The Cat Will Walk At Midnight...or 9pm sharp!

YES WE DID

After much preparation, harried e-mails, frantic phone calls and diva style strops, the WTF fashion party finally decended upon the JJB stadium. More than 250 turned out on the rainy Tuesday evening but the inside of the Marquee was on fire. Every stall space was taken and the final frontline of stores was a great mix. There was Bags and Buttons, Pretty Bo's, Reds Closet, Justicia, Station Road, Fashion Victim, Fishers Frocks, Bead Freaks, Posh Frox, Elixea, Oxfam Orginals, Me&Yu, the Environmental Justice Foundation, Knickers and No Fur Coat and Vicky Martin. The later five featuring in the Ancer Homes sponsored Catwalk show which remarked on the current ethical revolution in fashion, all the clothes were either made here in the UK or ethically sourced elsewhere.

Winstanley College and their highly acclaimed Foundation Course put on the first show deemed 'Aquatica Mechanica' showcasing their fashion project. It was a spectacle to see, both inovative and creative and a credit to the students who organised the show singlehandedly and pulled it off with style, it was great to see the next generation of artistic thinkers grace the catwalk.

Tensions were high back stage as the big show approached. The 12 models and the WTF team did the event proud with a flawless performance at 9pm. They strutted like they meant it, beautifully made up both hair and make-up by Wigan and Leigh College, as the likes of Crystal Waters and Ratatat pumped up the crowd . Me&Yu oozed uber cool with hoodies and big shades with bright and bold prints, Oxfam Orginals showed a quirky and mix matched selection to demonstrate their diversity of styles and Vicky Martin closed the show with elegance and attitude. The EJFs t-shirt which were available to buy at the show, teamed with knickers and knee socks they were a hit with everyone, not just the boys. WTF donated £300 to this worthy charity that actively promotes the ethcial production cotton over seas, and has the likes of Christian Lacroix, Luella and native north Westerner Betty Jackson designing for them.

It felt like a blur of big hair, red lips, air kisses, cheap cava, hairspray and far too many camera flashes and suddenly it was 11pm and we were getting kicked out. We left behind a few miffed bouncers and one epic mess but the place was packed, all stalls broke it even, some made a killing, people shopped, drank, danced and sang. Hopefully the issue of ethical fashion was made known to everyone, affordable fairly made fashion is out there but don't believe the jam pipe hype, come to the next WTF and see for yourself.

Ride

yes it is!

Tickets

Here to clear up the mist over the WTF fashion show.

TICKETS are available from:

Wigan Oxfam
Or message the myspace www.myspace.com/walkwalkwalkwalk
Or you can pay on the door, but its best to reserve and I will put you on the list.

LOVEYOUGUYS

The Front line up

Confirmed ladies and (Gents) are..

Vicky Martin - loyal WTFer, proud northerner and very sucessful designer.

Me&Yu - hot innovative streetwear all handmade printed and limited edition, for girls AND boys.

Club Couture - Formally Club Vogue, Wigan based clubwear venturing into a new exciting glamourous realm.

Knickers and No Fur Coat - Beautiful Individually designed knickers made or order and measure.

EJF - Awe inspiring charity who 'pick cotton carefully' and make t-shirts with the help of Christian Lacroix, Luella and Betty Jackson

Bags and Buttons - Sells fun bags, purses, button jewellery and badges.

Pretty Bo's - Costumes jewellery designer, likes to work with fresh water pearls to produce original creations.

Justicia - Green minded charity selling jewellery and other knick knacks. PforP's (perfect for presents)

Fishers Frocks - customised and idivdually reworked frocks.

Posh FroX - New Standish based dress shops for proms, parties and parading.

Bead Freaks - Hand crafted beaded jewellery, one of a kind.

Reds Closet - New Wigan Boutique, affordable glamwear.

(I will finish this one day) back tomorrow!
Come SHOP with us lets shop lets shop away!

Cheap furniture.. Good Cause.. Pretty Colours

I couldn't believe this when I was mincing around the charity shops of Wigan... Got down into the RSPCA on the street next to the bus station and saw this sweet pink chair upholstered with plastic and trimmed with gold. Sounds positively vile however it was amazing and marked up at only a fiver. My comrade and I proceeded to fight over it and the woman comes over and starts asking if there is a problem. We explain the dilemma, she solves it. Apparently the chair was part of a set, the chairs are made for the charity shop specially by some sweet animal loving people who make furniture and donate it to the shop. Therefore they can sell it at cheap cheap prices. They do it all the time and could possibly make to order.. so if ever in need of some cheap furniture buy from there and save the animals while you do it. Remember poach eggs, not elephants.



oh and I don't have a picture because i didn't win the fight.

Aquatics and Mechanics

WTF are you wearing - Manchester

Your hair c'est long, it's all over your head! and that with that three quid bomber you gonna knock um dred.

