I attended the first ever Scottish Fashion Association Fashion Show

The last few weeks my feed has been flooded with pictures of the catwalks of New York, London, Paris, Milan… All the fashion capitals across the world. Feeling very envious as I watched the catwalk of yet another fashion show I wouldn’t be invited to, I only hoped that one day I would be able to attend such an event.

And then I learned of the Scottish Fashion Association Fashion Show. Being held a short ten minute drive away from my flat, it sounded exactly up my street. It was happening on the 1st of October and without a doubt would be the best start to the new month.

Upon arrival, the event already had a queue of people forming outside The Engine Works. This was a venue I had not yet visited, despite it being really not far from where I am at all.

It didn’t take long to get inside, where drinks were being served before the start of the main event.

On first impressions it was clear that the whole team at the Scottish Fashion Association were incredibly kind. Any query I had they were able to help me with, whether it be connecting to the WiFi or finding people to interview.

The other attendees were equally friendly. A few, like me, had attended on their own. We all quickly got chatting to one another. Some girls had attended in support of friends who were modelling at the fashion show, the girls pointing out their gorgeous model friends to me. Then others were there to report, like myself.

I made my way around the venue, people watching as I did so. The dress code for the event was Hollywood glamour – and people really had put their best dresses on for the event. I almost felt tempted to run a “best dressed” article, so surrounded by fantastic outfits as I was.

There was a range of food and drinks on offer, including fries from a stall outside. And for those wanting to make an Instagram opportunity of the event, there was even an area for taking photos – I managed to snap a few to post on the gram!

My favourite design

But, of course, the main reason for attending such an event was to watch the fashion show itself…

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the journalists were seated in the VIP section of the front row, with goody bags each awaiting us. It honestly felt as if we had the best seats in the house – a fact for which I am incredibly grateful.

At 8.30pm, the show began. Beauty after beauty walked by, showcasing some of the most wonderful pieces I’d ever seen in person. All the designs were from Scottish designers, with some even being made by student designers. My favourite by far (pictured above) was a short dress with a cartoon design emblazoned across it. Unfortunately the name of the designer escapes me.

As it so happens, my other favourite outfits I was unable to capture on camera. I would see the piece and by the time I had taken the picture, the model would have passed by me! Even so, I did still manage to get a good range of photographs of all sorts of bizarre and brilliant outfits.

The show wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for the founder, Strathclyde alumni Lucy Sophia Thomson. I was very lucky to be able to have a quick chat with her.

“The Scottish Fashion Association was my initial idea. What I wanted to initially do was bring an entire community of fashion individuals. So designers, brands, influencers, models and just bring everyone together as a community in the most diverse and sustainable way.”

I then asked Lucy what the highlight of the event was. “It was the few moments prior to the show just before everyone started to arrive. It was quite nice just to see everything set up as we hoped it would look.”

She then spoke of events the company had coming up. This included four to five smaller pop up events, model workshops, work experience and, most certainly, the annual fashion show.

Lucy told me that her favourite piece of the show was the Elipsis swimwear, due very much in part to her friend being the one responsible for it.

I also managed to speak to several of the models about their experience on the catwalk.

The first model I spoke to was Chloe Dott. She explained that this was her third experience of a fashion show and that she was already signed to a modelling agency, Tartan Models.

I asked how her family and friends felt about her modelling career. She said that they “loved it.”

I also asked Chloe what her favourite piece of the show was. She said that it was a latex high neck with a maxi skirt – she was unsure of the name of the designer.

I then spoke to Uzi Mohammed, another model. He explained that he had freelanced for several fashion shows, having experience of modelling at our very own Glasgow University Charity Fashion Show.

As for his favourite outfit? He said it was the balaclava with oversized trousers look.

Uzi told The Tab that he had hopes to continue modelling in the future, with the aspiration of moving to London to find an agent.

Ryaan Ali was the final model I had the opportunity to speak to. He explained that he had much experience of modelling. He had modelled for Adidas, Nike and JD, amongst others.

He said that the highlight of the fashion show was seeing “everything coming together”.

I wanted to hear from attendees of the fashion show, too, to hear how they felt about the event.

Katariina told me that it was a completely new experience for her and that it was better than her expectations. She thought it was super professional and organised very well. “The pieces have been gorgeous – really flowy fabrics.”

I subsequently spoke to Elsa, who also had positive things to say about the event. She said it was, “Amazing so far. I didn’t know what to expect because I’ve never been to the venue. All the designs are beautiful and it ran really smoothly.”

Monica said she liked the diversity of the fashion show, an idea the show was keen to promote. She said it was, “Nice to see different body types, pulling away from the usual stereotypes.”

Overall, the Scottish Fashion Association Fashion Show has been the definite highlight of my autumn so far. It was a truly wonderful occasion – and I do hope I can attend another of their events in the near future!

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