Style Birmingham Live... who went?

Now, as I tottered along on the Friday, meeting the delightful Mr George Lamb himself and being showered (well, sort of) with Champagne - thanks to Harvey Nichols - I didn't need to buy a £30 VIP ticket. I may not have received the goody bags, but hey, I'm not massively bothered by that. I did however see the rest of what you VIP ticket holders will have seen - the main catwalk show in the Town Hall, Caryn Franklin's 'How to Look Good' seminar in the Pavillions, Bullring's 'Style: Redefinition' catwalk show - complete with holographic models, and all the various fashion and beauty demonstrations going on around Harvey Nichols, House of Fraser and other stores in the Bullring.

It was all very exciting; obviously being a fashionista myself, there is nothing I like better than watching a good catwalk show, especially in my hometown of Birmingham. However, as much as I regret to say it, I did notice that there wasn't quite the same buzz as there has been in previous years. That aside, there also seemed to be a slight air of recession about a few parts (whether this is true I cannot comment); no VIP transport to 'ferry' VIP ticket holders between venues, no goodies or samples in the specially designed shoppers that each Style-goer receives... not the end of the world I admit, and these factors certainly didn't ruin the experience. What I did find a real shame however, was the apparent absence of many of Birmingham's born and bred, and previously celebrated 'independents'.

What was great last year was first of all, the main show (which, I hasten to add, was in my opinion much slicker in previous years) opened with a collection by Brummie born fashion designer Osman Yousefzada; an instant excitement builder. What was also great, and is usually great with the majority of fashion shows in this great city, was the use of the models from Birmingham's own prestigious modelling agency Adage. Now, OK, I can see a reason in going elsewhere if the standard was going to be much higher, but the fact was, it really wasn't. In fact, I am a little biased as I loosely know a couple of the models who Adage represent and used last year. But they aren't just Brummie models - many of them work internationally. Try and tell me that isn't high standard. Aside from that there was a little too much 'play acting' introduced into the choreography, however I will admit to the fact that I like a catwalk show to be a catwalk show - a presentation of great clothes and great styling, rather than a spectacle.

What it really boiled down to for me, was that this is a fantastic event, with significant potential for really marking Birmingham out as a stylish city, but by using London agencies, not playing up to the born and bred creative businesses in Birmingham, I think we might just have missed out on a great opportunity to tell the rest of the UK how utterly fabulous we all are.

Gripes aside I did enjoy it, I thought the Bullring catwalk show, albeit small, was great, it was great to see so many people buzzing around... but the highlight for me (aside from meeting the lovely Mr Lamb of course) was Caryn Franklin's seminar.