Londoners set to design their own tartan

A competition was launched yesterday, St. Andrew’s day, to give Londoners the chance to design the city’s first official tartan.

The Scottish Tartans Authority (STA), who opened the competition at Kings Place yesterday evening, would like the designs to reflect the colours of the capital, from the red of its famous buses, to the green of Hyde Park. Would-be designers will be able to submit their ideas via an app on the STA’s website.

Brian Wilton, of the Scottish Tartans Authority, said: “It is fantastic that tartan is getting recognised beyond Scotland’s borders. Every tartan is unique and we look forward to seeing what inspires the residents of London and the way they will approach Scotland’s most traditional textile.”

Two famous Scotts - actor Robbie Coltrane and poet Jackie Kay - will be on the judging panel.The winning tartan will be revealed on Burns night.

Label victims

According to a study carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers, a pair of £8 jeans has been found to be better made and longer wearing than a £123 pair.

Sceptical? Well, ten pairs of ladies' jeans and ten polo shirts underwent rigorous testing in fifteen different trials aimed at judging the garments’ colour-fastness, seam strength, shrinkage after washing and resistance to abrasion.

In general, the cheaper items fared better than their more expensive rivals, with the £8 pair of jeans coming out on top and the £123 pair lagging behind in fourth place. Full marks also went to a £12 polo shirt, while the £85 shirt came in fifth place.

Andy Garbutt, retail expert at PWC, said: 'We didn't test for fit, fashionability or brand. We purely looked at the quality of the clothes, how well made they were. And it is clear that there is no longer a link between quality and price. It may not have been the cheapest clothes that won, but it was often the second cheapest.'

While a £115 saving might seem appealing in the run-up to a credit crunch Christmas, unfortunately PWC has refused to reveal the names of the retailers tested for fear of 'damaging relationships' with clients.

Horsing around

We could probably do a 'cute animal' story every day, perhaps we should limit ourselves to one a week; but we've had no calls to stop, so probably won't.

Anyways, today's is an especially good one as it involves numerous creatures wearing traditional German dress (shrug), mostly notably a horse, but also dogs too.

Where these people suddenly get their brainwaves from is beyond us. It's enough of a challenge to look stylish and sophisticated everyday, let alone worrying about animals - and they have their own clothes anyway. Bizarre.

Aporkalypse

The swine flu thing is very odd. A bit scary too. As you've no doubt seen on the news, many people have taken to wearing masks to try and stop any particles of pig enter their beings, and, being the creative bunch of people humans are, many are decorating their masks with hilarious pictures - as you can see here.

It was all white on the night

The England football team - never ones to do things by the book are they? Saturday saw them take on the mighty Slovakia in a world-ending friendly in which they won 4-0. Well done them.

The whole thing though was overshadowed by the unveiling of the team's new shirt and their 'anthem jackets' - so called because they took them off during the anthem in order to give the new shirt unveiling 'maximum impact' (a phrase which is surely copyright for the next Arnold Swarchenegger movie.)

Some people weren't happy with this, claiming it was too much of a PR stunt. Well it is 2009, what isn't a PR stunt these days? Still it's an interesting take on clothing and fashion launches, and when all's said and done the new kit does look really good; a hint of 1960s retro and nice clean, elegant lines.

Getting some Zees

Sometimes work can get boring can't it? (Can it? Ed) When it does one often finds the eyes drooping, the yawns coming thick and fast and then, before you know, your slumped over the keyboard, a string of kkkkkkkkkkkkkks and lllllllllllllls running across the screen, depending on how you fall.

But, as ever, someone in the clothing world has come up with a solution - a pillow shirt. The ingenious invention is designed so that, when the sandman comes a-visiting, you simply place your head gently down into the soft, comfy pillow embedded within, and drift off into a deep, peaceful sleep.

And of course, many studies have shown a nap at work is good for you. You know, all this talking about sleep has...kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk llllllllll

You Gotta Roll With It

So, in a bizarre (simple) twist of fate, after yesterday's enjoyment at listing band names with clothing in the title, we read today that Liam Gallagher, 'im out of that Oasis band, is to launch a new clothing range called, Pretty Green - in honour of a The Jam song, not because it's somewhat environmentally friendly.

This trend of celebrity designers is nothing new, with every actor, actress, musician, and so on, thinking they have designs and styles to wow the world. It must be somewhat gauling for people out there who actually do this for a living and know what it takes to see someone rock up and doodle off a few designs, and then take all the credit.

Still, that's the way of the world isn't it? With that melancolic, but realistic assessment of Earth 2009, we'll bid you, happy weekend, and see you on Monday - it just never stops does it? Bye!