Still Heart'n the Tartan

Checks were huge this season, the lumberjacks and slow talking country boys were invading the creative heads everywhere. I have had a love affair with checks ever since the mighty reign of the tartan pants circa 1996 school disco, I absolutely loved them (may they RIP) So the fad wore off but tartan stayed on my mind and life up until now how been scattered with various headbands, bags, blankets and one seriously questionable cape all rad in plaid, i spent the summer stealing my best friends red/green checked legginings. Most recently I got a tartan kilt from a bag of old costumes someone was chucking away. Thanks to the 'subtle' guidance of the notorious VIV (Westwood) tartan has become a epic element of design fantasy object of harajuku girls the east over. Scots might heave a sigh of relief to know that its getting a bit old and once again will go to the back of the queue of influences on fashion. I was suddenly feeling a little sick of my new kilt TILL I bumped into these crazy kids roaming the streets of Manchester..




They took it to another level. thanks boys, I hope you have a beautiful tartan wedding.

ps. Seriously there is nothing better than wearing some boy's checked shirt.

I feel this fold was fate.

Ryan's Vintage. Sustainable bags, as in I am not a plastic bag etc. Re-use re-use, do not refuse.

Old Coat make Knickers

Hi, we want to welcome Knickers and No Fur Coat to our club. A bespoke designer of underwear, here it is in the words of the founder, Jana..

"Welcome to the world of Knickers! From the fab and frilly to the sleek and sexy we tailor make knickers and camisoles to match your individual needs - can you think of anything better?"

Well not really unless you have

Shes joining the ranks of Vicky Martin, EJF, Oxfam and Me&Yu on the WTF catwalk. Perfectly fitting with a serene green ethos, there is a new range just out of 'Planet saving Pants' underwear made from replaced materials. Taking old perhaps un inspiring clothes and re working them into backside bearing beauties.

I leave you with the faithful words of Bottom who aptly puts a cap on this subject
'it's like two planets colliding in a pair of pants! oh shut up eddie, i don't care about the vastness of your backside!' (exactly, all anyone really cares is whats on your backside) High Five for green knickers.



Could it be...Pop Arsse Scarf?



Made from a Manga dress

Mentality

Rockin' and a frockin'

Do you see this? FISHERS FROCKS. A label in it's bear babyhood boasts inventive and ironic designs and showed at the STRUT Manchester 4th November that was filmed by channel four apart from all this these dresses are tres tres cute. She knows how to party, she's affordable and has one beautiful entourage. Miss fisher will be joining us on the 4th along with some fabulous frocks for some fashionable frivolity.

ps poor old blow, RIP.

Go Go Go Joseph!

Lee Meade…the legend… I mean please someone agree with me that after having “Any Dream Will Do” as a guilty Saturday night secret, the Meade himself frequents your dreams??? Haha
Well… not just “any dream” but my dreams came true this Monday when the finale ended with him ACTUALLY on top of me…haha (to learn exactly what I mean by this get yourself down to the Adelphi Theatre, Londres asap)
………
Ok so back to the fashion forefront, in reference to Josephs amazing technical dream coat I’d love to introduce you to a fabulous up and coming designer James Millar.
He’s one of many designer stars to graduate from the infamous Central Saint Martins and at the ripe age of 25 can already boast work with Bryan McMahon (menswear editor from Dazed&Confused) and Jonathon Saunders since 2003.
It’s hard not to fall in love with his spriteful, energetic, chaotically colourful unisex knits, in particular his “Technicolor Dreamcoat”. Not only is he among the new wave knitters who are flooding out psyches but he's braking ground by being favoured by fashion forward men's mags Another Man and Arena Homme Plus is straight off the bat being unconfined by womens/menswear exclusively. Let’s embrace these new designers! Bring our generation a fresh new look!



http://www.jamesfrancismillar.co.uk

Top Stop

So I decided this weekend to venture down to our capital to get myself a dose of culture. As soon as I arrived (after a grotty megabus journey with some of the most undesirable loo’s I’ve come across…however not sure whether that can be fairly compared to those at Vfest as alcohol tends to soften the blow aka smell…) I was hit by some capital fashion.
What I love about London is that seasons don’t rule people, trends are around you constantly but it’s not in a cookie cut form. You see the over sized knits, the elctro-boho style, however the differentiations between each individual is what stands out.
Please let’s get rid of the topshop mannequins that roam the streets!!!
I’m calling out to you… let’s stop this infestation!



They tried... quite hard.

STRUT Ruby Ruby

What do you do on a lazy Sunday afternoon? Hang with the fam, read your Sally Brompton horoscope, worry about Monday and eat too much jam on toast? Most perhaps, not this one. Look what we did this Sunday...

Ruby Lounge in Manchester, we danced while the (wasted little) Dj's rocked about the decks, regarded the catwalk shows from Thumder Egg, Me&Yu, You can make it Happen and If I Can Dream and disregarded the fact it was afterall only 5.30 in the afternoon and partied like it was friday night.
For pictures...

www.myspace.com/strutmanchester

No quite as unforgiving as one expected...