The Clothes Show (formerly Clothes Show Live) is a consumer exhibition brand held annually in December at the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

National Exhibition Centre The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, Solihull, West Midlands, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International railway sta ...

. The event showcases the latest fashion, beauty and music.

The Clothes Show history

The first show launched during 1989 in London by Gavin Brown and June Barker, 29 years ago on the back of the then popular television programme. Due to overwhelming visitor turn-out since 1990 the event has been held at the

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It provides IT and network soluti ...

, in

, UK. It was owned and operated by Haymarket Exhibitions, part of the Haymarket Media Group. Haymarket later sold The Clothes Show to SME London. Despite the various incarnations of

The Clothes Show ''The Clothes Show'' is a British television show about fashion that was broadcast on BBC One from 1986 to 2000, and from 2006 on UKTV Style and Really. At its height, ''The Clothes Show'' had around 9 million viewers every Sunday night. It al ...

suffering from popularity waves, the live event has remained steadily popular and still holds an audited visitor attendance of 165,093, making it the second most visited show in the UK. Select is the official model agency partner and uses the show as a hunting ground for young new talent. Many now famous faces have been plucked from the shows, including

Holly Willoughby Holly Marie Willoughby ( ; born 10 February 1981) is an English television presenter, author and model. She is currently the co-presenter of ITV's '' This Morning'' (2009–present) and '' Dancing on Ice'' (2006–2011, 2018–present) alongsi ...

Cat Deeley Catherine Elizabeth Deeley (born 23 October 1976) is an English television presenter and actress. From 1998 to 2002, she hosted the ITV children's show '' SMTV Live,'' for which she won a BAFTA Children's Award, and its spin-off chart show '' ...

and Erin O'Connor amongst many more.

1986–1999

The Clothes Show was first exhibited as a television show in 1986 and from 1989 onwards it has become an extremely successful live event. During these years, some of the most famous bands including the Spice Girls,

5ive Five (stylised as 5ive) are a British boy band from London consisting of members Sean Conlon, Ritchie Neville, and Scott Robinson. They were formed in 1997 by the same team that managed the Spice Girls before they launched their career. The ...

and

Boyzone Boyzone were an Irish boy band, created in 1993 by talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's '' The Late Late Show''. Their most successful line-up was composed of Keith Duffy, Steph ...

have performed. Successful models and presenters including Holly Willoughby, Vernon Kay and Cat Deeley were spotted by model scouts at the show during the 90s.

2000–2002

In association with the British Heart Foundation NEC Birmingham

There were a host of celebrities at these shows including, presenters Dermot O’Leary and

Jamie Theakston James Paul Theakston (born 21 December 1970) is an English television presenter, producer, and actor. He co-presented the former Saturday morning BBC One children's show ''Live & Kicking'', alongside Zoe Ball between 1996 and 1999. He co-hosted ...

Liberty X Liberty X (originally called Liberty) are a British-Irish group originally consisting of Michelle Heaton, Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Jessica Taylor and Kelli Young. The group was formed by the five finalists of the 2001 ITV talent show '' Popstar ...

Vernon Kay Vernon Charles Kay (born 28 April 1974) is an English television and radio presenter, and former model. He presented Channel 4's ''T4'' (2000–2005) and has presented various television shows for ITV, including '' All Star Family Fortunes'' ...

Dane Bowers Dane Leon Bowers is a British singer, songwriter, DJ and producer. He was a part of pop boy band Another Level between 1997 and 2000 when he performed on seven Top 10 singles, before taking up solo projects with True Steppers and Victoria Beckh ...

, Josie D’Arby, DJ Luck and MC Neat, So Solid Crew and

Ms. Dynamite Niomi Arleen McLean-Daley (born 26 April 1981), better known as Ms. Dynamite, is a British singer and rapper. She is the recipient of the Mercury Music Prize, two Brit Awards and three MOBO Awards. Early years She was born Niomi Arleen Mc ...

. An audience of 6,500 in the

British Heart Foundation The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a cardiovascular research charity in the United Kingdom. It funds medical research related to heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, and runs influencing work aimed at shaping public policy ...

Fashion Theatre were able to enjoy ‘Big Chef Production'' award winning chic and progressive style on the Catwalk.

