HANDBAG AMNESTY IS LAUNCHED BY HANDBAG.COM AND CANCER RESEARCH UK

www.handbag.com and Cancer Research UK have announced a new partnership with the launch of the first ever Handbag Amnesty. Taking place throughout the month of September – www.handbag.com’s dedicated handbag month - and climaxing in October, the Handbag Amnesty will give women across the country the opportunity to bid for the designer handbag of their favourite celebrity including just to name a few Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller and Dame Shirley Bassey, to raise money to help beat cancer.

http://www.handbag.com/ and Cancer Research UK are asking celebrities to make space in their wardrobes by donating one of their designer handbags to the Amnesty. The bags will then be auctioned on eBay from Friday 3rd - Sunday 14th October to tie in with Breast Cancer Awareness month. Open to everyone, all proceeds will go to Cancer Research UK, the largest single funder of research into breast cancer, one of the most common cancers in the UK.

The Handbag Amnesty, however, is not just about celebrities. http://www.handbag.com/ and Cancer Research UK are also asking members of the public to donate a handbag that is still in good condition to their local Cancer Research UK shop. Good handbags always sell like hot cakes in Cancer Research UK’s nationwide chain of charity shops.

Claire Higgins, Head of Marketing at http://www.handbag.com/, says: “As the leading lifestyle website for women in the UK, we are in the unique position of being able to reach more than 1.5 million women across the country. 44,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed every year in the UK so we are very proud to be working with Cancer Research UK to help make a difference - not only by raising a lot of money to fund research into preventing breast cancer, but also by helping to raise much needed awareness of the illness.”

Paul Farthing, Director of High Value Relationships at Cancer Research UK, says: ‘We’re delighted to be working with http://www.handbag.com/ to launch Handbag Amnesty. The auction of celebrity handbags will be an exciting way to raise funds for our vital research into breast cancer. We also hope that by encouraging supporters to donate their own favourite handbag, and other unwanted quality items to our shops, we will be able to raise even more to help beat cancer.’

Other celebrities taking part are:
Alesha Dixon
America Ferrera – Ugly Betty

Annie Lennox ( Below Bag donated by Annie)

Ashlee Simpson ( Below bag donated by Ashley)
Barbara Hulanicki
Beth Rowley

Beverley Knight (Below bag donated by Beverley)
Claudia Winkleman
Dolly Parton
Duffy
Erin O’Connor ( Below pic of Erin's donation)

Fearne Cotton
Geri Halliwell
Heidi Montag – From The Hills
Dame Judi Dench
Julie Benz – From Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Kate Bosworth
Kelly Osbourne
Lauren Conrad - From The Hills
Leah Wood
Lily Cole
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Michelle Gayle
Mischa Barton
Rachel Stevens – S Club 7
Ruby Hammer – Ruby and Mille make up
Scarlett Johansson
Sharon Osbourne
Sharleen Spiteri
Sophie Ellis Bextor
Tamzin Outhwaite
Tracey Boyd
Trinny Woodhall
Zandra Rhodes

For more information please visit www.handbag.com/amnesty

FASHION WEEK EXHIBITION & FLAUNT FASHION WEEK PARTY @ CRYSTAL

So I spent my afternoon at the London Fashion Week Exhibition interviewing and discovering new brands and I must say I was very impressed!! The Eco section has expanded rapidly and the ranges are becoming more and more stylish! It’s amazing the quality of products that can be produced through recycled materials.

Fashionistas spotted:
The PAPS:
I then later headed down to Crystal for the Flaunt Fashion Attraction LFW party.
I fell in love with this gorgeous dress by a Russian designer whose name I actually did not catch (sorry!).

Below: The Russian designer dress that I fell in love with

The night consisted of a fluid fashion show of Eternal Spirit, famously renowned for their decadent styling and unique conceptual collections.

The event was hosted by newly formed girl group, Velvet Kiss from the hit Channel 4 series, Shipwrecked. They also performed their new single “Turn the Speakers up!”

