The Fashion Trust

The Fashion Trust has been created to link both academics and professionals alike, it’s primary focus of the UK regional fashion industry, creativity and design, business mentoring, and associated industries linked to it.

Its current primary emphasis being on helping designers expand businesses, manufacturing, engagement with retailers and exporting from the Brighton & Hove and Sussex region.

The Sussex Fashion Trustees

Jake Leith

Jake Leith currently President of the Chartered Society of Designers, Past Chair of the CSD Fashion & Textiles Group and leads Business & Professional Practice in Fashion & Textiles at the University of Brighton, having over 20 years’ experience of successfully running his own design practice and 12 years as a teacher-practitioner is a trustee of The Sussex Fashion Trust.

Jake has generously donated time to judge the 2011 Awards and help create the 2012 Awards for the Sussex fashion industry.

Listen to Jake Leith talking about his role as a Trustee recently, The Fashion Trust, fashion in Brighton & Hove and across Sussex, London Graduate Week and judging The Sussex Fashion Awards > Listen to > Jake Leith

Mike Weatherley

Mike Weatherley MP Mike Weatherley is the Member of Parliament for Hove and Portslade and a huge supporter of the creative industries. Before Parliament, Mike worked in the music and film industries. Since his election, he has become a champion of Intellectual Property Rights for creative works and additionally paid particular attention to the promotion of local talent. Mike also chairs at parliament the APPG for Retail and Business Crime.

Mike joined the panel of judges for the first Sussex Fashion Awards 2011.

Listen to Mike Weatherley MP representing Hove & Portslade talk about his roles in Parliament, music & film industry, Rock The House music competition, judge of The Sussex Fashion Awards and Intellectual Property > Listen to > Mike Weatherley

Michaela Walker

Michaela Walker Fashion Director, Star Communications Sussex, with experience in the fashion industry spanning more than 30 years including design, production, buying and retail directorships, held with major international and UK fashion store groups, including founding own store group franchising and concession chain.

Further UK appointments to be announced shortly.

The Trusts’ aims

Year one saw the introduction of The Sussex Fashion Awards, helping to increase media fashion coverage across Sussex by more than 100%.
Year two sees an emphasis on British manufacturing, helping to introduce designers to low cost workspaces, engagement with retailers, encouraging manufacturing bespoke and short run fashions.
Year three will look to raise greater manufacturing and export status.

Recent News

Jake Leith, President of The Chartered Society of Designers, was recently invited to The Prince Philip Designers Prize evening awarded by The HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at a ceremony at the Design Council during November 2011.

Quentin Blake, one of Britain’s best-loved illustrators and the man who created the world-famous images of the Big Friendly Giant and Matilda, was named the winner of the 2011 Prince Philip Designers Prize by HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

The awards saw a number of high profile fashion nominees including Stephen Jones one of the UK’s foremost milliners, who has transformed millinery since first opening a salon in 1980, and who has trained other leading designers including Philip Treacy and Noel Stewart and Sir Paul Smith, arguably the most successful British fashion designer ever.

Left to right HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Quentin Blake, Jake Leith.

Brighton & Hove is home to aproximately 20,000 university students with more than 12,000 students each year who do not leave the city after graduating; some of those within the fashion and related creative industries, taking minor unrelated jobs to remain in the area where lifestyle is as a key influence as is employment.

It is some of these fashion graduates, coupled with young designers and established design houses, that The Fashion Trust wish to help and support by increasing manufacturing and export.

The Trust is currently based from Brighton & Hove, Sussex

Why Brighton & Hove?

Brighton & Hove has a reputation as a leading cultural city, with the highest current arts engagement outside London. About one in five businesses and 10% of jobs are already in the arts and creative industries.
The City is less than 55 minutes travel time away from London, the fashion capital of the UK.
Brighton & Hove is ideally placed with a growing games and digital media and arts industry, a natural young and growing music culture; clearly fashion adheres itself to these.
Brighton & Hove and surrounding East & West Sussex, have several university and educational colleges offering a collection of fashion and related courses and plentiful of undergraduates and graduates living locally looking to retain their new skills.

The Fashion Trust Timeline 2010 – 2012

September 2012

September 6 The second Sussex Fashion Awards final – venue to be confirmed

June 2012

June 12 Closing of the Sussex Fashion Awards nominations

May 2012

May 29 Fashion Sussex host FAB – The Fashion Association of Britain with YourBrandSpace.com - an industry networking evening

May 25 The Finals Brighton’s Next Hot Model

April 2012

Sponsors to Brighton’s newest Hot Model Competition

March 2012

Supported Brighton University second year fund raising students fashion magazine F-A-T

January 2012

Commence daily posts and blogs and social media featuring selected UK and local Sussex fashion news

December 2011

Online nominations for the second Fashion Awards open with a bias towards Business 2 Business Awards for 2012

Trustee Jake Leith becomes President of The Chartered Society of Designers

November 2011

Fantastic photoshoot for the launch of the second campaign The Sussex Fashion Awards 2012 by Sarah Bird featuring Suzie Turner Couture and Tess modelling – All 2011 Sussex Fashion Award winners