A Spring Soiree to Remember

On Friday 2nd March, Victoria Square kicked off Spring in the utmost fashion – with a luxurious day of fashion shows at The Merchant Hotel! As the stylist for the show, it was my job to make the event as fashion fabulous as possible!

I spent the week prior to La Soiree de la Mode, selecting looks that would not only wow our audience, but encapsulate the season. The catwalk shows platformed a wave of new season pastel looks, starting with beautiful nudes and floating through pale pinks, corals, icy blues, mint greens, pale purples into sunshine yellows. Trends from 1950’s Holywood, flapper girl, elegant tailoring, floral prints and ladylike chic inspired our guests and the Victoria Square team to fall in love with the new season in the most opulent way possible! 

During show week my home in Victoria Square, the styling suite, overflowed with rails of gorgeous outfits and shoe boxes that would make any fashionista envious! Looks were built up from key pieces, to wow accessories and statement shoes that added the look of high end chic that we wanted the show to exude.

Our retailers in Victoria Square do not only have such a fantastic mix of fashion options, but the store teams are great to work with. I wanted La Soiree to illustrate the amazing mix of brands that we have within the scheme, so I felt it was important that the shows debuted key Spring looks from both high end and high street retailers. Cruise, Reiss, LK Bennett, Ted Baker and Lunns took to the catwalk with H&M, River Island, Accessorize and House of Fraser to name but a few, in a blend that became seamlessly high fashion.

Hair and makeup inspiration came from the glamorous Audrey Hepburn era of old! The ladies at Michelle International had created up-do hairstyles that beautifully matched my vision and complemented the gorgeously sugary makeup from the YSL team. The models and styling team were set – now for the catwalk!

And what a catwalk it was! The Rita Duffy Suite in The Merchant had been transformed into an opulent Spring bower of flowers, chandeliers, candlelight and irresistible patisserie pieces to make your mouth water! We were blown away! The Merchant Hotel have a fantastic team, that when partnered with the creative minds at Floral Earth, created something really quite special! We all felt like we were entering a fairytale!

The press show started the day at 12noon, with 50 of Northern Irish media’s finest. Two longer shows entertained 160 glamorous guests at 3pm and 6pm and hopefully everyone enjoyed the day as much as we did! Check out some of my favourite photos and back stage snaps of the day.

A huge thank you needs to go out to all those who helped make the Soiree such a magical occasion – I know that I am somewhat biased, but I think the Victoria Square fashion fairytale 2012, stole the show this season!

Rebecca xx

 

 

Model wears dress from Cruise.