2003

5–10 December – NEC Birmingham

Clothes Show Live featured appearances from

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera '' Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a ...

cast members Ben and Lizzie aka. Marcus Patrick and

Elize Du Toit Elize du Toit (born 21 February 1980) is a South African-born English actress best known for playing the role of Izzy Davies in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' from 2000 to 2004, with a brief return in 2007. Early life Elize du Toit was ...

and

Duncan James Duncan James (born Duncan Inglis, 7 April 1978) is an English singer and actor. He became widely known in 2001 as a member of the boy band Blue and later for playing Ryan Knight in the British soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. Early life James grew u ...

from Blue. Sugababes,

Darius Danesh Darius may refer to: Persian royalty ;Kings of the Achaemenid Empire * Darius I (the Great, 550 to 487 BC) * Darius II (423 to 404 BC) * Darius III (Codomannus, 380 to 330 BC) ;Crown princes * Darius (son of Xerxes I), crown prince of Persia ...

and Lisa Mafia all performed. The hosts for the show were Brian Dowling, who won the award for being the most stylish TV personality at th
NOW magazine
Style Awards, Tara Palmer Tomkinson, Vernon Kay and So Solid Crew's

Harvey Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit * Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...

12th-14th – Fashion Victims, Powered by the Clothes Show Live, Jaarbeurs Utrecht

Haymarket Exhibitions staged a reworked version of the Clothes Show Live in the Netherlands covering 26,000sqm. This was a joint venture between Haymarket and the Dutch venue's in-house organising arm, Royal Dutch Jaarbeurs Exhibitions and Media. Haymarket Exhibitions's managing director, Gavin Brown said: ‘It would be wonderful if we could take more of our successful UK events and run them in other areas of the world, so it is something we are looking at very closely.’ ‘Clothes Show Live is one of our flagship events and is now in its 15th year. The Dutch and British communicate very well, the fashion in Holland is very similar to that in the UK and so there is a natural empathy there,’ added Brown. The exhibition was aimed at 16- to 24-year-olds and included fashion shows, style and beauty tips, makeovers and music.

2004

3–8 December – NEC Birmingham

This year's show was presented by

June Sarpong June Konadu Sarpong (born 31 May 1977) is a British television presenter and executive. She was a panellist on ITV's ''Loose Women'' and is currently a panellist on the Sky News programme '' The Pledge''. In November 2019, Sarpong was appointed ...

Jeff Brazier Jeffrey Carl Brazier (born 27 May 1979) is an English television personality and presenter. Early life and education Brazier was brought up in Tiptree, near Colchester in Essex, and attended Thurstable School, a mixed state comprehensive scho ...

and Dave Berry. There were performances from boy band Phixx,

Lemar Lemar Obika (born 4 April 1978), known as Lemar, is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. Initially rising to fame after finishing third on the first series of British talent show ''Fame Academy'', he was later signed to Sony BMG ...

, Estelle, 411 and

Rooster The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

. Models

Jodie Kidd Jodie Elizabeth Kidd (born 25 September 1978) is an English fashion model, racing driver, and television personality. Early life Kidd was born in 1978 and is the daughter of the businessman and former showjumper Johnny Kidd. She is the grandda ...

, Jade Parfitt and

Elizabeth Jagger Elizabeth Scarlett "Lizzy" Jagger (born March 2, 1984) is a British-American activist, model and actress. Jagger has devoted significant time to studying equal rights. A long-time feminist, Jagger is an activist for the Equal Rights Amendment. ...

all graced the stage.

2005

2–7 December – NEC Birmingham

Presented by the Nokia Fashion Collection William Baker, stylist to Kylie Minogue, brought his flair and expertise to the show as the creative director of the Nokia Fashion Theatre. Joined by fashion designe
Julian Macdonald
photographer

Helena Christensen Helena Christensen (born 25 December 1968) is a Danish model and photographer. She is a former Victoria's Secret Angel, clothing designer and beauty queen. Christensen was also the co-founder and original creative director for ''Nylon'' magazine, ...

and model Vivien Solari worked alongside William Baker to produce the cover image that would represent Clothes Show Live 2005. This year also saw an extension to the show support for young fashion and design talent in the UK with a variety of initiatives including the introduction of the Clothes Show Live Educational Bursary and the appearance of the London Fashion Forum. There was another great line-up with performances this year from Simon Webbe, X Factor's Maria and ex-Blazin Squad member's new band, Friday Hill. Presenting this year were,

and

2006

1–6 December – NEC Birmingham

This was the year for the re-launch of the Clothes Show Live programme. After a six-year hiatus, Clothes Show Live was brought back onto our screens through the UKTV Style channel and was hosted by

Brendan Courtney Brendan Courtney (born 24 June 1971 in Dublin) is an Irish TV presenter and fashion designer. He was the first openly gay presenter in Ireland. He has hosted ''Wanderlust'' on RTÉ Two, ''The Brendan Courtney Show'' on TV3. Career Courtney bega ...

Louise Redknapp Louise Elizabeth Redknapp (née Nurding, born 4 November 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and media personality. She was a member of Eternal, an R&B girl group which debuted in 1993 with their quadruple-platinum studio album '' Always & ...

and original presenter, Caryn Franklin. This year the fashion theatre was brought to Birmingham by Nokia, attracting the late

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

and Blue's

and Simon Webbe to the stage. Presenting on the theatre stage were Clothes Show favourites T4's

and MTV's Dave Berry.

