Mimm Independent & Creative Market

Last Saturday NTU Fashion delved into Mimm's Independent & Creative Market at Nottingham Contemporary. NTU Fashion & Adozen were asked to curate and document a fashion show to showcase all of the brands featured at the event. The day was really hectic but a lot of fun and it turned out amazing. All of our hard work paid off.

By Chloe Taylor

Photos By Rose Lewis

Max Mara brings a touch of style to Newcastle

As everyone in fashion knows, runways are a big deal. Your first runway? One you will never forget.

Mine happened at an invite only event in luxury department store Fenwick. The lead up to the runway consisted of a mother and daughter day out in Newcastle, pondering the contents of the illusive runway gift bag. I assumed diamonds, a Mini Cooper and an iPhone. My mam thought a bag of Haribo sweets would be their limit.

The champagne reception was followed by finding a seat, front row I might add, and having a rummage through the goodie bags given to us; Armani samples and a cream which promises to remove any unsightly ‘bulges’. There were no jewel encrusted Mini’s to be seen. Max Mara’s London team had arranged a private showing to a select few of its autumn winter 2012 collection. The show featured Sportmax Code, Weekend Max Mara, Max Mara Studio and their main line, which handily were readily available to purchase after the show.

Each of the four models wore one outfit from each of the four collections, and boy were they good. As soon as each model approached the catwalk, my mam would turn to me and say how much she loved the coat, dress, trousers…basically the entire collection. With luscious rare alpaca cashmere, up to four different kinds of silk, and the most beautiful cuts you can imagine, this collection was certainly bang on trend, timeless, and needs to get in my wardrobe right now (student loan permitting).

Everything about the collection screamed luxury Italian design, but each piece was merged softly with another culture, country or theme. One collection reflected world cities, including London’s swinging 60’s scene, Edinburgh’s preppy science roots, and Switzerland’s snowy mountains and need to ski. I was quite pleasantly surprised by this, as from research into the brand they seemed to be aimed at an older audience, but this runway has changed my mind. Max Mara cleverly makes pieces which mother and daughter could wear, but have their own style imprinted on the outfit. Same dress, different looks.   

As one last piece of temptation we were told about an exclusive offer; a free scarf with any purchase. It had to be done, so now I am the proud owner of a Max Mara navy top covered in sparkly diamantés. 

By Sarah Stothard

Adozen Most Amazing Places on Earth

No really, I'm not talking about New York City or Mauritius, these are actual amazing places you may never have heard of but should really make a trip to at some point in your life.

This is a little bit of homage from Adozen to some of the most understated and unusual places on the planet.

Dubai Marina - Not very understated but beautifully magical nonetheless.

Crystal Cave, Svínafellsjökull in Skaftafell, Iceland - Formed by the meeting of the glacier and the coastline.

The Fairy Towers, Cappadocia, Turkey - Created by the bizzare growth of rock formations. 

Waterfall of the Gods – Goðafoss, Iceland

Emerald Lake, New Zealand

The Great Blue Hole, Belize

Greenland Ice Sheet, Arctic

Chefchouen, Morocco - The Blue City

Jiuzhaigou Valley, China - "The Valley Of Nine Villages"

Lake Retba, Senegal - A lake made pink by the high levels of salt

Pamukkale, Turkey

Xiying Rainbow Bridge, Penghu, Taiwan

By Chloe Taylor

(Half) Adozen questions with Manna Clothing

Manna Clothing, est. 2012, has taken the country by storm. With an ever expanding Facebook following, the Manchester guys are blowing other brands out of the water . We caught up with them for half adozen questions.

As fashion students and clothing addicts we have seen a lot of new designers emerging. What makes Manna clothing stand out from the crowd?

I'm not quite sure what makes us stand out. I just keep making designs that i like and would like to buy in a store. 
Some people have said that our logo sticks in their head and is recognisable in all these new up and coming brands that we have to compete with.

Describe Manna's look in three words

Steezy, Hand-Printed, Garms.

What inspires the brands designs?

Mainly Graffiti styles and random Graphic design's influence me when designing. I did illustration at university too, so I'm constantly sketching out new designs ad ideas.

What do you see for the brand in 5 years time?

Not really sure for in 5 years! thats a long way off yet! We'll just keep going and see what happens!

If manna was a film, what would its sound track be?

Noisia - Shellshock, Mixed with Bonobo - Eyes Down

Do you have any advice for budding designers?
Just keep doing what your doing, keep pushing your designs, and don't use daft font's.

www.mannaclothing.co.uk

By Sarah Stothard