Fashion / The Fashion Front Show
The Fashion Front show 2018
The Fashion Front show is the one-stop fashion fix showcasing Bristol’s best independent and sustainable fashion designers in a mix of streetwear, festival and classic fashion pieces representing the best of what Bristol has to offer.
The show has been going from strength to strength for the past few years, powered by Fran Rennison, a local fashion designer who also provides creative opportunities to Bristol’s marginalised groups, by sharing skills and inspiring them to get creative. This year’s event, run at The Old Market Assembly, was no different.
A fun collection designed by the young people from OTR Bristol at The Fashion Front show 2018
This year, Fran worked with OTR Bristol, a mental health charity open to young people aged 11-25, encouraging the group to learn new skills. They designed a fashion range that was showcased at the Fashion Front Show alongside many inspiring independent Bristol designers.
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This is an amazing opportunity for these young designers, who would not necessarily have ever had any design experience prior to Fran’s sessions. The Fashion Front Show is a non-profit, free event that asks for donations to raise money and support that year’s chosen charity.
“The OTR sessions were running for two months prior to the show and the young people accessing the service were excited to be taking part in such a unique project. They surprised themselves with the standard of clothes that they had made. It was lovely to see the peer facilitators there on the night too,” says Fran.
A mix of streetwear co-ords and bodycon in a monochrome, gold and orange colour palette by the OTR Bristol fashion students
This year’s OTR collection was well received with a mix of streetwear co-ords, denims and bodycon with contemporary checkered prints in a monochrome, gold and orange colour palette, perfect for the summer season. The quality of the designs made the OTR team look like they had been in the fashion game for years, rather than just two months.
The students were joined by an exciting line-up of 18 local designers showcasing their latest collections. Big contenders included festival fashion queens Burnt Soul, whose collection bedazzled everyone with LED-lit garms, and That Thing, who were repping all of their independent designers in one collection. Their models were styled up to the max and killing it on this year’s catwalk.
Bristol’s festival fashion queens Burnt Soul turned up the heat with their signature catsuits
That Thing represented their festival fashion independents in their collection
The That Thing collection featuring independent designers Insane in the Rain, Manners London and Pica Pica Feathers
“The show was a real success this year,” says Fran. “We had more designers than previous years and it was great to be able to provide a platform for Bristol-based creatives including photographers, bloggers, hair and make-up artists and stylists. People who had heard about the show were contacting us through social media, wanting to get involved in some shape or form.”
Feisty feminist fashion creator Laa Woof opened the show to the tune of riot grrrl band Bikini Kill’s Rebel Girl, letting everyone know that her Vulva La Revolution collection meant business.
Laa Woof’s Vulva La Revolution collection showcased feisty feminist fashion
Printed bodycon garments featured Laa Woof’s bespoke Flamin’ Vulva print (centre)
Sustainable fashion was represented by Duvet Days, whose amazing streetwear collection is created from upcycled retro duvets. Earth positive streetwear designers Luxe Creatives were also in attendance; they use eco-friendly materials for their T-shirt range.
Continuing the sustainable, reworked theme, Fun Bags featured their latest range of shimmering handmade bumbags made from upcycled fabrics, feathers and sequins, while Dulcie’s Feathers launched a new fashion collection reworked from vintage sari fabrics, perfect for this hot summer and the festival season.
The Duvet Days collection is created using vintage duvet covers and bed sheets, taking upcycling to the next level
Super-cute and eco-friendly T-shirts from Luxe Creatives
Fun Bags brought the sparkle to the max
Beautiful kimonos and shorts co-ords upcycled from sari fabrics by Dulcie’s Feathers
The fashion fun didn’t stop there, with many independent designers creating their own prints too, incorporating them within their eco-conscious, slow fashion collections. Euphoric Threads showed high-performance bodywear pieces that were lovingly handmade in tropical prints. The KJS Studio range featured sun-kissed printed landscapes on luxe beach wear, while Hidden Temple are still killing it on the Bristol streetwear scene with their unique graphics and screen-printing business.
Fun and fruity bodywear by Euphoric Threads
KJS Studio’s sun-kissed beachwear collection
Hand printed streetwear and swimwear at Hidden Temple
Bringing the sparkle to the show, outrageous fashionistas MadWag added festival fun with sparkly superhero capes, Shindig Village worked the sequins into streetwear and Kokomo brought out the showgirl in with their signature Perspex party pieces, complemented by Kiss My Disco‘s rainbow-hued 70s vibes.
Crazy capes by MadWag
Shindig Village’s super sequinned streetwear
Bringing sexy back with the Kokomo collection
Rainbow colours and seventies vibes from Kiss My Disco
Keeping that festival feel going, Zedhead Headwear stormed the catwalk with magnificent headpieces and Palace Flophouse turned up the heat with classic tailoring,oversized bows and shimmering sparkles.
Neat Frontage always keep the streetstyle vibe fresh and colourful with placement appliques and pastel colourways, and Fran Rennison’s own collection for her fashion brand Tail End featured a sunflower bright menswear collection to the tune of Bobby Brown’s Every Little Step, which suited the nostalgic feel perfectly.
Carnival vibes with the Zedhead Headwear collection
Palace Flophouse brought in glamour with shimmery partywear and statement bows
Pastel bright streetwear and festival fashion by Neat Frontage
The sunshine-filled Tail End collection
“This year I have focused mainly on menswear. I think it can be quite difficult for guys to get good quality unique clothing, so I enjoy providing this service,” says Fran. “Menswear is often quite limited so it excites me to create these designs and see the reaction that they achieve. I am obsessed with yellow at the moment so wanted to use this to create a really fresh summer look.
“I also love sunflowers as they add a bit of fun and playfulness to the looks. I make clothes for men and for women so Tail End is becoming a unisex brand. When I design clothes for men, women often buy them and vice versa, so naturally the looks are becoming more gender fluid.”
The Tail End collection was inspired by sunflowers and bright colours for their latest collection
The Fashion Front show models enjoying the show
Over 18 independent designers featured in this years Fashion Front Show at The Old Market Assembly
The Fashion Front Show always has a unique buzz about it, which Fran has been keen to keep going. Her collaboration with pop-up queen Beth Izzard from Bzzaar, has created the Fashion Front Bzzaar, a marketplace that gives independent designers the opportunity to sell their creations to the public. The OTR student designers also got to sell their designs at this event to raise more money for the charity.
These pop-up events have become so popular that there are now plans for quarterly events at The Love Inn, with the next event happening at the end of July.
“Each year the show gets bigger and better and I’m already starting planning for next year to make sure it goes off with a bang. Who knows what we will have in store for 2019!” laughs Fran.
If you would like to know more about the Fashion Front Bzzaar pop up events please contact Bzzaar
Read our fashion editor Emma’s blog No Debutante
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