I was so shattered so headed home pretty early :)

Xx

Links:

www.soireenights.com

4th Fad Junior Awards: Such Great Hope for Britain’s design Future!

So today I attended the FAD London Fashion Week show. I must admit despite being ill, it was def worth the trip. Seriously these 16-19 yr olds who took part in the project had really worked hard and created some gobsmacking pieces!

Below pic: The crowd waiting to get into the show

Just to tell you a bit about the project (Which I also mentioned in more depth in a previous blog), FAD specialise in running projects with young people from inner City London. They provide these young ambitious people with the opportunity to gain valuable vocational skills and to experience the workings of the fashion industry via the FF2 project.

These young students showcasing today worked their butts off by attending the intensive FAD summer school at Central St Martins.

The response from the audience was amazing!! The designs were so good that they selected two overall winners ( Kusheda Mensah (17yrs)and Aysha Simpson(17yrs)) as opposed to one as they could not conclude between the two.

Aysha combined masculine jodhpurs with a feminine ‘fanned’ hood, to create her striking all-in-one, securing herself a placement with top UK designer and FF2 judge, Elspeth Gibson. Kusheda impressed the jury with her sophisticated jersey jumpsuit, winning the chance to work backstage at next season’s Vauxhall Fashion Scout.

Below Pic: Aysha Simpson bursts into tears of joy and hugs a model in her winning design.

Anne Smith, Dean of Fashion at Central Saint Martins, Designer Elspeth Gibson and Martyn Roberts, Director of Vauxhall Fashion Scout, presented the awards to the delighted winners. Three special mentions were also made – for creativity, Emily McShane from Our Lady’s School (Hackney); for fashion forward design, Felipe Nascimento from Haverstock Enterprise College (Camden); and for research, Grace Wales Bonner from Graveney School (Wandsworth).

The FAD project is such a great opportunity and I wish I had something like this when I was 16…which was nearly a decade ago- Can you believe how life just flys by cos I can’t???????!!!??

At the end of the show I bumped into my friend Albie Espinola who also came to watch the show.

Below pic: Albie and friends

Well what a wonderful evening …I headed home and went straight to bed zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Bye.

Links:

www.fad.org.uk

Stella McCartney injects a bit of excercise into LFW...

Who would have ever imagined or pictured curvy models running on treadmills and beyond when being invited to a Stella McCartney LFW show? I certainly wouldn't have.Well that's exactly what went on today at Stella McCartney's Adidas range London Fashion Week show, which was inspired by the Olympics. How innovative is that?

Hilary Alexander, Fashion Director of the Daily Telegraph described the show as "fantastic" adding "Stella McCartney makes it very sexy and feminine"

It's nice to see healthy fit women modeling and showing them how it's done Olympics style :) Don'tcha think?

Below: Pics from the show in courtesy of London Paper.

You are an Inspiration!: Inspiring Women - Chapter 1

I meet and read about so many inspiring female entrepreneurs on my day to day travels so thought I’d dedicate a blog every fortnight to share with you some of these women I come across and their amazing stories!!!

This week as we prepare for London Fashion Week, I would like to highlight two women who have made an outstanding contribution to the UK fashion industry. They are:

Michelle Mone – Ultimo Bra Range Founder and
Angel Smith – Shoe Lagoon Founder

...
Michelle Mone – Ultimo Bra Range Founder

What happens when you have only 4 weeks to go before you launch your business and you run out of cash? Do you keep going? Do you give up? You are already in a lot of debt so where do you go from here? Michelle Mone is one lady that knows all about that and thankfully luck was on her side. After running out of cash just 1 month before the launch of her Ultimo Bra Range she managed to sell a 20% sake of her business to a Scottish Entrepreneur. She stresses if that investment hadn’t come through she would have gone down under as she was already in debts of £300,000.

So how did she get her brand out there?