2007

7–12 December – NEC Birmingham

This year's star line-up attracted 160,000 visitors to Birmingham's NEC over the 6 day period, this included, X Factor winner Shane Ward, Desperate Housewives’ gardener

Jesse Metcalfe Jesse Eden Metcalfe (born December 9, 1978) is an American actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of John Rowland on ''Desperate Housewives''. Metcalfe has also had notable roles on ''Passions'' and played the title role in '' John T ...

, model and designer

Caprice Caprice, from the Italian ''capriccio'', may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Caprice'' (1913 film), a film starring Mary Pickford * ''Caprices'' (film), a 1942 French comedy film * ''Caprice'' (1967 film), a film starring Richard Harris ...

, Big Brother 8 housemates Ziggy, Sam and Amanda and fashion industry experts Caryn Franklin and Hilary Alexander. Presenting this year were

Peaches Geldof Peaches Honeyblossom Geldof (13 March 1989 – 6 or 7 April 2014) was an English columnist, television personality, and model. Born and raised in London, Geldof was educated at Queen's College after her parents' divorce in 1996, and later move ...

and Dave Berry, who were also joined by Clothes Show model-scoutee, Erin O’Connor.

Sugababes Sugababes are a British girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by All Saints manager Ron Tom, Sugababes releas ...

headlined the fashion theatre show this year.

2008

5–10 December – NEC Birmingham

Gorgeous girlband

The Saturdays The Saturdays were a British-Irish girl group based in London, England. The group formed during the summer of 2007 and have been on hiatus since 2014. The lineup consists of Frankie Bridge, Una Healy, Rochelle Humes, Mollie King, and Vanessa ...

and

Alesha Dixon Alesha Anjanette Dixon (born 7 October 1978) is an English singer, rapper, dancer, television personality, and author. She gained recognition in the early 2000s as a member of the R&B, garage and hip hop group Mis-Teeq. The group disbanded i ...

performed in the fashion theatre. Nina Porter, who has appeared in

Burberry Burberry is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry headquartered in London, England. It currently designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats (for which it is most famous), leather accessorie ...

's Spring/Summer 2011 campaign alongside

Lily Donaldson Lily Monica Donaldson (born 27 January 1988) is an English model. Career Donaldson was born in London, and educated at the Camden School for Girls, living in Kentish Town with her parents. She has a younger sister named Aurelia. She was scout ...

and

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Rosie Alice Huntington-Whiteley (born 18 April 1987) is an English model and actress. She is best known for her work for lingerie retailer Victoria's Secret, formerly being one of their brand "Angels", for being the face of Burberry's 2011 bran ...

was spotted by a model scout at the show whilst on a school trip. She is still at school and has also appeared in

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

magazine.

2009

29–31 May Clothes Show London, ExCel London

Clothes Show Live came back to London for the first time since 1989 and was hosted by Erin O’Connor and George Lamb. To accompany the new summer time slot, the Designer Beach in association with Company was introduced. Visitors were treated to Clothes Show model favourites, Max Rogers and Anthony Lowder strutting their stuff on the Catwalk with a special appearance from Jordan.

4–9 December Clothes Show Live – NEC Birmingham

star

Roxanne McKee Roxanne McKee (born 10 August 1980) is a British actress and model. She is best known for playing Louise Summers in the British soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' (2005–2008), Lou Foster in the British drama series ''Lip Service'' (2010), Doreah in the A ...

was the face of this year's Clothes Show Live and was joined by various fellow Hollyoaks stars. Adding yet more glamour and style to the mix, there were special guest appearances from

Gok Wan Kowkhyn Wan (; born 9 September 1974), known as Gok Wan, is a British fashion consultant, author, television presenter, actor, DJ, chef and event manager. Initially training in the performing arts at the Central School of Speech and Dram ...

and stylish

Fearne Cotton Fearne Wood ( Cotton; born 3 September 1981) is an English broadcaster and author''.'' She began her career in the late 1990s presenting various children's television shows for GMTV, CITV and CBBC. In 2007, she presented '' The Xtra Factor'', a ...

who received the best dressed woman of the year award at London's Clothes Show.

2010

3–8 December Clothes Show Live – NEC Birmingham

TOWIE ''The Only Way Is Essex'' (often abbreviated as ''TOWIE'' ) is a British reality television series based in Brentwood, Essex, England. It shows "real people in modified situations, saying unscripted lines but in a structured way." Originally ...

's Lauren, Mark, Sam and Harry added a bit of Essex glamour to the proceedings whilst there was music from Sunday Girl and boybands Inju5tice and Vice.

