FASHION City York is hitting the red carpet again. Following the success of the inaugural FCY weekend in April, the team of designers, retailers and hair and beauty experts will be hosting a series of events from next weekend.

The aim of the event, organised by Russell Norton, Chairman of Fashion City York, is to showcase some of the best fashion, beauty and style in the city. On Saturday, city centre stores will be staging “Live Windows” where models will be showing off the latest autumn looks. Browns in Davygate, Republic in Coney Street, and Joy in the Coppergate centre are some of the retailers taking part.

On Sunday, a “Fashion Village” sets up stall in the Pitcher & Piano, featuring York fashion and beauty businesses. From 11am to 4pm, this will be the place to source vintage pieces, handmade skincare as well as clothes and accessories. Up and coming York designer Isobel Wong, Kelly Ewing, HF Couture, John Quinnel-Hill, The Whitby Jet Shop, Bolsita, Kigali Crafts are just some of the businesses taking part. Entry is free.

Also on Sunday, a clothes swapping or “swishing event” will take place at City Screen. Bring £1 and some good quality clothes along and get swapping. From noon to 4pm.

Hang around at City Screen, because at 5.30pm on Sunday, a screening of the Audrey Hepburn classic, Funny Face, is scheduled.

The showcase event of September’s FCY is StyleFocus, a fusion of fashion, food and drink, to tie in with the city’s Food and Drink Festival, on Saturday, September 17, from 7.30 to 10pm.

This promises to be a fashion show with a difference, held in the Fountain Café marquee and featuring the latest looks from the high street and independent retailers, including Joules, Purple Haze, Ark, Joy, Ness, LK Bennett, Browns, Wallis, East, Coast, Levis and House of Avalon. Tickets cost £15, which include a canapé reception, available from the festival website: yorkfoodfestival.com

FCY celebrates silver-screen style too. Fashion lovers can visit the Hamlet to Hollywood exhibition at Barley Hall, York. The exhibition explores changes in fashion from Tudor times to the early 20th century through a display of costumes worn by some of the best loved stars of stage and screen, including Cate Blanchett, Colin Firth, Helena Bonham-Carter, Daniel Radcliffe, Elizabeth Taylor, and Heath Ledger.

The costumes have featured in the likes of The King’s Speech, Sense and Sensibility, The Duchess, and the TV series Lark Rise To Candleford, Pride And Prejudice, Downton Abbey and Cranford. Find out more at barleyhall.org.uk

Check out the latest Fashion City York news at fashioncityyork.co.uk


HANNAH CLUGSON reports on the ultimate fashion swap shop

Imagine stepping into a world where your wardrobe is full of fabulous outfits you can’t wait to wear. Now imagine that they were ethically bought with a tiny price tag.

Cue Fashion City York’s Clothes Swap where you can reinvent your clothing collection by swapping – or ‘swishing’ – your unwanted garments for ‘new’ ones.

Men and women can achieve a fashion overhaul simply by trading in their abandoned clothes for preferable pieces from someone else’s wardrobe.

And transformation is the name of the game for event organisers Alex Claydon and Samantha Agnew. Alex says: “Everyone wants to update their wardrobe but normally it’s an impossible ideal – yet a clothes swap costs next to nothing.”

Indeed, this update costs only £1 (the admission to the Clothes Swap), but this price is not reflected in the quality of clothes on offer. A few of the labels to feature at the event will be Karen Millen, Coast, French Connection and good old Primark.

For the conscientious consumer, a clothes swap is a lifesaver for neglected wardrobes. Instead of being gobbled up in a landfill, a clothes swap rescues unloved pieces from the bin and maximises their lifespan.

In York, the amount of clothes we have between us could keep us all suitably attired for decades, and a clothes swap allows us to share out those unwanted pieces.

The main aim of Fashion City York’s Clothes Swap is for shoppers to have a positive shopping experience.

“We want it to be a fun afternoon, we want people to come along with a few clothes but walk away feeling buzzed and excited,” says Alex. “We really just want people to enjoy themselves.”

There is something more interactive about clothes swapping than the usual High Street perusal. It is an activity that requires the shopper to put in as much in as they get out; if you want that new summer dress or a new smart jacket, you need to offer something in exchange.

The beauty of this is you transform others while being transformed yourself. You never know, your least favourite skirt might be someone else’s treasure. So, clear out that cupboard and roll up your sleeves; it’s time to get swapping!

The rules

1. Select unwanted items from your own wardrobe and make sure they are in good condition. The Clothes Swap takes menswear and womenswear.

2 . Bring anything including clothes, shoes, bags, hats, scarves, belts, gloves but not jewellery.

3. Pay £1 to begin swapping.

4. Swap your clothes for tokens. You receive more tokens depending on the quality of garment; for example, a good coat will return more tokens than a T-shirt.

5. The clothes are grouped into bands, anything in the top band costs five tokens, whereas anything in the bottom band costs one.

6. Once you see something you like, swap it for your tokens.

7. If you don’t find anything you can keep the tokens for a future Clothes Swap, all the future dates are on the York Clothes Swap Facebook group.


Fashion City York events at a glance

Saturday, September 10

Noon to 4pm: Living Windows at Republic, Browns, Joy and many others.

Sunday, September 11

11am to 4pm: Fashion Village, upstairs in Pitcher & Piano, a selection of York’s best local and independent fashion talent including Kelly Ewing, Isobel Wong, John Quinnel-Hill millinery, HF Couture hats and accessories, Kigali Crafts, The Whitby Jet Shop and many more. Entry free.

Noon to 4pm: Clothes Swap, City Screen, bring along your old clothes and swap them for items brought by other people. A great way to clear out your wardrobe and treat yourself to something new at the same time; £1 entry.

5.30pm: Funny Face, an exclusive film screening of the Audrey Hepburn classic at City Screen.

Saturday, September 17

7.30pm to 10pm: StyleFocus. Get a sneak preview of the new autumn/winter collections from some of York’s best-known stores and most stylish independents, all set in the Fountain Café, as part of York Food & Drink Festival. Tickets cost £15, available from the Food & Drink Festival website.