Trend wise there was lots of colbalt blue and lace in cute and flirty dresses, I especially loved the corset style detailing creating structure against the delicate lace of this dress!
While stunning luxe knitwear was also a favourite as it can be styled with leather trousers, or kept casual with jeans, the metallic lace detailing on this jumper giving it a real edge! But stand out was a red carpet worthy black embellished evening dress with sheer mesh side panels!! Major *swoon!!
Blush is a hidden gem on the Lisburn Road, the go to boutique for truly special bridal gowns, as well as trend led eveningwear! However Blush also stock great day dresses too, which can be worn for a day at the races, or a even a girly lunch! Tartan can be a hard look to wear top to toe, but I loved the black contrasting detail on this sleeved dress! Perfect for an Autumn/Winter event!
Peplum's are still proving popular, as are florals for winter and this little number caught my eye too!
Last but not least, as a girl who loves her sparkle I fell hard for this shimmering sheath of fabulousness! A mixture of exquisite jewels and mesh it's a dress that will certainly make a statement!
Rio/Brazil are another favourite of mine, they pride themselves on providing customers with wardrobe staples made from the finest quality fabrics and cut! On the catwalk the looks were all about layering and a play on textures, showing us how to stay warm but with a fashionable edge! I do love the luxe feel of fur and I fell in love with their beige fur trim poncho from Reno and Pelle, finished off with a fur hat! Of course as you all know I'm a total sucker for an evening dress and I loved this winter pink sequin dress finished off with a cute and sassy pink fur cape!
Liberty Blue went print crazy with lots of digital prints inspired by nature, as well as poka dots, florals, animal prints, all in cute and girly silhouettes.
For anyone who really wants to stand out from the fashion pack, look no further to Diamond Dolls in Banbridge! Boutique owner Brenda prides herself on stocking distinctive pieces you won't see every day! I loved the monochrome coat/dress with it's exquisite button's and metallic gold edging! While Melaine Bond's handmade neckIace perfectly compliments the look! I would style it a la "The Devil Wears Prada" with thigh high leather boots! Anne Hathaway eat your heart out!
I love my skater dresses and this black version with it's metallic and pearl embellishment on it's bodice worked perfectly, creating a strong, yet ultimately feminine look!
Gráinne Maher is a FASHIONWEEK veteran and favourite amongst NI's fashionista's, her millinery and "Pluck and Devour" jewellery collection always turns heads, but this time she really outdid herself! Adopting her trademark perspex pieces onto headpieces and hats, it was her use of clear neon perspex which stole the show! Her green and orange feather "flame" pieces glowed as the light caught them!! Absolutely stunning!
Last but not least was Jourdan, this is a boutique that always showcases classiclly chic looks, and again I found myself drawn to fur & monochrome once more in the form of an über chic funnel neckline houndstooth jacket with peplum detailing!
But most of all it was the cleaver use of zig zag panelling and leopard print on this wrap dress that really caught my eye!!
Of course a FASHIONWEEK post isn't complete without a quick mention of what I was wearing on the FROW! While I'll be going through all of my looks in detail in my "FASHIONWEEK Diary" blog post I thought I'd give you a sneak peek of my outfit from Day One! A mix of winter pink sequins in my shorts suit and some animal print in the form of my Karen Millen "Snow Leopard" print cashmere cardigan, I hope you like!
Massive thanks to CMPR for the invite and to Lisa Bell for providing me with all relevant information and imagery! All photographs by Brendan Gallagher.
