I am so proud to say that last night I showcased my design work on the catwalk for the very first time at the Fashion Futures event in conjunction with Fashion Fest.

The idea behind the show was that designers paired up with a local shop or boutique and designed a piece which could potentially retail in their store.

I got matched with one of my favourite shops – Boudoir Boutique and spent a long time discussing with Fiona – The Proprietor of the shop, about what styles and colours sell best for her.

As I am predominantly a textile designer, I, along with Fiona, decided that we would go for a more commercial shape as opposed to an avant garde piece and let the prints speak for themselves.

Boudoir is a locally owned shop so I decided to make my print relevant to Derry/Londonderry. If you look closely at the print you will find lots of little pieces from the cities culture and history such as images from the famous graffiti and the “Free Derry” corner which is famous worldwide.

I really wanted to give my piece a very personal touch whilst keeping my colours and style relevant to those found in Boudoir Boutique.

I was blessed with a very stunning model on the night whose fierce and confident look not only did my dress proud but led her to win the “Face of Fashion Fest” competition which took place during the event.

It was such an emotional yet exciting moment for me to see the first of my designs on the catwalk and it really made me look forward to a future filled with many more moments like this.

The icing on the cake was to see another of my dress designs displayed on a mannequin in the newly opened Fashion Hub where many fashion greats such as Wayne Hemingway, Sonya Lennon & Janet Holbrook had the chance to see it and read about my background.

Fashion Fest is a truly amazing event for the city and I am delighted to see the talents of my local area finally coming to the foreground. It was an honour to be a part of it and I really look forward to the rest of the shows over the coming few days.

For any info on placing orders for my designs please do get in touch with me via Facebook (The Sequin Cinderella) or email (Nicola@thesequincinderella.com)

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