Amelia’s Magazine | Bath in Fashion 2013

Category: Fashion

Bath in Fashion illustration by Julie Verhoeven
Bath in Fashion illustration by Julie Verhoeven

A long time ago (in the 18th century) in a far away place (Bath) the fashionable ladies wot lunched and dashing gentlefolk of society gathered to see and be seen. Fast-forward three hundred years or so, and little has changed; Bath is still a fashionable haven.

Bath in Fashion, a week-long celebration of all things chic, is the highlight of the trend calendar in this little city. With previous years featuring car-park catwalks and Roman Baths adjacent shows, it's with eager anticipation that I glance over the events on the calendar of this year's diverse festival.

David Downton Valentino
Fashion illustration by David Downton.
Bath in Fashion 2013 offers everything from knitting workshops to a conversation with all-round fashion goddess Sasha Wilkins of LibertyLondonGirl. With a catwalk show produced by John Walford and styled by Rebekah Roy as well as a Mallory sponsored showcase, there will be plenty to keep interest piqued over this 10 day festival.

The Secret Tea Party looks to be the perfect pick-me-up after a morning of shopping at the BathVA Vintage Fashion Fair. There's fashion related film showings on too, if you want to give your peepers a visual treat. Whether it's a talk on the Jacobean catwalk or a book signing with Chloe Fox, there's more than enough to occupy fashion lovers as well as the more general culture addicts out there too. Pop-up shops include Made in Chelsea star Jamie Lang's Candy Kittens, and Fashion' Traffic People Bath.

Bath in Fashion
As part of the festival there's also a plethora of exhibitions, including Fifty Fabulous Frocks which you can read my review of here. There is a whole herd of other exhibits that coincide with the festival too, including: Painted Pomp: Art and Fashion in the Age of Shakespeare, Folded Beauty: Masterpieces in Linen by Joan Sallas and Mouvements de Femmes: Norman Parkinson by Roland Mouret. Ladies Let Rip, an installation by Julie Verhoeven looks pretty promising and Made in England! Pop up Manufacturing with British Bag Makers sounds like a great way to get the inside know-how into creating shoulder candy.

Bath in Fashion is just one of the ways that this beautiful city is carving out a name for itself in the fashion world and this week is sure to be an informal street-style extravaganza. The home of Manolo Blahnik, Bath has a strong reputation for style and the presence of The Museum of Costume, aka the Fashion Museum, cements this city's fervor for textiles. The local Bath Spa University offers a leading fashion design course and student Stephanie Kitchen recently won the FAD Awards 2013 as well as Chloe Jones winning the Womenswear accolade at Graduate Fashion Week in 2012.

Bath in Fashion boasts a reputation as one of the best style-fests outside of London, and 2013 promises to be the best yet. If you're still not convinced you can read our review of BIF 2011 to get a better idea of what Bath in Fashion might have in store.

All images courtesy of Hancock Communications