I was invited to attend a Fashion event organised by London Ethnic at the Houses of Parliament as an official part of Parliament Week. The main aim of Parliament Week is to get a wide range of people informed and interested in politics and this event looked at how UK democracy has inspired and shaped British fashion.
I was very excited because as many of you know, I’m a lawyer (although I don’t do this anymore as I’m now a SAHM) therefore the idea to be granted a pass to get inside the Houses of Parliament was amazing. I was able to combine both of the things that I like which are being a lawyer and being a blogger. Hurrah!! 🙂
The morning of the event was hectic as I had previously booked an appointment at the hairdresser to get my hair cut and blow dried. I needed this ASAP as I hadn’t cut my hair for more than 6 months and it was screaming to be done. Also I thought that it would be nice to go to the event looking decent!! LOL
I’m not sure if you can tell the difference as I didn’t want to have a massive cut as I’m happy with my long hair but she did cut a fair amount off. I was very pleased with it and the girl that helped me was so lovely. She said that she loved blow drying long hair which was a relief as I have a lot of hair! LOL What do you think?
As this was a Fashion Event I decided to wear my Desigual Coat that I’m loving at the moment!! It is so pretty and warms me a lot!! Do you like it?
After the hairdresser I headed into the Centre of London which is not far from where I live. I arrived to Westminster Station and I had the Houses of Parliament in front of me. I used the Cromwell Green entrance. They had a lot of security as expected but they were all so happy and had a great sense of humour. I was impressed to see that kind of attitude for this type of job. I thought it was brilliant!
For those of you that haven’t heard of London Ethnic before, they are a fashion label that captures the essence of London Fashion by working with current London designers and producing the collections in England. They provide a platform for a wide range of the best London fashion designers to have their designs showcased, produced and sold.
Their collections reflect the diversity and vibrancy of London. Their designers are based in London and produce their collections in London or the UK. Their designers have graduated from the London College of Fashion, St Martins College and all of the most prestigious fashion schools in the UK. The London Ethnic label provides authentic London fashion, made in the UK and worn around the world. Their clothes are lovingly made by fashion artisans who adhere to the highest British standards of London fashion.
London Ethnic uses only ethically sourced materials wherever possible, and has a complete knowledge of how their clothes are produced. None of London Ethnic’s clothes are produced in a sweat-shop. They visit and examine the working conditions of their clothes-makers who are all based in England.
The founder and managing director is Saumen Kar (showed at the top right-hand side of the above photo collage). Researching about Saumen, I found an article about him from Ethio Beauty Magazine that mentioned something that caught my eye a lot. Apparently he got all his inspiration for this new idea from a trip to Peru. Following behind a tour guide, he spotted someone making a handmade bracelet. The process unfolded in front of his eyes. He was intrigued. The tour guide in Peru explained to him that this process is more ethical, and it supports the community. Hand-made pieces which incorporate the skills of the technician crafting them have their own beauty. The effort and love of detail of the artisan becomes inherent in the piece. Production of clothes in this way contrasts sharply with the mass-market production of some high-profile high-street shops that have scant regard for the people churning out the clothes.’
He was then overwhelmed with Peruvian culture and the idea of hand-crafted products that when he returned to London inspired, he thought to himself: “if a Peruvian tourist came to London and the tables were turned, what could they take back with them that represented the best of London? So then London Ethnic was created with the desire to provide people around the World with pieces made at the hands of a British designer and therefore truly representative of the London brand.’ This really captivated me because as a Peruvian, I felt very proud to discover that the process of how our artisans produce local products could be a source of inspiration for a British guy who then founded a similar concept through London Ethnic.
The event involved talks from politicians including Baroness Jo Valentine, Tulip Siddiq MP, Ian Paisley MP, leaders in the fashion & beauty industry including Kate Hills – the founder of Make it British, and they encouraged a debate amongst invited celebrities, politicians, students, designers, press and fashion bloggers.