Oh what a night!

Well...we hope your heads are recovering! What a great night though and wasn't Myleene ace? Such a pro. Thanks to everyone who entered the awards, came to the dinner, danced the night away, and marvelled at the wonderful design innovation challenge enteries, we hope you had as much fun as you seemed to be having!

Pictures will be forth coming in current issue, and to give you a nice chuckle on a Friday, an article on men wearing tights from today's Metro.

Until the next awards night...

The final countdown

So this is it, in just over 24 hours the Company Clothing Industry Awards will have started and those that are in attendence will be sipping champagne and looking forward to a celebration of the industry, all hosted by the very lovely Myleene Klass. Those of you that aren't going...what were you thinking?! We'll save you a slice of cake.

It promises to be a great night and culmination of much hard work by us, and by you in submitting the garments you worked so hard to create, and it's great that, especially in the tumultuous times, we are able to bring such a vibrant, diverse and creative industry together to celebrate and share in its achievements.

Fashion is so fickle and often unrealistic, but our industry clothes real people for real jobs, from train drivers to police officers to chefs and bank staff, and we hope the awards night will prove a great opportunity for you to all come together and bask in your achievements.

The blog tomorrow will probably go missing due in the coming and goings in ensuring every last detail is taken care of, but we look forward to seeing you there, and if you have any last minute queries check the website and if it's not on there, get in touch.

George announces fashion design winners

You may remember that some weeks ago we ran a story about George asking students to design a fashion range and now the winner's have been announced - pictured right (click to enlarge).

Students at Nottingham Trent University were asked to create a range of menswear collections for Autumn/Winter 09. They then had present their work - which included men's tailoring and casualwear - to a panel of George representatives, before the results were announced today.

Lucinda Bennett, Tahlia Goodwin, Liz Logue, Amy Tydeman and Jenna Harvey, all based in the university's School of Art and Design, claimed the top spot in the competition.

The group's collection included durable but lightweight waterproofs, tailored coats, twisted jeans, and a jacket with a fully-functional rucksack that emerged from a zipped pocket on the back. Using a directional but commercial colour palette of rusted oranges and steely silvers along with core colours of navy and charcoal, the collection incorporated aspects of protection and reinforcement which were used in both garment and print design.

Andy Burns, Menswear Design Manager for George, said: 'All the students approached our brief with a high level of creative professionalism and market focus. They produced finished packages that any final-year-student would be proud of, which is a huge compliment to the calibre of the course and the talent it is producing.'

BOA seeks tenders for formal and parade wear for Team GB

A serious story for a moment, concerning the Olympics and the chance to perhaps design and supply the uniform for the formal and parade wear of Team GB at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Right, in best Boris Johnson whiff-whaff-is-coming-home voice:

"The British Olympic Association (BOA) is now seeking tenders for the appointment of the supplier of formal and parade wear for Team GB for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

The chosen partner will supply Team GB clothing including the official suit that will be worn on all formal occasions, as well as providing a distinctive parade uniform for Team GB members to wear at the opening ceremony.

The tender is for the design and supply of clothing for a team of 150 athletes and support staff, of all sizes and ages and is a chance for a UK company to showcase the best of British design on the international stage. The BOA is looking to appoint the supplier who can best handle the process of design, production and delivery.

Commenting on this tender launch Chief Commercial Officer Hugh Chambers said: ‘For many, representing your country at an Olympic Winter Games is a once in a life time achievement. Team GB athletes walking out in to the stadium during the Opening Ceremony in Vancouver will feel a huge sense of pride and we are looking for an exceptional partner to work with who can dress our athletes in a manner fitting for such an occasion.’

Suppliers of past uniforms include names such as Lee Cooper, Roots, Ben Sherman, Marks & Spencers, Aquascutum and Next.

Any interested parties should submit their proposals to Jo Kingston jo.kingston@boa.org.uk or 020 8871 2677 ext 207) at the BOA by 20 March."

Right there you go - something to think about and perhaps get working on!

What? I should have buttoned up my suit? Poppycock!

No clothes

Okay, so for today, a bit of a change - we're just going to provide you with a couple of links to articles on the BBC website...one about nakedness and the other asking 'are fleeces fashionable?.

Hair today, clothing tomorrow

A Romanian woman has made clothes out of her own hair, having grown it for many years to be able to carry out the work. In total she has made nine garments from the work - including a skirt, raincoat and a pair of gloves - and she says they are all 'comfortable and warm'. While Company Clothing applauds the innovation and the craftwork, you'll forgive us if we find it a little odd and keep human hair and clothing seperate.

