{"id":2203530,"date":"2026-10-16T21:56:42","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T18:56:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2203530"},"modified":"2026-10-16T21:56:42","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T18:56:42","slug":"julian-macdonald-among-fashion-designers-keen-to-put-wales-on-industry-map","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2203530","title":{"rendered":"Julian Macdonald among fashion designers keen to put Wales on industry map"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/1e73\/live\/37a187d0-c85e-11f1-9582-a9900f8c6306.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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\"VictorVictor Virgile\/ Getty<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Julien Macdonald’s journey from Merthyr Tydfil to Chanel and Givenchy also saw him appear on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Do you need to go to a big city to work in fashion?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Former director at Givenchy, Julien Macdonald doesn’t think so, nor does Ioan Bowen-Pickett, a young Welsh fashion designer. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Macdonald said there was no need for aspiring designers to leave for cities such London any more, thanks to a device you’re likely reading this article on. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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When Fashion Britain,a concept born by the British Fashion Council (BFC) originally launched its scheme to take fashion on a tour of the UK beyond London, it had excluded Wales.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But after campaigning by industry figures the BFC reversed its decision, with many saying the events that happened as a result were vital to championing Wales. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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‘Fashion is for everyone now’<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Macdonald, who was awarded an OBE in 2006, has worked for Chanel and Givenchy as well as establishing his own clothing brand, and stars including Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Suki Waterhouse have all worn his clothes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But he said the fashion industry now is radically different from 35 years ago when the teenage boy with a love of knitting and art had to leave Merthyr Tydfil for Brighton, then London, before his talent was spotted by the fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Gone are the days that you needed to be in a city because now you’ve all got something that’s right in your hands or by the side of you. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“It’s called a phone. You can create a brand, a virtual shop on a phone and you can create your own business in Wales. If it’s made in Wales it’s even better. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Now everybody has access to fashion. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in the valleys, in Cardiff City, at the top of a mountain, fashion is for everybody just by the touch of a button.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"A<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Macdonald told a Cardiff audience that his dad said university “isn’t for people like us” when he left Wales in the ’90s to study knitwear<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Macdonald was speaking on a Fashion Britain panel in Cardiff featuring high-profile Welsh industry figures including designer Jayne Pierson, creative director Charlotte James and Ibby Abdi, who’s collaborated with New Balance and Cardiff City. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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He said events like this were “just the start of things to come”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But when the BFC first launched its high-profile Fashion Britain campaign to encourage the industry to look at the range of British talent working outside London, it announced events in cities such as Bristol, Manchester, Dundee and Edinburgh. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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When there was no mention of Wales designers such as Ioan Bowen-Pickett took to social media to express their disappointment. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"TobiasTobias Lagos<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Welsh actor Alexander Vlhaos (left) reached out to Ioan to help promote his brand<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Bowen-Pickett, 25, has his own fashion brand Cambrensis, based in Cardiff, placing Wales’ rich cultural and industrial heritage front and centre in his high-end designs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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He’s already announced a collaboration with Clarks Shoes and hosted pop-up stores at branches of John Lewis. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The designer says he can “100%” do it without moving to London. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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He said: “What’s the point? It’s too crowded in London, there’s too much noise.” <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“There’s a massive opportunity in doing what we’re doing in Wales currently. It’s an unbelievably talented set of people in this country.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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When the BFC’s chief executive re-shared Ioan’s video on Instagram, it signalled the announcement of a dozen or so events introduced across Wales.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Cambrensis hosted its own event, with a launch for a promotional video and brand ambassador, Alex Vlhaos, in a bar in Cardiff.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The event was sold out, with guests from the fashion industry in south Wales invited to network, and celebrate the work they do.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"TobiasTobias Lagos<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Ioan was given the opportunity to host a Fashion Britain event, following Wales being added to the line-up<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Jade Matthews and Morgan Mcloughlin attended the event, which Morgan said was “important” for Welsh culture and designers from Wales.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“It’s exciting, we’re being seen, we’re being put on the map,” Matthews added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Amy Jenkins, a self-employed hair and make-up artist from Pontypridd, said: “We sometimes are overlooked, overshadowed and from personal experience it’s difficult to get out there sometimes.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Jenkins works with actress Emma Myers, known for the series Wednesday and the Minecraft movie.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“I do her hair and makeup for the occasional events and I worked as her hair and makeup artist on Good Girls Guide to Murder,” Jenkins added. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“I go pretty much wherever I’m asked to go, I did a press tour last year and I got to go to South Korea and Australia.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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‘We don’t want it to be a one-off moment’<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Natalie Potter from the BFC said: “London is the global fashion capital, but British fashion has never been created in one place.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“We have to make sure opportunity, visibility and investment reach beyond London.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“And that means going into communities, meeting people where they are and creating opportunities for audiences to engage with fashion on their very own doorstep.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Potter said she did not want this to be a “one-off” moment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“We want to build relationships with cities and communities across Britain and create more opportunities for designers, maker businesses and audiences outside of London,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"MorganMorgan Hill Murphy<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Naomi Pike from Swansea has a rich career working in fashion<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Some will argue that not everything can be achieved here in Wales and some will have to make the move in order to get experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Naomi Pike, commissioning editor at Elle UK, moved to London from Swansea to pursue a career in fashion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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She said it was “really exciting” that events like Fashion Britain were being expanded outside of London.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“I know when I was growing up, I would have been supremely excited to go to something such as this,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Pike, who hosted various events in collaboration with Elle and Fashion Britain, spoke about the importance of community and networking at events like this.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Finding people that have like-minded views, shared values, and you can build and support each other,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“I think there is a place for fashion in Wales, there’s a long way for it to go to compete with anything that we see in the other big capitals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“But Wales, for instance, has always had its place in fashion. There have been so many designers that have referenced our amazing craft and heritage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“I think of Sarah Burton when she was at Alexander McQueen. She often looked to our craft. You see people like Jonathan Anderson and Phoebe Philo, two of the world’s most important designers, look to Gwyn John for art inspiration.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Pike said Welshness can be a unique selling point.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Welsh creativity, I think is very singular. The existence of being Welsh, whether you’re in London, whether you’re in another part of Britain, whether you’re in another part of the world is very singular.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“The idea of identity and value and language and performance and creativity and art, I think they all come together”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/ck3wjgdg05x9o”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/1e73\/live\/37a187d0-c85e-11f1-9582-a9900f8c6306.jpg”] Victor Virgile\/ Getty Julien Macdonald’s journey from Merthyr Tydfil to Chanel and Givenchy also saw him appear on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 Do you need to go to a big city to work in fashion? Former director at Givenchy, Julien Macdonald doesn’t think so, nor does Ioan Bowen-Pickett, a young Welsh […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[35],"class_list":["post-2203530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-bbc-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2203530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2203530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2203530\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2203530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2203530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2203530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}