There was also a catwalk show featuring the latest collections from some of the best new & emerging designers from the UK. All of this was split into time slots. The time slots were for a duration of 1 hour although I actually got a full day press pass so it was nice to be able to hang around for the time that I wanted with no pressure.
They were displaying a couple of coats from their latest collection. Also there was an area for us to have some tea or coffee and also some snacks. It was perfect to go around and do some networking.
This is the badge they gave me for the event. I felt incredibly proud when I read my name and underneath it said “Blogger”. I can now definitely say that I’m officially a Blogger! Wow!! Do you agree? 🙂
I made a little video about my experience on that day. Please see below:
Well this was all my thoughts about the day. I hope that you like the post and the video!
Have you heard before of London Ethnics? What do you think of this new concept? Do you like the idea of supporting new young British designers? Do you like the idea of producing clothes which are just made in the UK? Leave me a comments as I would love to read what your thought are.
Thanks for stopping by,
Love you all ❤️
Franca 💋
Linking up with:
Very interesting the fact the idea was inspired by a visit to Peru.
Great location they chose – very interesting building.
Enjoyed your filming.
Thank you Carol! It was a great idea!! Yes I know, I was shocked when I found out the inspiration came after a trip to Peru!! How fantastic is that!! 🙂 xx
Sounds like a really exciting day. Love the photos 🙂 #KCACOLS
Thank you lovely!! It was a fun and interesting day!!! 🙂 xx
Sounds fun, interesting and glamorous! Love the hair and the coat! #KCACOLS
Aww thank you Lucy!!! It was all of that really!! 😉 Thanks for commenting lovely 🙂 xx
This looks so cool! And your coat is gorge!! #KCACOLS
Thank you lovely!!! Had so much fun that day!! Thanks for commenting, 🙂 xx
WOW! How cool is that! I love, love, love your coat!
#KCACOLS
Awww thank you lovely!! I love it too!! It is my favourite coat at the moment!! I love that brand so much!! Thank you for commenting, 🙂 xxx
Love your hair! I’m the same, I always stick with the same haircut so it never looks that different, lol. Also, love your coat. Great coverage of the day you had. #KCACOLS
Nadia – ScandiMummy x
Thank you Nadia!! Yes I think it is better that way. I’m worried that I might look too different!! So I prefer to stick to what I know. That coat is fab!! Desigual has amazing things. I love them a lot!! So much colour too. You can tell but the back had a design with colours. Such a shame I didn’t take a photo of it! Thanks for commenting lovely! 🙂 xx
Wow, what an inspiring day in amazing surroundings. Britain should be doing more of this,
By the way I am super jealous of your gorgeous hair! x Helen #KCACOLS
Thank you lovely!! I totally agree. There should be more brands behind this idea! Aww thank you so much for saying that about my hair!! You are so kind!! I guess being at the hairdresser really helped!! LOL Thanks for commenting. 🙂 xx
Wow how amazing of a day you had! Love the hair cut and coat I’d have made myself as glam as possible too! A really great film I like the idea that someone actually thought about what tourists can take away from here which represents Britain, I honestly only though keyring and an I heart London top did the trick but compared to that presentation, we really have quite a lot to offer. Thanks for hosting #kcacols
Thank you Lizzie!! I’m so happy that you watched the video!! It was a fun day. Definitely different!! The whole idea was really interesting! There are definitely so much “Made in the UK” things to offer for a tourist!! I was glad to hear that they were supporting that. Thanks for commenting lovely! 🙂 xx
You look great hon and I just love your coat! Looks and sounds like you had an amazing time. Xx #KCACOLS
Thank you Sandy!! It was a great day and an amazing experience!! I had so much fun! Thanks for commenting lovely!! 🙂 xxx
This looks like a fun and really interesting day. I think your Desigual coat is fabulous too #kcacols
Thank you Laura!! Yes it was a fun and super interesting day. I was very glad to be invited! Thanks for commenting lovely, 🙂 xx
Sounds like a brilliant and really interesting day. I like fashion shows anyway, and this sounds like a particularly unique one with a great concept. How cool to have your official badge, and perfect timing for a hair pamper.