George and students get together

Supermarkets - is there anything they can't do? The next generation of fashion designers have been helped in their learning process by working alongside George at ASDA to help design a range of menswear collections for Autumn / Winter 09.

The brief required the students to focus on the George customer, and to take into account what people look for when buying clothes. Following the backlash from consumers on throwaway fashion contributing to Britain's waste problems, students were required to follow the George attributes of quality, style and value as the main focus of their collection.

Sue Walton, Senior Lecturer in Fashion Design at Nottingham Trent University, said: 'George at ASDA is focused on delivering affordable fashion to real people. This project will help students to realise the importance of designing for people during these tough economic conditions, when they are looking for uncompromising quality and style but at a price they can afford.'

Andy Burns, Menswear Design Manager for George, said: 'The £19 men's Perfect Fit Suit, which was launched earlier this year, is a firm favourite with our customers and so we're looking for something practical but stylish that will have the same appeal to the ASDA shopper.Through this link-up with Nottingham Trent University, we can provide the students with the opportunity to work for one of the largest volume fashion retailers in the UK. We can also strengthen our links with up coming talent to potentially find the next big thing in tailoring and keep our global design team filled with the very best from the fashion world.'

Zip it

Ahh, the humble zip. Zzziiiiiip! It's so satisfying to zip a zip, so quick and easy. So a garment that is made from...120(!!!) zips, is certainly something. The 120 zips can be moved around to make a variety of garments, such as a belt, a dress or a top. Of course, sometimes though, all you really need is one zip(py).

Food for thought

Here's a tasty story for you: nut necklaces. These delicious looking items are part of Fairtrade Fortnight and will be on display, in portrait form, at the Eden Project in Cornwall. They look great, but surely you'd end up snacking on them until you were just wearing a piece of string around your neck - like those sweet braclets you used to buy as a child? All this talk of food has made us hungary - off to lunch!

Snow is falling...

Yes, it's snowing...Company Clothing has, like most of the country, been forced into Plan B mode and so is working remotely, using the modern wonders of the internet, email, blogs, and twitter to get its daily work done. Outside the streets are covered in snow, children are hurling snowballs at one another, and there is no bread in the cornershop. A magical time.

Which brings us to snowmen, those lovely rogues who turn up once a year with their bewitching eyes of coal, delicious carrot noses, old hats dug out and placed atop their fine heads, an old, mangy scarf draped around their neck for an air of sophistication. Dressing the snowman is an art on par with its construction. So what's your favourite method for dressing? What's the must have? The carrot, the coal or the hat? The arms made of twigs? Buttons? Perhaps a monocle? We'd be delighted to hear your thoughts on this snow filled day!

Right, we'd best make anothet cup of tea, and get back to this remote working malarrky.

Also we hope this didn't happen to you today.

Above: The invasion force was unstoppable.

Feet of the seats

How many times do you see those posters telling you not to put your feet on the seats on public transport? Quite right too. But what if your feet are the seats. Or to put it more accurately, you're wearing shoes that have the design of the tube's seats as their pattern.

That's the potentially mind-boggling situation that could occur should you choose to wear a pair of these shoes. There's a pattern from each line - Victoria, Piccadilly, Metropolitan - and so forth, and the gallery section of their website shows how the shoes are made.

We were hoping to end this blog entry with a funny pun on a tube station that had a reference to footwear but the nearest to any form of reference on the underground we could come up with was Archway - which is pretty poor. So we decided against it.

Kilt pride

We've blogged about kilts before and they've once again come on to our radar with the story that a man from Halesowen has designed two brand new plaid patterns for Halesowen and the Black Country to show his pride for his place of birth.

Far from just being a garment worn by the Scottish they can be found as far south as Cornwall or, as the story shows, in the midlands, and the fact people choose to show their pride for somewhere through their clothing is another reminder of why the right look is so important.

Hawaii (shirt inventor) dyed, oh

Over the Christmas it's fair to assume you may have missed the news that the inventor the Hawaiian shirt died. His name was Alfred Shaheen and he was the ripe old age of 86. His legacy will live on for even longer though as the Hawaiian shirt is one of those garments that never really goes out of fashion - perhaps because it's never in fashion?

Regardless, in honour of the man and his fantastic design, the latest Company Clothing blog poll concerns the ownership of Hawaiian shirts. It's anonymous, so you can tell the truth, without fear of reprisals. Or you can proclaim your love of the garment to the world and his dog (blog?) in the comments section below. The choice is yours.