Jury duty

Here's my testimony. What can I tell you? I feel like a hypocrite. I was prancing around a dingy underground warehouse cum large-scale bunker in the Belgian capital city of Brussels aiming to report back to the UAE fashionistas what was hot and what was not for spring/summer 2007.

It doesn't sound criminal, does it? However, it's the following sequence of action that you might struggle with.

Lap it up

If I'm a hypocrite then you're a philistine. Nothing to do with where you were born or grew up, but more about whether you grew up or not. I'm not talking about where you went to school - just this: did you graduate?

Do you recognise taste and culture when it's staring you stone cold in the face or do you turn a blindeye?

I feel like a hypocrite because I hate those patronising peppy style file reports you find in magazines on the eve of a new season or at the end of a major fashion event. Wear this, ditch that, buy this, order that … And like philistines, you lap it all up.

Spruced up

I've always wondered if there was a fashion judge sitting on high in a regal (probably Armani-designed) robe dispensing trends and looks like an ATM machine on Bond Street.

"We haven't had any animal print for a while, I'll bring that back this season. And what about sportswear? With a lot of bling tracksuits will look chic and spruced up … designers, just remember, keep chopping and changing, that way nobody will notice it's all be done before," thus sayeth the fashion judge, as it is currently written in Vogue, Elle and Marie Claire.

Fashion designers, and the fashion judge, are by no means the trendsetters. You are. A designer produces a pair of shorts, you decide how to wear it, with what to wear it and where to wear it to. That's what was so exhilarating about the Belgian and Brussels Fashion Fair (BFF)… these are the clothes, how are you going to wear it? Will you even be wearing it?

Whims and wishes

The fashion judge may have passed the sentence but you don't have to buy it. In case you forgot (or didn't get hooked on LA Law and Ally McBeal like I did), it's the jury who delivers the verdict - a jury made up of everyday people.
So here's the case: Brussels had a fashion fair. The crime: it wasn't posey or pretentious therefore it won't fly with the Dubai fashion philistines. The verdict: you decide.

Put yourself in my mocha-coloured Timberlands and I'll take you through it before the deliberation begins.
Bunched up pencil skirts, shrunken knitwear, military jackets, cropped waistcoats with huge buttons and pleated shorts rolled up to the crotch.

Then there were odd texture combinations like lace and wool, leather and velvet, silk and heavy metal chains and links. A total mish-mash and a delectable feast for the eyes. Notably, for spring/summer 2007 collections, the clothes were quite dark and heavily layered, not at all conforming to the rest of the fashion world or pandering to the whims and wishes of popular commercial designers.

Pink water

The location, similar to the clothes, was just as intriguing. Chicken wire gauzes pierced unhinged old wooden doors with rusty iron locks precariously fastened on. The hanging light fixtures were designed by Dark, an innovative Belgian light design company, who had created these needle light fixtures out of coloured glass encased in wrought iron mesh.

The light shun down - pink, green, purple and white - in spits and spats, in clusters, in spotlight and overall engrossing.
The floor inside the venue was cobbled, the walls were bricked and supported spanning arches and vaults braced with steel trusses and stage lights.

The entrance was marked with a hot pink carpet flanked by tall vases with white and pink orchids floating in pink and blue water. Local Belgian DJ M.E.K kept the tunes flowing throughout (see his fashion must-have playlist on page 5). Some stalls created a bigger buzz than others but everywhere I turned there was something going on.

Tanned and relaxed

The brands that caught my eye were: Toy G (Italy), Isla Ibiza (UK), D.E.P.T (Belgium) and Part Two (Denmark).

Colin Willoughby, along with his wife, is the creative force behind Isla Ibiza. The brand, born out of the couple's love for the popular holiday island destination, is a huge success across Europe.

A tanned and relaxed Willoughby sells to around 500 traders and retailers in the Netherlands alone. The collection on display for spring/summer 2007 came in two-fold. Lola and Bonita. Lola is the street girl, this collection was essential easy/lounge wear with an edge. And Bonita is the beach bum and the collection featured long hippy dresses and flowing kaftans.

The accessories featured chunky wooden bangles and belts embroided with shells and beads. A cool and refreshing concoction.
Is that enough information? Wait. Before you make your decision, there's more...

nSee pages 6 & 7 to get a closer look at other budding fashion brands at BFF.

For more information on the brands listed on this page visit: www.isla-ibiza.nl, www.dept.com, www.parttwo.com and www.toyg.it.

What is bff?
In 1997 the first and much needed Belgian fair for women's fashion was hosted in the capital city.
Since its debut 10 years ago, the fair has grown and gained acclaimed praise in Europe as a place for traders, retailers and buyers to get the latest and hippest fashion brands.
This year it offers over 10,000sqm of budding new designers as well as more established brands.
For more information visit: www.bff.be.

DJ M.E.K's fashion PLAYLIST
Pikaya by Grune Raufeser.
Martin Buttrich by Cloudy Bay.
Loco-dice by A Chico a Rhythmico.
Gabriel Ananda by Doopel Whipper.
Hydra by Stephen Bodzin.