In vogue- Fashion Fest '16 gets funding

The funding was granted at Derry & Strabane’s June Business and Culture Committee meeting.

The third annual Fashion Fest will take place from November 17 to 20. The festival was introduced to give established and emerging designers, fashion and beauty traders, students and fashion entrepreneurs a platform to promote their products and showcase their services.

This year will focus on commercialisation, product presentation and collection promotion.

A Design Showcase event will be staged in the Guildhall during the festival, and a £1,000 bursary will be offered by the council for the most innovative collection.

Sinn Fein Councillor Elisha McCallion said there was some suggestion of a partnership with Visit Derry to expand the festival, adding that she became aware of the “huge good will” towards the festival as she attended events last year as Mayor.

“What struck me at the time was the engagement of young people and for the first time for many of them they had the opportunity to showcase their goods,” she said.

Colr. McCallion added that following on from Derry’s manufacturing prowess in the past,in the present local young people were designing their own fashion.

Independent Councillor Darren O’Reilly said that pop up shops were a possibility across the Council area, adding that given the disused factories locally, perhaps people could come together and create garments for the shops.

A Council officer said that pop up shops were planned and that, given Colr. O’Reilly’s suggestion, they could now look at widening that out.