The 5th annual awards gala saw judges including Hilary Alexander, Paula Reed (Style Director, Grazia), Brian Duffy (President of Ralph Lauren Europe) and of course Amanda Wakeley gather together to judge the hottest rising talent in Scotland.  Celebrating Cool Caledonia!

Holly Fulton took the title of Young Designer of the Year and is officially a name to watch in the future.  Holly has also just been awarded catwalk show sponsorship by the NEWGEN panel so we will eagerly await her next collection.

Well done Holly, we will be watching you!

www.hollyfulton.com

Shop the Boutique now!

Waterfall Tulle Wedding Dress, £2,500

Amanda felt it was about time for the busy bride-to-be able to shop online for her wedding dress, and for those for her bridal party.

Amanda Wakeley’s bridal styles are utterly stylish, body enhancing gowns that are designed with a woman’s shape, her ease of movement and overall beauty in mind for that most special of days.

Make sure you are signed up to our newsletter to receive news of further Amanda Wakeley launches.

View the full bridal range here.

Ladies were invited to view the Spring/Summer ’10 collection ahead of Ascot, and piece together their perfect Ascot outfits. On hand, were Amanda and Bridget, our head of Private Clients, to offer their style tips and hints.

Throughout the evening our models, Nina and Lisa, circled the room in a host of looks, ranging from the traditional to the truly sublime. Each outfit was fabulously accessorised by milliner Stephen Jones too. Here are our favourite Ascot looks….

The Traditionalists: Lisa wears Strapless Mikado Dress and Jacket, Nina wears Racer Back Cotton Tailoring Dress with Silk Mesh Jacket. Monochrome: Nina wears Capsleeve Scuba Dress and Silk Mesh Jacket, Lisa wears One Shoulder Scuba Dress and Scuba Jacket.

Contemporary Chic: Nina wears Double Draped Satinised Silk Dress with Long Leather Belt and Suede Jacket, Lisa wears Birdseye Tailoring Sleeved Dress. Second Image: Lisa wears Circle Cut Jersey Dress with Birdseye Tailoring Boyfriend Blazer, Nina wears Scuba and Jersey Dress.

Boho Beautiful: Nina and Lisa wear the Long Draped Degrade Print Dress in Cranberry and Slate.  Jaded: Lisa wears Harness Beaded Dress, Nina wears Contour Beaded Crossover Dress. 

Showered in sequins, the girls stopped tracks in their final looks…

Nina wears: Degrade Sequin Drape Front Dress, Lisa wears: Degrade Sequin One Shoulder Dress and Jacket.

A huge thank you to  our friends at Royal Ascot and Stephen Jones for a wonderful evening.

Beyonce wears the Contour Beaded Tunic in Black/Gold, available to buy online now.

Photograpy by Uzo Oleh
www.uzooleh.com

Amanda told us herself what the thinking was behind her collection for the coming Autumn/Winter season:

‘’This season is more about a feeling… how women want to feel in their clothes now…wrapped, draped, supported in cocooning shapes…being able to dress with ease and feel luxurious.  These are investment pieces that will stand the test of time”

Our official pictures will soon form our new online lookbook for Autumn Winter ‘10, all of which will go on sale this summer.

In the meantime here are some images from the front row..

The full show will be streamed LIVE and in real time directly from the BFC tent at Somerset House onto the official London Fashion Week website, for all you to watch from the comfort of your own computer screens, today at 2.45pm.

The stream will be broadcast here:  www.londonfashionweeklive.co.uk

London Fashion Week has officially kicked in central London, with the Amanda Wakeley Autumn Winter 2010 show scheduled for 2.45pm today (Tuesday 23rd February).  As ever, London Fashion Week brings together the most exciting and talented designers in fashion and with it, fashion’s most critical admirers. The studio here in the Amanda Wakeley headquarters is a bustle of pre-show preparations and real excitement around the new Autumn Winter collection.

Amanda talked her internal team through the full collection and her influences for the new collection, here’s a sneaky peek of our upcoming Autumn/Winter collection, shown by Amanda herself at our Showrooms on Fulham Rd, London:

Also, the much celebrated collaboration between Amanda and Danish shoe designer Camilla Skovgaard, which brought us the Zebra/Chocolate Brown Spring Summer shoe continues for the Autumn/Winter season with a fabulous new ankle boot.  The boot will be available to buy online and in-stores this summer, we will keep you posted!

Amanda herself commented on the honour after the ceremony was over:

”This award is also recognition for the talented and committed teams that I am fortunate to work with both in my own business and at Fashion Targets, I am incredibly honoured to receive this award, especially with my autumn/winter 2010 show at London Fashion Week being only days away.”

The Amanda Wakeley Autumn Winter 2010 show will be presented at London Fashion Week on Tuesday 23rd February.  This year we are delighted to be streaming the whole show LIVE from the BFC tent.  Therefore you can get a front row view of the whole show wherever you are!

You will be able to watch the show live on the London Fashion Week’s website on Tuesday at 2.45pm here: www.londonfashionweek.co.uk

More to come on London Fashion Week very soon…

Well, the answer is Italian jewellery designer MariaFrancescaPepe, otherwise known as MFP.

Having studied fashion design in Milan, Maria then moved to London to hone her design skills at The Royal College of Art and Central St Martins. Her eye for design and detail started to win her awards.  She was propelled into the limelight following her final show at St Martins in February 2007 where she caught the attention of international press and buyers.

Maria has since set up her own company and fashion house, MFP and has collaborated with many of fashion’s heavy hitters.  She has created jewellery for the likes of Roksanda Ilinic, Louise Gray and of course, Amanda Wakeley in 2009.

MariaFrancescaPepe’s ideal is based on the possibility to evolve jewellery from an accessory into clothing, from pure design to functionality and vice versa.