Our night at The Exchange Christmas Fashion & Shopping Event

The Exchange Christmas Fashion and Shopping Event was a chance for Nottingham to see the picks of the Season's trends on the catwalk, then find them at exclusive discounts within the shopping quarter. It was an entertaining evening, with street magicians adding to the excitement and a brass band adding to the festive mood.

We caught up with 2nd year Fashion Communications and Promotion student, Sophie Rowe, who helped organised the Christmas Exchanged Catwalk for the 3rd time. She first got involved with the catwalk when PR Adrian Parkinson approached Nottingham Trent University to offer students the chance of experiencing the orginisation of a catwalk, from this she interned in PR at Paul Smith which she enjoyed thoroughly.

 Sophie tells us she loves the responsibility and "The Buzz" that comes with working all day to make sure everything goes smoothly and the feeling of it being over in a second. Suprisingly she loves her course so much she exclaims "I enjoy doing work!", this enthuasasm is sure to land her her dream job of working for Diesel.

First down the catwalk was Nottingham's own Miss England, Jessica Linley.

We took the opportunity to find out a bit more about what the stores in the Exchange have to offer for Autumn Winter...

We spoke to Kookai sales assistant, Chantelle, about the key looks from the French brand. Amongst all of the gorgeous knitwear, Chantelle showed us the range of very chic silk jumpsuits, click here to view her favourite. She told us that the brand is essentially quite girly, and a key forcus is quality of materials. We found that the prices are at the higher end of the high-street, however as Chantelle pointed out, you're getting very classy pieces made from merino wool, silk etc. 
  

  We also paid a visit to Karen Millen, where we had a browse through the usual array of formal dresses. If you're looking for something sophisticated and dramatic for your festive dressing-up, look no further as we found ruffles, glitter and satin in abundance. We were also told one of the Season's best sellers has been the Snow Leopard coat, which is a less bulky take on the popular Winter faux fur.

By flicking through the Warehouse look-book, we found the trends they are backing for A/W'10: embellishment and brights. Our favourite Christmas party dress was the Marilyn, which brings a brighter twist to the much coveted pleated style.


We spoke to Tracy, the Manager at Austin Reed about the store, which offers a range of smart and proffesional wear for a range of women and men. If you're going to be a graduate searching for something sharp to wear to any interviews, we reccomend you make use of the 15% student discount offered!

The images we have used were taken by David Bullock, a Nottingham based Photographer. For the past six years he has been constantly improving his skills, bringing his images to a high standard. He has also gained high technical abilities in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, along with knowledge of Final Cut Pro. He specialises in Fashion Photography but also works with Portraiture, Wedding Photography, Events and much more. To see his work, please visit his website at http://www.dbullockphotography.com/, follow him on twitter, or if you have any questions feel free to contact him on 07985714816.