12 March 2013
First thing’s first – what exactly is a Pop-Up Show, and why is it different from the catwalk?
Well, the point of a pop up show is to catch us shoppers while we're in "shopping mode" - right outside the stores, and with inspiration and advice on hand. Rather than a form of entertainment while we eat, the shows ‘pop up’ unexpectedly outside the retailer of choice and draw in the crowds.
Add some cheeky incentives from the stores, like prize handbags and spending vouchers, special deals or glasses of bubbly, and before you know it you have a fashion feeding frenzy, like sharks biting at very pretty bait.
See our Facebook gallery of the entire weekend here.
Citrus
The collections on show were all from the stores’ Spring/Summer ranges, so there were a lot of florals, brights, pastels and this seasons hottest trend; monochrome. I spoke with Jo Wilson, the Trafford Centre stylist, who told me she was focussing on citrus colours, monochrome stripes and bright shades this season.
To show the clothes off to their fullest potential, the models danced different routines outside the stores, and to announce their arrival at the retailer, they marched to the sound of drums through The Trafford Centre with banners to show their next stopping point. This was a brief pop-up that you could not miss.
The pop up shows lasted all weekend; I went to most of the shows on the Saturday to sneak a peak at the clothes on offer and to snap some piccies. My favourites by far were, Ted Baker, Oasis, Coast and Next.
Graduation dress
I’ve been keeping a watchful eye on Ted Baker and Coast for the last few weeks as I’m on the hunt for the perfect dresses for my graduation ball and ceremony and Coast and Ted did not disappoint. I’m pretty sure I found both dresses between the two.
The pop up shows happen at the beginning of each season, so if you missed this weekend, keep an eye out for the A/W shows in a few months.
Just listen out for the drums that signal feeding time!
Fashion blogger Hannah Jones is the voice of The Trafford Centre shopper.
Watch Jemma Gofton explain the must-have looks of SS 2013 here.
Learn more about Spring eye makeup trends for this season here.
Catch up on the 2013 denim trend here.
Pop-Up Gallery - catch the fashion!
Ted Baker
The guys were dressed in preppy print shirts, pastel chinos and bowties and blazers, while the girls whirled around in floaty chiffon dresses of pastel stripes, florals and mint pleats.
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Coast
On offer at Coast were shocking pink, pleats, jade lace and pink ruffles for the girls. Obviously Coast doesn’t cater for males, so the guys were Jack & Jones which consisted of camel chinos, denim shirts and navy and blue blazers.
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Next
The Next show saw many of this seasons trends mixed together. There were monochrome blazers, boucle jackets, pastel jeans and chiffon jumpsuits for women while the guys wore Navajo t-shirts, short chinos and preppy yellow jumpers with blue blazers.
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Oasis
More dresses at Oasis! This time in various shades of pink, ranging from coral to fuchsia. There were cut outs, ruffles and lace to form the perfect summer dresses. The men wore Jack & Jones again with bowties, coloured chinos and blazers, Breton stripes and printed denim shirts. This show was quite smart-casual as the girls teamed their dresses with white canvas pumps.
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Models and Me
And of course your intrepid blogger met with the lovely models from the pop-up shows, who danced their way around the Centre to Blondie and Paloma Faith!
From left to right, may I introduce Ross, Majella, Cem, yours truly Hannah Jones, Carlyn, Mason and Josie. Well done guys for your epic work in the name of style!
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Ted Baker
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DKNY
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Forever 21
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A/X Armani Exchange
Click on an image for more details
- Tags
- Men's Fashion, SS13 fashion, Women's Fashion
19 March 2012
- Tags
- Women's Fashion
5 March 2012
WHEN local dance tutor Hannah Paice approached The Trafford Centre late last year, it was with an audacious idea.
She wanted to create an enormous flashmob, as a challenge to her students at Salford City College.
And she wanted to show another side to the region’s young people, after the terrible riots in the northwest last year.
“I knew I wanted to tell the other side of the story for local youth,” she said. “To show the talented, friendly young people I work with every day.”
The two of us stood on the giant ship in The Orient food court, and planned how to squeeze in 400 dancing students, during opening hours, in a way that wouldn’t scare shoppers, or halt trade for our 60 restaurants and cafes.
Planning
It seems the more “spontaneous” you want a flashmob to be, the more planning has to go into it.
As a famous tourist destination, The Trafford Centre could not hold a large-scale event of this type without rehearsal, or a proper risk assessment. It’s the only safe, legal way to run a flashmob of this kind when you are The Trafford Centre.
A few people on YouTube have criticised the fact that The Trafford Centre knew about this event – we did know about it, because every step of the flashmob had been pre-planned, and rehearsed. We know this isn’t traditional for flashmobs, but it’s just the way we have to roll!
We had 12 cameras focused on the dance – and we needed to rehearse all those camera angles.
We had thousands of shoppers in the Centre at the time, both very young and rather older - and we didn’t want to trap them amongst hundreds of dancers.
And because the flashmob was so huge, taking over two floors of The Trafford Centre, plus escalators, elevators, stairways and balconies – many of the participants couldn’t actually see the other dancers. And so that had to be rehearsed down to the second too.
Secret rehearsal
For this reason, we held a secret midnight rehearsal some weeks before the flashmob, to reduce the risks of anything going wrong, and also because as performing arts students, it was important that the dancers felt prepared for what they were about to do.
In all honesty, I was worried something would go wrong – that the music wouldn’t start, or our “trigger” dancers would slip, or the cameramen would be facing the wrong way. I need not have worried! Every bit of planning paid off, as these amazing young people dominated the space with their energy and enthusiasm – and weeks and weeks of dance rehearsal.
Flashmobs are fantastic fun, and the original flashmobs were unplanned and completely spur-of-the-moment, it’s true.
But ours was choreographed, filmed and held in a unique and busy space. That’s why our YouTube video looks so impressive – because even the apparent simple things can take a lot of work behind the scenes.
So many managers at The Trafford Centre have approached me to say that this flashmob (or whatever you like to call it) was one of the most impressive events we've ever held. And for that, we have to thank the brilliant students at Salford City College's Pendleton site - and the lady who came up with the whole idea, Hannah Paice.
Justin Webb
3 February 2012
- Tags
- Leisure, What's On