Manchester’s newest independent menswear shop, Smithfield menswear, recently opened in the northern quarter. The store is unlike any other within the city, housed in the smithfield building, the store has been constructed using recycled cardboard boxes and tubes. For the interior of Smithfield menswear, Pete Masters wanted to create a ‘striking, interesting and unique design’ and he certainly achieved what he set out to accomplish. The whole idea behind this shop was to show, that retailers do not need to use vast manufacturing, materials and resource to make a retail shop that works and still retains an interesting design.

The store has payed tribute to the history of its premises and surroundings, aptly naming the store  Smithfield; featuring a Smithfield collie, a dog synonymous with hard work and a fiery temperament, as the shop front logo. The proud cardboard Smithfield collies watch over the store and its wardrobe must haves, including a of shirts, knits and outwear.

Smithfield Menswear stocks a vast range of sleek, stylish scandinavian and european brands, which include the likes of Wood Wood, Spitfire Design, On Tour, Organic Label Knowledge Cotton Apparel, Dunderdon and local brand Three Crowns.

With unique aesthetics and quirkiness the shop will fit right into the Northern Quarter, long known as the creative hub of Manchester.

The Smithfield Menswear shop is a spectacle of interior design and should be visited, even if it is to only cue over the adorable cardboard collies and admire the vast array of stylish menswear brands.

With this week being the official start of party season it was only apt that we feature a party piece as MFN’s pick of the week.

This weeks pick is this sultry Firetrap leather dress, featured as a show stopping essential on the brands site.  The dress incorporates an all over washed/worn effect . It plays up the tough, sexy, rock chick  feel with its bold studded collar and full zip down front. This is THE perfect dress for those who want to step the traditional little black dress look, up several notches.

Follow the link to view the dress on the Firetrap site:

http://www.firetrap.com/Studley-PRODGKAS68A/

A recently published study, conducted by a team of researchers from the U.S., Germany, and the Netherlands claims that magazines that feature plus-size or fuller figured models, make overweight women feel worse about their bodies and underweight women feel better about themselves.

The researchers claim that redefining the shape of models across the editorial and commercial side of print based fashion won’t make a difference to the already battered self-esteems of women, who consider themselves to fall outside the understanding of beauty.

“Overweight women’s self-esteem always decreases, regardless of the model they look at,” says the study published by the Journal of Consumer Research. Does this then boil down to women’s perception of beauty, the perception that has be carved out in the fashion houses and fashion glossies across the world? We can only assume so. 

If further studies with similar outcomes are undertaken, then it may prove to be a substantial blow to the growing interest in plus-size models and the spreads in which fuller figure models are featured, which would be a real shame.

Animal print has been huge over the past few seasons, with this season being no exception. Leopard print can be spotted in all parts of the fashion world this A/W, but a new trend has started to emerge its head into our urban jungles, zebra print. Zebra print is a much rarer sight in the fashion world, so if you want to be up there with the top trend setters they maybe worth investing in. 

The Collection Raplh Lauren knee highs, are bang on trend by teaming a bold monochrome print onto a sultry shaped boot. They will add lashes of glamour to any winter outfit. For a casual day look, team them with a mohair jumper dress and thick tights. For a smarter evening look wear them with your little black dress, or a long pencil skirt and fitted shirt.

Here’s the lowdown on the must-have jackets for Autumn 2009.

Tweed Jacket - Country tweed gets a revamp this Autumn, with a urban twist. It is all about keeping this item simple as over tweeding can put years on you! 

Biker/Rock chick jacket –  This style is a classic, everyone loves a good quality leather jacket! Almost all high street retailers and top fashion brands will stock their own versions. The key is not to be afraid to experiment, black is the obvious choice but try grey, navy tan, brown and animal print. Also experiment with looks, you don’t just have to go for the biker chick look. 

Military jacket – The right military jacket will lift an outfit, and add a cool vibe, especially if you opt for a 80’s punk inspired style. 

Short Mac – Long monochrome macs were all over the runways, but also was their little brother the short mac. A shorter style will add that little bit of fun and playfulness to any ensemble. Experiment with pastel palettes, and team with a knit skirt. 

Tailored Jacket – We have seen many versions of the tailored jacket over the past year, but this Autumn the tough, slouchy blazer is the must – have, teamed with a pretty get up or even a edgier piece. Kate Moss is a lover of the tailored jacket teamed with a cute dress and boots.

In this time of fashion frugalness, should fashion brands be splashing the cash on AD campaigns or taking marketing back to the drawing board, using select techniques to home in on different market segments, a more ‘targeted approach’. The new Adidas TV advert is seen to be the most expensive TV AD of our time, containing no less than fourteen high profile celebrities, including Katy Perry, Missy Elliot, Tony Hawks and our very own David Beckham. Although this is a cynical attempted to tick all the boxes by Adidas, will it work?

The world of Mancunian fashion has been stereotyped and mercilessly 
mocked for many years now, and to some extent this was probably 
deserved. The media took Oasis, probably our biggest export of the 
90’s and portrayed every young male from Manchester as being a parka 
clad oik swearing and spitting their way through town.
The beginnings of what would be called the modern Manchester style 
evolved from a number of sources, around the early 80’s the music in 
Manchester’s clubs was changing and groups of young men were dressing 
differently. This led to a massive stigma being attached to casual 
fashion as new found accessibility of the European high end brands 
such as Armani, Boss, Lacoste, Paul and Shark, and most ubiquitously 
Stone Island flooded the market. As the football scallys all started 
looking the same it was time for the mass marketed sportswear to be 
replaced. Continuing the casual theme but moving away from the obvious 
up stepped Oi Polloi
“Oi Polloi decided that it was time for a change. as a reaction to the 
mass of bland, uninspiring men’s fashion stores lining the UK’s high 
streets. With sports shops becoming lowest common denominator fashion 
shops and shoe shops becoming trainer shops.”

Giving menswear a true alternative to the norm and constantly seeking 
out the next brand to almost without fail take the men’s market by 
storm, but still carrying the flag for quality products with timeless 
classic design. Oi Polloi can be found on Tib Street in the Northern 
Quarter or at OiPolloi.com

The credit crunch has taken many victims along its slow and deadly prowl amongst small businesses, but when one of Manchester’s fashion favourites is the latest to fall it’s starting to get a little too personal.
I have to admit I wasn’t really aware of ZuZu Couture until I took a look at their website and recognized a dress worn by a Hollyoak’s girl I’d admired a while ago and I just thought it’s so unfair that a fashion label that had so much promise has just been blown away.
The undeniable attention to detail and unorthodox style was a truly unique stamp that Fatz Kassum had planted on the ZuZu label and I’m sure if you can handle Sky One’s Project Catwalk you can handle just about anything. But when our ever failing government bangs on about lending a helping hand to those small businesses who are struggling under the pressure of our current crumbling climate it has to be asked are they just empty words? Now I don’t know if government was asked for help but the end results have been a distinctive, fresh and fun fashion collection has been crushed under the weight of this unnecessary economical epidemic, thanks to the greed and competiveness of the banks of the big cities. So cheers fella’s, not only is our bank accounts paying the price, but now so is our wardrobe choices.