Alternative Fashion Week 08 Preview

Taking place across five days commencing on April 21st, Alternative Fashion Week offers upcoming designers the opportunity to have their work shown in front of thousands of people and has kick-started the careers of both Gareth Pugh and this year's Project Catwalk winner Jasper Garvida.

In 2008 there will be over 60 designers taking part from across the UK, Europe and India. Unlike London Fashion Week where most designers spend thousands on staging shows, Alternative Fashion Week provides designers with a catwalk free-of-charge. Organisers Alternative Arts also gives free training for would-be models, who on completing a course, get the chance to appear on the catwalk.

Shows take place in Spitalfields Market at 1.15pm every day and each collection is shown to the live sounds of a jazz band. Fashion designers take over Spitalfields Market - for a small fee they can hire a stall to sell their wares which results in a truly diverse fashion market where you can buy everything from accessories to handmade coats.

Celebrating fashion as an art form, the event welcomes press, industry, students and ordinary people alike. This year Big Brother twins Sam and Amanda will be modelling on Monday 21st and participating designers have been challenged by Trinny and Susannah's Undress The Nation television programme to come up with designs for a women's range aimed at catering for women sized between 18-30.

Words: Marian Buckley