Cardiff has, until now, been a bit Fashion Week deprived. St. David’s is helping to change that by taking two days this weekend to hold its biggest, best fashion shows yet. It’s one of the highlights of Cardiff’s inaugural Fashion Week, and it’s set to start things off right.

For another first, the center will be lighting up the city centre with a night show, keeping the party going well after dark. It’s holding two days of free catwalk shows, fusing fashion and music for a spectacular event.

The center also has a surprise in store for shoppers who visit the shows: an exclusive St. David’s cheque book filled with special discounts and offers.

St. David’s is also sharing in the excitement on its Facebook page, documenting set up and getting shoppers ready for the big show.

The Bellevue Collection just recently wrapped up its Fashion Week, closing out events like the Nordstrom Fall Fashion Show, the Posh Party Beauty & Trend Show, and Vogue’s Front Row Fashion.

The opening night paid tribute to a growing segment of the fashion world: independent designers. The first Independent Designer Runway Show was held In partnership with Fashion Group International (FGI) and Femfessionals in Seattle. The show was a culmination of months of work by the designers, organizers and judges, and brought a spotlight on the strength of the independent designer movement in the Puget Sound area. It also helped secure the future of one local designer.

“Fashion is our largest category of retail at the Bellevue Collection,” states Jennifer Leavitt, VP of Marketing for The Bellevue Collection and Kemper Development Company. “Creating this fabulous opportunity for local designers to compete and show their point of view was a natural next step. We have an opportunity to assist the growth of the fashion offering in the market and to extend our helping hand to an industry that is so important to our company and community.” The relationships built over the duration of the event are sure to pay off for years to come.

Eight designers brought their designs to the stage that evening, showing their work to an audience that included representatives from Vogue. The winner, Carole McClellan, has worked in leather and fur for years. “I’ve always worked in fur and leather with recycled and repurposed pieces that I completely take apart and put back together into a contemporary configuration.” She upon her traditional themes into a completely new collection for men and women.

“When I think of the Bellevue Collection it is a destination place to shop for luxury goods,” said McClellan. “When this (opportunity) came up I thought, ‘O.K., this is fabulous’. I could never as an independent put up this type of staging and have full roster of models and hair and make-up and all of the PR support that goes with it.”

All her hard work paid off when the panel of judges selected her as the winner. Her prize package includes $5000 in Fashion Funds to help build her design business.

Vogue’s pretty big on shopping holidays. Just look at Fashion’s Night Out, four years in. But what about the publication’s younger sibling, Teen Vogue? Well, this year it has its own answer to FNO: Back-to-School Saturday.

Last Saturday, August 11th, the magazine teamed up with GGP shopping centers across the country to make one very unique shopping celebration starring great retailer offers, promotions and entertaining events, including some fantastic musical performances, fashion shows, make-over stations, prize wheels and much more.

“GGP malls are always buzzing this time of year with students looking to dress to impress on their first day of class. We wanted to add to the excitement, making our centers a one-stop-shop to buy the latest fall fashions and experience a unique, memorable event before heading back to school,” said Susan Houck, senior vice president, marketing.

There are plenty of parties out there for back-to-school, but this one has something extra going for it: the feeling of being part of something big. Just like Fashion’s Night Out, Back-to-School Saturday has the feel of a holiday shared across a nation, and that’s a good feeling indeed.

The Sydney Powerhouse Museum is dipping its toes into fashion, and three of Centro Bankstown’s leading fashion boutiques have been invited to take part. They’re showing off their unique styles in the exhibition ‘Faith, fashion, fusion: Muslim women’s style in Australia’ as of earlier this week.

The exhibition includes clothing, fashion shoots and interviews with Hijab House, Integrity Boutique and Divine Choice, three retailers that specialize in meeting the needs of modern Muslim women. Hijab House has its flagship at Centro Bankstown. It was established by Tarik Houchar as one of the first Australian Muslim women’s fashion retailers to open inside a mainstream shopping centre. Integrity Boutique features evening and formal wear aimed at both Muslim and non-Muslim woman who wants to dress stylishly while remaining modest. And Divine Choice designer Aida Zein specializes in street and casual wear for Muslim women.

The Faith, Fashion, Fusion exhibition explores this emerging fashion market as well as the work of a growing group of Australian clothing brands that design for Muslim women. But it also brings in the history of veiling, discussions around faith fashion and children’s activities.

“The market for these designers is not limited to Muslim women and women of other faiths,” said Glynis Jones, curator of the exhibit, “but any woman who for various reasons may not feel comfortable in the often body-conscious styles currently available, but want looser, fashionable clothing that offers more coverage.”

Centre manager at Centro Bankstown, John Klein said the exhibition offers a wonderful opportunity for these talented designers to reach a wider audience.

“The Powerhouse exhibition not only showcases the diversity and creativity of Muslim women’s style and fashion choices, it also provides an opportunity to talk about themselves and their experiences in the Australian fashion scene and society in general.”

The Light held its glamorous spring fashion show last month, and it made it extra special by bringing in stars from the BAFTA award-winning show The Only Way is Essex. The stars weren’t there just for kicks, though—they were there for a cause: Marie Curie’s Great Daffodil Appeal.

If you’re in the know, you might recognize the hosts: Billie Faiers, Dino and George Georgiades, and Zeriozha Burt-Skeete (from the television series Waterloo Road), the beautiful people pictured with this article. With their help, The Light raised a total of £631.22 for Marie Curie.

While shoppers were pulling out their pocketbooks they got a chance to enjoy the newest spring fashions from The Lights retailers. They also got a peek at the newest collection from Billie Faiers’ boutique, Minnie’s. The money came from the sale of VIP tickets, as well as donated funds from the stall holders that supported the event.

It sounds as though the event was a success on another level: footfall at the centre rose by 10.6 percent versus the previous week and increased by 10 percent versus the same day in 2011. The leadup to the event also brought the Light nearly 400 new social media followers.

Stephanie James, the center’s marketing manager, said “The event was fantastic and has definitely helped to bring some bling to Leeds. Ultimately I do hope that the event has succeeded in raising awareness of the vital support system that Marie Curie Cancer Care provides to terminally ill patients.”