An Interview with Nick Seagrave of Oxford Fashion Week

With only one week left until Oxford’s most fashionable event of the year, OFS has asked Nick Seagrave, the Week’s Marketing Manager to reveal some of Oxford Fashion Week’s best-kept secrets…What we discovered?! Fashion Week is looking to be better and bigger than ever before!

What can we expect from Oxford Fashion Week this year in comparison to the last one?

As license holders for 2012 + 2013, it is our main objective to take Oxford Fashion Week to the next level, raising the benchmark significantly by moving away from an Oxford University orientated production and towards a nationally recognised events schedule.

This year’s Fashion Week has been planned extensively (since October 2011) to ensure Oxford’s most spectacular venues are booked well in advance.

2012 promises greater all-round production value, increased audience capacities and covers a wider range of fashion. For example, last year’s Ethical Fashion Show has been turned into an entire day of Ethical fashion, an Ethical Fashion Fair!

Is Fashion Week for everybody?

One of our primary objectives is to make Oxford Fashion Week available for anybody, whether their interest in fashion is casual, social or professional. OFW is unlike other fashion weeks, which are typically produced for the fashion industry and its members. OFW opens the world of catwalks and front rows to anyone with a passion for fashion!

This year we are opening the doors to those who may be flirting with the idea of fashion, inviting anyone along for a FREE day of ethical fashion fun. Learn where your clothes actually come from, how they are made and tackle present day issues such as wastage and recycling.

Who are your main partners and how does that shine through in the events?

In order to produce a large-scale string of events, one requires either a significant financial injection or a lot of help from local businesses and organisations!

Our partnership agreements differ from brand to brand, some of which require financial commitment where as some utilize the strong brand image of Oxford Fashion Week to raise their own profile and generate public awareness. It would be hard to list just a few - everyone we work with is fantastic at what they do!

 The Haute Couture show- what fashion designers can we look forward to?

Typically our confirmed participants are kept under wraps! To give you an idea, this year’s guests can expect a variety of ball gowns and dresses from renowned fashion houses, a range of looks from Wish Want Wear, fine tailored suits from Oxford’s very own Clements & Church – and of course, last year’s surprise show-stopper Dar Sara.

Which show are you most looking forward to?

The world of fashion has a huge impact on our environment, our society, even our music. Whilst some issues are far more prevalent than others, most require a significant shift in our attitudes towards consumption. Of course, a change in consumer perception is no five-minute job – that’s why we decided to really push the Ethical Fashion Fair (EFF) this year. The Ethical Fashion Fair is our combined attempt to bring key players together under one roof, raising awareness for a hugely important topic and hopefully changing people’s perceptions on recycling, reusing and even swapping fashion. I’m a strong believer in positive change through association and I hope that the EFF brings people one step closer to understanding the impact of the clothes they wear every day!

OFS wants all its members to be able to be part of this exciting fashion adventure, so we have secured a special promotion code, which allows OFS members reduced tickets to the three major fashion shows. The codes, along with program information will be sent out in an email to all members.