Attire Accessories - Dec 2017/Jan 2018 (Issue 67)

20 ATTIRE WINNING SPEAK We hear from some of the award winners Ann Edwards, Mame Huku Congratulations! How does it feel? I honestly didn’t believe it when I heard we had won. I was at the hospital with my daughter who had just given birth three hours before. It was a surreal day. I don’t know which I was more excited about – my new grand-daughter or winning! Now it’s sunk in, I’m very proud and it has given me the confidence to be uncompromising in our vision to create beauty. What makes your winning design special? The winning design is so special. The fabric it’s made from is approximately 50 years old. When it was made in Kyoto, it would have been the most precious possession for the Japanese lady who commissioned it. It’s made of silk and gold and platinum thread. My clever master craftswoman Federica Marotto has breathed new life into it, transforming it into an exquisite bag. The jewel is made by Annie Sherburne from vintage, upcycled jewellery. This little bag is a time traveller – 50 years in the making. What have you got planned for 2018? I’m working on the next collection. I have collected some new fabric from Kyoto and need to sit with it for a few weeks to decide what we should make from it. As well as our signature bags, I’m going to make velvet opera coats and a shawl collar. I’m collaborating with Mashizan Shoes to create matching shoes and bags. One collection will be made from an exceptional vintage gold, silver and iridescent swirling phoenix fabric. The shoes will be handmade in Florence. I’ve also been invited to showcase alongside Mashizan at the Singapore National Gallery during Singapore Fashion Week in October. Bianca Elgar, Bianca Elgar Congratulations! How does it feel? I’m so happy to have won three awards! This award scheme offers a fantastic platform to recognise British innovation, design and manufacturing. What makes your winning accessory designs special? The three-sided skinny scarf is a lightweight, easy-to-style scarf with three prints in one, a wonderful starting point for those who wish to experiment with different ways of wearing a touch of colour and print. Meanwhile, Carissa is an original, colourful magnetic modular jewellery collection which can be used as a brooch, to style scarves, or worn as statement earrings. Gaining recognition for manufacturing the Carrissa collection in the UK is a celebration that a product’s provenance is important. By buying authentic British goods, manufactured by skilled craftsmen using the finest materials, we help to keep these skills alive in this country. What have you got planned for 2018? We’re working hard to increase our export and we’ll be designing more accessories for the stylish wardrobe, with a sense of fun and great versatility. Violeta and Vladlena Pastushenko, TTWINN Congratulations! How does it feel to have won this category? Thank you. We were so excited to win the award – we feel a combination of joy, nerves and excitement. As a new brand, we feel honoured that the work we’ve put into our designs, and bringing our ideas to life, was recognised by experts in the fashion industry. We still can’t believe we won it. The award has definitely raised our reputation in the eyes of customers, and we’re still receiving congratulations from people who love our brand. What makes your winning design special? Our Persian Rose backpack with pink fur pompom flap is an original style, as it’s designed with a combination of merino wool felt and soft Italian leather, and finished with light gold brass hardware for a luxury look and feel. The bright pink combined with nude leather ensures the bag will not go unnoticed. Having interchangeable flaps that can be unzipped from the back and replaced with a different one also means it’s a customisable piece. We designed flaps that are standard in size and can be attached to any TTWINN backpack, tote bag or shoulder bag, giving our customers choice of choosing flaps that will match their style. What have you got planned for 2018? Right now, we’re working on our 2018 collection which we’re planning to present at Pure London in February 2018. All we can say for now is that more eye-catching designs will join our range. We’re also planning to build our brand identity in the UK and expand sales internationally. Pete Pelham, The Pelham Group Congratulations! How does it feel to have won this category? We’re delighted to have won this award as it’s testament to all the hard work of the fantastic team here at Pelham. We have a very dedicated and talented group of designers, alongside the marketing team and of course, the brand managers, sales team and support staff, who all contribute. It’s all about them and they should be enjoying the applause. What makes your winning design special? We work very closely with the team at Ted Baker and they help push us to look beyond the obvious. The technology that we use to create the prints is very sophisticated, which allows us to bring fashion into the luggage category and continue to change it. That notwithstanding, we’re also building an excellent piece of luggage that’s not your usual branding exercise. Ted Baker’s design department are amazing so we feed off their creativity by constantly asking ourselves, ‘What would Ted do?” What have you got planned for 2018? There’s always plenty going on at Pelham, we’re always looking to move forward especially with the brands that we currently work with. There are plenty of new Ted Baker collections due out and hopefully we’ll continue to enjoy the success that we’ve had to date.