Amanda #KCACOL
Thank you Amanda!! It was a really nice and exciting day!! I love the pamper too!! 😉 I was so over the moon with the badge!! It was really cool! I felt like a proper bloger!! Lol Thanks so much for commenting lovely! 🙂 xx
I love your hair, it looks nice and refreshed. The length is lovely. It looks like you’ve had a great time in London, and wow you most definitely are a blogger. Maybe you now need to say blogger/lawyer rather than the other way around! You’ve taken some fab pictures and I really love some of the pieces, especially the coat that looks like it has a little patch of leather on the left side. What a great trip! #KCACOLS
Thank you lovely! I’m so happy with the length too! Aww thank you about blogger/lawyer part!! I felt so proud lol Their collection was different but what I like the most is that all were made by new UK designers! Thanks so much for commenting!! 🙂 xx
Such a cool concept for an event! I love the idea of making politics more accessible to people to by showing how it links up with other aspects of our lives. Obviously I’m biased because I’m really involved in politics anyway, but it really is so important. I love your hair by the way – and that coat is gorgeous! 🙂 #KCACOLS
It was an interesting event! I love that concept too! It was really good that they were encouraging brands to get things made in the UK more. Thanks for commenting lovely, 🙂 xx
That sounds such a lovely thing to be part of, really good fun. The hair and the coat are lovely
Firstly, your hair looks wonderful. I would love to have hair that long but mine is too fine. The Houses of Parliament are such a great venue for this event. I went many years ago while studying for a journalism qualification. I was wowed by the architecture. I hadn’t heard of London Ethnic before but what a great concept! #KCACOLS
Sounds like a great concept, and looks like you had a good time at the event, too. It’s nice to get a sneak peek inside the Houses of Parliament 🙂
x Alice
#kcacols
My husband is also a lawyer (we met at a moot in the law building at university) he would be jealous of your visit to parliament – he’s very much into all of that! It looks like you had a really interesting day, what a fab way to spend your time! Your hair looks fab too! I have really thick hair which was always very long but I had quite a lot chopped off when I was pregnanct so it is now below my shoulders-I am desperately growing it long again! But oh my word does it take a long time to dry!!! #KCACOLS
I am so not a fashionista…probably because I live in a town of 6,000 people and if I were to wear anything pictured above I’d be stared at like a foreigner lol. But I have always thought it would be fun to attend a fashion show. I would LOVE to see Gwen Stefani’s LAMB line upfront and personal! I’d probably faint. Thanks so much for hostessing the wonderful #KCACOLS!
What an amazing experience! I have never heard of London Ethics but it looks like a great brand so I will have to look into them more! Great post and I love your coat too 🙂
#KCACOLS
Wow that sounds like a really great day and the clothes looks amazing, I really like the idea! Congrats on your name badge too that must have felt pretty cool x. #KCACOLS
This looks like such a fun event! Those clothes are beautiful, and what a magnificent setting. Great to see clothes that are made ethically too. Becky xx #KCACOLS
PS your hair looks FAB!
what a great day I love that it is supporting British designers and I am jealous I have always wanted to go inside the houses of parliment I have only sunbathed outside! (a few years ago now we had a touristy day after watching micheal buble in the o2) You look amazing and totally deserve the blogger title too #KCACOLS
Lovely pictures and what an interesting experience to attend X #KCACOLS
Hi, Franca.
I’m sorry, but fashion has never been one of my strong points. I can’t even say it’s because I’m a male! However, isn’t the building nice? I went to the speakers house four years ago for a book launch and was amazed at the amount of history, just hanging on the walls! We had to use a different entrance, the tunnels from the shops across the road.
Also, the video, did you do it yourself? It was great. Well edited. What software did you use?
Thanks for hosting #kcacols
What a brilliant day. I love a show and exhibition. Right up your street with the Peruvian aspect. That was a top day out for a blogger! Nice hairdo! Nicky x #KCACOLS