Harvey Nichols Fashion Show: Campfield Market Hall hosts Spring Summer 2012 catwalk show

By Felicity Crease

As the curtain fell on Paris fashion week, a spotlight shone towards Manchester’s most stylish for Harvey Nichols' Spring/Summer fashion show, on Wednesday.

News correspondent Elaine Wilcox hosted the event at Campfield Market Hall, Deansgate’s surprisingly well-hidden yet impressively grand venue.

“This has got to be one of my favourite events,” she told guests, “It’s great to have the chance to get all dressed up – with the help of the fantastic team at personal shopping!”

Her deep blue Amanda Wakely dress was in keeping with the theme of the show, Under the Sea. A digital display wall created the effect of a moving underwater aquarium, the perfect backdrop for this season’s stylish catwalk showcase.

Guests were presented with an array of key trends from the Spring Summer 2012 season. From sorbet shades to acid brights, St Tropez cool to London punk, all tastes were catered to courtesy of designers such as Roberto Cavalli, Dolce and Gabbana and Alexander McQueen.

MM caught up with Benjamin Maxfield, the store’s Personal Shopping Manager, who was responsible for putting the looks together.

With so many strong trends to choose from this season, Maxfield stressed the importance of keeping the Manchester customer in mind when styling the looks.

“We talk about trends every season and, in the past, we’ve planned to set certain trends,” he explained, “But it’s so difficult because, with certain trends, not only are they not suited to a Harvey Nichols customer, but they’re also not suited to a Manchester customer.

“Our customer is very glamorous and might not respond to certain trends, such as the current 1920’s trend and the growing presence of midi-length dresses.

“I think it’s really important that we speak to our customer. We always like to advise our customer, but we don’t like to dictate.”

The show’s finale consisted of a run of pieces designed by celebrity-favourite Philip Armstrong. Featuring beautiful layers of lace and tulle in shades of cream, nude and black, the collection was created exclusively for Harvey Nichols with the Manchester customer in mind.

Maxfield’s personal favourite looks were taken from the show’s opening run, Pale and Interesting, which drew from this season’s much talked about love of pastel shades, and featured designers such as Pinko, Acne and Gucci.

He told MM: “I really loved our Pale and Interesting run for its wearability, which I might not have predicted before the show. It was really soft, but it had an urban feel to it. From a working woman to a student, anyone could have taken inspiration from it.”

After yet another successful show, Maxfield acknowledged that the only problem now faced by the team is how best to beat this season’s show.

“It gets bigger and better each time and I always think, how are we going to beat last season’s?” he explained, “But, do you know what? We did it this time and we’ll definitely do it again.”