Iconic event is organised by UK-based global company Haymarket Media Group – owned by former Minister for Merseyside, Lord Heseltine and will come to the city next summer. Tony McDonough reports.
One of the biggest events in the UK fashion calendar – The Clothes Show – is moving to Liverpool next year after 27 years at NEC Birmingham.
The iconic event is organised by UK-based global company Haymarket Media Group – owned by former Minister for Merseyside, Lord Heseltine.
In July 2017 Liverpool will become home to the newly branded British Style Collective presented by The Clothes Show, an immersive, interactive and three-day city-wide festival, taking in famous venues across the city.
With the full backing of Liverpool City Council, British Style Collective will form an integral part of the UK’s summer festival calendar, celebrating fashion, beauty, music, wellbeing, fitness, health, and education in the creative arts.
The show will take over the whole of the ACC Liverpool site as well as utilising city centre buildings including Liverpool Cathedral, St George’s Hall, and Camp & Furnace in the Baltic Triangle.
The new format will allow visitors access to a multitude of glamorous catwalk shows, shopping from more than 250 fashion and beauty brands and a dedicated seat in the Echo Arena for fashion-meets-music theatre performance
There will also be food and drink pop-ups, plus access to a timetable packed with educational seminars, designer trend presentations, beauty demonstrations, celebrity and influencer meet and greets, and exclusive interviews.
In what’s been designed to attract new visitors and exhibitors to the city over one weekend, visitors can also expect a jam packed programme of vibrant nightlife, entertainment and music into the early hours across the city.
Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool said; “The Clothes Show has long been the leading fashion exhibition in the country.
“It is testament to the reputation of this city and its credibility when it comes to staging major events that Haymarket has chosen to make Liverpool the home to one of their flagship brands.
“We have world class venues, a track record of entertainment and a city full of people who live and breathe fashion. It really is a perfect fit.”
The Clothes Show made a memorable debut 30 years ago on the BBC with a TV show that would fast-become national favourite.
Borne out of this success, The Clothes Show event emerged from behind our screens in 1989. With a heritage spanning across three decades, the show is renowned for discovering and launching the careers of household names within the creative industries.
It has consistently welcomed over the years 100,000 visitors to the NEC each December, making it the largest footfall event of its kind and the leading fashion and beauty event in Europe.
Maryam Hamizadeh, director of exhibitions at Haymarket, added, ‘We are excited to announce our plans for 2017 and the launch of the British Style Collective presented by The Clothes Show.
“We are thrilled to be working with Liverpool City Council to enable us to curate the new, vibrant content and format that will be current, fresh and dynamic.”