With zero experience and a lack of contact, Michelle was determined to somehow get everyone out there talking about the Ultimo range, so in order to stir interest she sent out 500 free samples to celebrities and their stylists which was a huge risk that eventually paid off. Julia Roberts was seen in the Ultimo bra in her high profile movie Erin Brockovich which resulted in 6 weeks of stock being sold within 24 hrs. I know you must be thinking “Wow”!!! This is a true example of how perseverance, determination, passion and faith can get you anywhere in life!!

Angel Smith – Director of Shoe Lagoon
She came up with idea and concept back in 2004 and in 2006 after thorough research, young & beautiful entrepreneur Angel Smith Launched the ultimate luxurious e-boutique for those looking for comfortable sexy footwear – Shoe Lagoon was born!.

After the frustrations and stress of High Street shopping, Angel Smith created Shoe Lagoon to not just ease the process of trawling through dozens of shops but to be able to shop for quality, unique goods at the comfort of your own home or workplace.

Last year Shoe Lagoon won ‘Best Online Business’ at the Precious Awards.

To view the full merchandise range Shoe Lagoon offer visit - www.shoelagoon.com

Ladies do you have a business story to share? Email me with details at info@lovegenevieve.co.uk

Bye , Bye Until Next Time xxx

C'mon Guys you know she looks gorgeous!!!

So there I was trawling through magazines and slowly moving onto the papers( like I had all morning to consume myself with celebrity gossip) and there it was...Victoria Beckham makes front page news, why? Because she has a new hair do. And to make it worse they are referring to her as Peter Pan and all sorts and claiming she has stolen the hair do from Pixie Geldof and what not!! I mean seriously I thought there's earthquakes happening and people dieing?? Maybe not. The papers seem to continuously bully this gorgeous lady who tends to look beautifully fabulous everyday!! I in fact love her new hair cut and so prefer it to her previous do. C'mon guys lets show V B some lovvvvvveeeeeeeee... So wonder what the papers have instore for front page news tomorrow...??? hmmmmm

Don't Miss FaCshion this weekend...

Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 September 2008

The Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane

FaCshion is the very first two-day exhibition that targets both trade buyer and

fashionista in London. Held on Saturday 13 September (13:30 – 18:00) and Sunday 14 September 2008 (12:00 – 18:00) at the Old Truman Brewery, this is a key fashion calendar event, hosting four catwalk shows, a champagne brunch for press and buyers, as well as 50 specially selected exhibitors.

As well as presenting a range of emerging designers specialising in everything from couture to customised fashion, knitwear, lingerie, footwear and accessories, FaCshion will be showcasing the best in ethical fashion labels. With the current climate for ethical awareness, going green has been made accessible and fashionable through a range of exciting, fresh and on-trend designers.

Register for your free pass via their website - www.facshion.co.uk

See you there!!
xx

FAD supports talented Young Designers for London Fashion Week!!!

FAD (Fashion Awareness Direct) has made the dreams of 22 young designers come true by giving them the opportunity to showcase their fashion collections at the Vauxhall Fashion Scout as part of London Fashion Week.

The selected 22 students aged between 16 and 18, had one week to bring their winning designs to life with the expert help and support of Central Saint Martin’s tutors and students.

The winner will be announced on September 17^th at their London Fashion Week show at the Vauxhall Fashion Scout. Amongst the judges will be Mimi Tran, Mango UK’s Merchandising Director, Elspeth Gibson- designer, Patrick Lee-Yow – Lecture at Central St. Martin’s, Tom Vlachioties- Designer and former finalist of FAD Competition, John Walford- Director of Vauxhall Fashion Scout and Maria Alvarez – Director of Fashion Awareness Direct.

This is such a great opportunity for the students taking part. I will most def be attending and taking lots of snaps so watch this space!!

For more information on FAD visit www.fad.org.uk

x

Links:

www.cityfringe.org.uk

www.lda.gov.uk

www.londongt.org

The Secret 2 Men…

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