Photo: Alive Ives @aliceivesphotography
Fashion Fiesta is a community organisation based in Bradford with the specific aims of nurturing talent in the local fashion industry.
Supporting up and coming creatives, models, designers and just about anyone with an interest in getting involved in the fashion world. Themselves supported by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Bradford Council, it is establishing itself as a local and national force to be reckoned with. It is West Yorkshire rightfully demanding a seat at the table.
They are a community organisation based in Bradford with the specific aims of nurturing talent in the local fashion industry. Upcoming creatives, models, designers and just about anyone with an interest of getting involved in the fashion world.
Workshops, mentoring and promoting for creatives are available, but the highlight of the Fashion Fiesta calendar is their enthralling Fashion Show. Their spring show this year was hosted in the grand Victoria Hall, the beating cultural heart of Saltaire Village. “This was our best one yet” Rachel Hatfield, Founder of Fashion Fiesta, told me after the show came to a close, she was right.
Photo: Kevin Blake @octain64
The textile history of West Yorkshire looms large in the local landscape. Huge mills dotted throughout the county, signalling the county’s impressive heritage at the centre of the world textile trade. Especially here in Saltaire, a UNESCO world heritage site; a Victorian “model village” built to service the nearby Salts Mill with labour. A beautiful town situated just outside of Shipley north of Bradford – fashion once again returns.
A fashion show typically highlights the work of one designer or brand, but Fashion Fiesta is a collaborative outgoing. With 17 designers, including a collaboration with Shipley College, showcasing their garments from a wide range of inclusive backgrounds – this was never going to be your “typical” fashion show.
Photo: Kevin Blake @octain64
A large roster yet still ever-so cohesively put together. The overarching theme of the show was a dedication to sustainability and reflecting that textile heritage prestige West Yorkshire holds. Collection through collection, the hand-crafted garments left the room stunned. There’s no reason these pieces can’t rival those seen on the catwalks of London, Paris or Milan.
Vintage met modern, the fashion-forwardness rooted in the shared past of our region. The West Yorkshire cultural identity personified and reinvented. Reflecting the incredibly diverse region that we call home: influences from South Asia, Europe and Africa shone through the show. From couture to streetwear, it was impossible to guess what the next outfit stepping onto the catwalk would be.
At the end of the day, that is what drives the fashion industry forward. The dare to be different, to be unpredictable and push the boundaries.
Fashion Fiesta will be back, keep your eyes peeled.
Photo: Connor Demir @photoconna
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