25 – 27 June – London's Earls Court

London's

Earls Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...

hosted this year's show with the help of headliners,

and

Arlene Philips Dame Arlene Phillips (born 22 May 1943) is an English choreographer, talent scout, television judge and presenter, theatre director, and former dancer, who has worked in many fields of entertainment. For many years, she was most noted as the c ...

. The ever fabulous Caryn Franklin and The Telegraph's Fashion Director Hilary Alexander were also hosts, alongside George Lamb who presented this year for the ‘Cities of the World’ themed fashion theatre show. Music star

Paloma Faith Paloma Faith Blomfield (born 21 July 1981) is an English singer and actress. Her debut studio album, '' Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?,'' was released in 2009 and was certified double platinum in the UK. The album spawned the sin ...

performed live and showcased her very trendy style. Boy-band, ‘

The Wanted The Wanted are a British-Irish boy band consisting of group members Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness and Nathan Sykes and, until his death in 2022, Tom Parker. The group was formed in 2009 and signed a worldwide contract to ...

’ delighted teenage girls by performing their debut single ‘All Time Low.’ The Style Stage demonstrated their tips on how to wear the latest Spring/Summer trends and what to look for as the Autumn/Winter collections hit the shop. The Young Fashion Photographer of the year was awarded to Amberly Valentine.

2011

2–7 December – NEC Birmingham

The 2011 event promoted the ultimate girls day out with a campaign fronted by George Lamb and girl band ‘ Parade.’ The show was hosted by George Lamb and Grace Woodward. This years face of clothes show was 16year old Mel Titmass from Bury. There was music from Alexandra Burke, X Factor's The Risk (group), The Risk and Kimberly Wyatt's Her Majesty and The Wolves, alongside dance acts from The Dance Show.

was also presenting on the Image Catwalk, whilst there were guest appearances from some of

hotties and cast members from

. The class of 2011 for Bright Young Things, a celebration of new and emerging talent had four winners. Charlotte Wood was awarded Young Designer of the year, Emma Spencer won Young Fashion Photographer and Young Hairdresser of The Year was awarded to Leah Walton. In association with Select Model Management, Lottie Richman was scouted at the show and won Face of 2012.

2012

7–11 December – Clothes Show Live in association with Suzuki – NEC Birmingham

The Jubilee year saw Clothes Show Live re-affirm its authority in the fashion industry. The campaign was fronted by model Daisy Lowe, stylist to the stars Grace Woodward and British designer Henry Holland (fashion designer), Henry Holland. Other fashion elite in attendance were Mark Fast, Bora Aksu and John Rocha. Highstreet brands who exhibited at the show included Oasis, Miss Selfridge, Vero Moda, New Look (clothing retailer), New Look and Debenhams. Notable designers included Tatty Devine and Gushlow and Cole. The ASOS Marketplace featured a number of recent graduates who had won their place to showcase their brand new collections at the show as an innovative strategy to promote the industry's rising stars. The Young Designer of the year was Curtis Li Young. Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model finalists were also there on the Highstreet Catwalk.

2013

6–10 December – NEC Birmingham

This year was the 25th Anniversary of Clothes Show Live. Jade Thompson, the former winner of Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model Live and Fashion Theatre Star, was announced as the Face of Clothes Show Live 2013. ''The Only Way Is Essex'' cast members Mark Wright (TV personality), Mark Wright, Amy Childs, Lauren Goodger, Jess Wright and Gemma Collins were at the Show, along with reality star Peter Andre and model Caggie Dunlop. In the Alcatel Fashion Theatre, there was music performances by Stooshe, Union J and ''The X Factor (UK TV series), The X Factor'' band Kingsland Road (band), Kingsland Road. Contestants from 2013's ''Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model'' also made an appearance on the Highstreet Catwalk.Zandra Rhodes designed a cake to celebrate the shows 25th year which was presented to one of the Founders Gavin Brown, Managing Director of Haymarket Exhibitions and Clothes Show television presenter Caryn Franklin

Clothes Show London

2009 saw the debut launch of Clothes Show London that took place from 29 to 31 May in ExCeL, making the brand a bi-annual occurrence across the UK. The show launched the Clothes Show Style Awards and included awards for Fashion Photographer of the Year, won by Kayt Jones, Fashion Stylist of the Year and Make-up Artist of the Year, all voted for by top industry experts within the UK's most influential media. The other categories were all voted for by the public and included Best Dressed Man of the Year, won by George Lamb and Best Dressed Woman of the Year, collected in style by

. The 2010 moved to Earl's Court between 25 and 27 June 2010.

References

External links

The NEC, Birmingham
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clothes Show, The Recurring events established in 1989 Tourist attractions in Birmingham, West Midlands Fashion events in England 1989 establishments in England English fashion Events in the West Midlands (county) Annual events in the United Kingdom