EDINBURGH is set to stage its own answer to London Fashion Week in a bid to attract some of the industry’s biggest names to the Capital.
It is hoped using prestigious venues such as the newly revamped National Gallery of Scotland will help Edinburgh to emulate the success of London’s annual fashion festival.
Supermodel Kate Moss, actress Samantha Morton, and Mick Jagger’s daughter
Elizabeth were among the stars to grace this year’s event in London.
Now it is thought it could be possible to establish a similar event in Edinburgh following the arrival of the Harvey Nichols, Armani and Louis Vuitton stores in the Capital.
City centre managers and council chiefs are drawing up plans for an annual celebration of fashion which could be staged for the first time within 12 months.
Among the ideas understood to be under discussion are major showcases for local designers using venues such as the Usher Hall and the National Gallery of Scotland as well as outdoor events in Princes Street Gardens and George Street.
It is hoped the presence of big fashion names on The Walk and in Harvey Nichols will help persuade celebrities to attend events.
Venues such as the Opal Lounge, The Dome, City nightclub and Harvey Nichols’ Forth Floor bar-restaurant are all contenders to host either fashion shows or the lavish parties that would be expected as part of the festival.
The initiative is set to be launched on the back of a multi-million-pound promotional drive to promote the shopping experience in the city centre.
Potential customers from across Scotland and further afield are expected to be targeted by the marketing campaign early next year.
The campaign will be a key element of the way the Capital is "rebranded" on the orders of city leaders.
The council has joined forces with the Edinburgh City Centre Management Company to try to get the fashion festival off the ground.
Although discussions are still at an early stage and no funding has been secured for the project, the idea has already won the backing of leading retailers.
Edinburgh’s status among fashion lovers has soared since the opening of the Harvey Nichols store on St Andrew Square two years ago.
More recently a string of retailers - including Armani and Louis Vuitton - have arrived on The Walk, the upmarket new shopping arcade next to the major department store.
A spokesman for the Edinburgh City Centre Management Company said: "Things are still at a very early stage, but to do something on the right scale would need significant backing from both the public and private sector.
"We know Manchester and Leeds already do their own thing like this but we’d be looking to do something a lot more ambitious over either a week or a fortnight.
"Experience Edinburgh is due to be launched in the spring and we’d like to be able to launch the first fashion event by the autumn of next year if the funding can be found."
City council leader Donald Anderson said: "This would be an absolutely fantastic event for the city if it was to happen.
"We’ve taken huge leaps forward when it comes to the retail offering in Edinburgh city centre recently and we need to try to get more people to come here from across central Scotland, not just Glasgow."
A spokeswoman for Harvey Nichols said: "This sounds like a fabulous idea, which would do a lot to raise awareness of what the city centre has to offer. We’d be very keen to get involved."
