All that glitters – The Herald Fashion Awards

There’s not many events that brings the Scottish Fashion Industry together. Sure there are tones of brand party’s and showcases filtered around the country, but since the SFA’s big move to London there has been big gap  in celebrations that unite us all on our own turf. Then in walks the Herald Fashion Awards…

Celebrating the world of online fashion, the heraldfashion.co.uk Awards wanted to showcase the plethora of talent we have right on our doorstep. From designers to bloggers, retailers to app developers #HeraldFashion was basically a (well deserved) pat on the back for all of the people who bust their asses for the industry with little to no recondition. It’s not all about London, we have so much going on up here and we deserve to party dammit! Starting the evening with a champagne showcase and fashion show before the awards, it was a great way to familiarise yourself with brands and products which are predominantly sold online.

As mentioned in a previous post, I was honoured enough to be asked to join the panel of judges in choosing the winners for each category (minus the peoples choice). Just being asked felt like I won the lottery, the hardest part was figuring out the winners! There is an incredible amount of talent in this country, and I was thrilled to find some new faces in the mix of it all. Here’s the full rundown of the winners:

Scottish online retailer of the year – Abandon Ship Apparel

Best Scottish independent online retailer – Isolated Heroes

Best use of online marketing – Tens

Pre-loved online retailer of the year – The Glasgow Vintage Co.

Best online newcomer  – The Brotique

Blogger of the year for Scotland sponsored by Debenhams – Bee Waits For No One (!!!)

Best mobile app – Mallzee

Luxury online boutique of the year – Jane Davidson

Scottish online fashion graduate of the year sponsored by Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow school for business and society – Iain MacDonald AKA Naromode 

Best fashion twitterati  sponsored by Scotland Re:Designed – Scot Street Style

People’s choice award – Common People Clothing

Amazing eh? I was so proud to watch my girl Bee pick up best Scottish blogger. I have loved Bee’s writing since before we were even friends. Meeting after a genuine fangirl moment – “OMG ARE YOU BEE?!” –  at Social Media Week in Glasgow a few years back, I was addicted to her dry sense of humour and her vast knowledge of the Scottish Fashion Industry. Her commitment and passion for Scottish creativity in all it’s art forms knows no bounds, you deserve it gurl!

I have been DYING to get my body into Hayley Scanlan‘s new luxury line HUSTLE. Not to be confused with her ready to wear label HS, this collection is luxury fabrics at their finest. I am a huge fan of naming like everything I own, so I love that Hayley chooses really descriptive names for each garment. For the Herald Fashion Awards, I decided to get slinky with this stunning metallic strappy number named Slither.

Dress – Hayley Scanlan | Necklace – Georgia Wiseman | Ring – Bonnie Bling | Bag – Luna on the Moon | Shoes – Boohoo

I have a pretty small chest so it’s not often that I (try to) show it off. I loved the slinky, sexy, shoe string straps  with the deep back. I kept it sleek and simple with a Georgia Wiseman Sirus pendant delicately placed inbetween my mass of hair and erm…declotage! The dresses boxy shape meant it was unbelievably comfortable to wear, just a bit of tit tape on my side boob and I was ready to rock! I had my hair done at #BLOW that morning trying out their new XXXPRESSBLOWS. They have extra add on accessories from glitter to chains to give your hurr that extra somethin’ somethin’ so I went with a full on glitter root and poofy ends. I decided to stick with the glitter theme and borrowed Honey Pop’s Eyeball bag by Luna on the Moon and Lime Crime’s Black Velvetine which helped pull everything together.

Everything apart from my shoes were bought locally and made in the UK, predominantly Scotland. Sure everyone loves a staple Primark fluffy jumper but I always try to stay conscious of who and what I’m wearing. I always try to wear something independent in every outfit, it’s not always possible but the more aware of it you are, the more natural it comes. Do you have a favourite independent designer I should know about? Make sure they apply to the heraldfashion.co.uk awards next year!