Bath’s fashion, spa, and retail credentials have long had some serious show-stopping heritage. Bath in Fashion 2016 (18 to 24th April ) sees the fashion pack descend upon the World Heritage City for a week-long celebration of fashion that promises stimulating debate, in-store events and fast-paced catwalks. Expect red carpet moments at Bath in Fashion 2016, with a line-up of stellar designers and global fashion experts.
Headliners include designers Erdem talking to Tim Blanks, Nicholas Oakwell, Julien McDonald and Zandra Rhodes as well as Belinda Earl, the Style Director of M&S and Livia Firth who challenges the sustainability of the fashion industry . Topics range from high street to haute couture, the sartorial style of Cecil Beaton and Sir Roy Strong to the influence of Valentino and Versace
So if you really did need another excuse to visit Bath, this is it.
HOT BATH
The Bath of today was shaped by extraordinary imagination; a world class city that was in the 18th century both radical and bold, a city that was ahead of its time – described by UNESCO as “a masterpiece of human creative genius”.
“Bath is different… as regionalfashion weeks go, Bath in Fashion is in a league of its own”
Claudia Croft,
Sunday Times Style Magazine
For the 21st Century, this inspiring environment continues to attract highly-skilled and talented people – inventors, designers, artisans, entrepreneurs and future-thinkers. It is against this canvas that Bath in Fashion has evolved over the past five years into a significant fashion event.
Bath in Fashion brings together celebrities from the world of fashion with the creative energy of the city of Bath; an outstanding fashion design course at Bath Spa University, and draws on Bath’s heritage of retail and fashionability with a world-renowned Fashion Museum.
2015 brought a new addition to the retail heritage story with the involvement of Jolly’s on Milsom Street, one of the oldest department stores in Europe. The store has undergone a multi million pound renovation under its current management, House of Fraser, now looks magnificent.
THE STORY SO FAR
As England’s only World Heritage Site, Bath attracts attention on a national and international stage. The 4.5 million plus visitors that come to Bath each year anticipate the splendour of the architectural set pieces and the extraordinary history dating back to Roman times but are occasionally surprised that Bath today is such a vibrant and cosmopolitan city. They find a city with great shopping and buzzing restaurants and a spa culture that is second to none. Closer to home, Bath is a favourite destination for a fabulous day out or a day’s shopping. Throughout the West Country, shoppers recognise that Bath has a very distinctive retail offering, an experience unmatched within the region.
FUNDING
Bath in Fashion is an annual Bath BID (Business Improvement District) initiative supported by B&NES Council and Bath Tourism Plus.
The Bath BID organises specialist events to raise the profile of the city and attract visitors to support businesses within the city centre. The Bath BID acts as a catalyst to harness energy and enthusiasm to create a fashion event which is distinctive and different, in fact unlike any other in the UK. With commitment to providing support for the business community, events like Bath in Fashion are born from a collaboration between public and private sector; retailers and landlords and both independent and high street retailers.