Nottingham Fashion Week: Salt & Co Interview

It's official. Nottingham Fashion Week begins today! 

All of this excitement is due to the collaboration between Nottingham Business Improvement District (BID) and The Creative Quarter. 

I'll be working as part of the team running the Spotlight on Independent Fashion Showcase.

Before Fashion Week commences, I've been interviewing some Nottingham based independent brands that will be appearing at the Spotlight event. 

One of these brands is Salt & Co.

Eloise Salter, the lovely lady behind S&C, wanted to create a brand where the quality and practicality of the garments was just as important as the design, could be worn season to season and would look better with time. It became clear to me that she had the perfect skill set to achieve these goals when I discovered she has previously trained as a bespoke tailor at Edward Sexton's Savile Row store in London. 

"I want people to be able to relate to our products - having knowledge of where fabrics were sourced and where the garments were made."

"We use material made in Rochdale - particularly cotton wax. We never want to stop supporting British manufacturing!"

Eloise is inspired and influenced by a number of things. For her, the practicality of S&C garments is so important. One hobby she has is cycling, so this spurred her to create outerwear pieces that work in all weathers. When asked what her favourite piece from S&C was, Eloise went into great depth about a unisex coat she designed for the new collection. For this, she looked at artist Ben Nicholson's still life paintings and reinterpreted the shapes he used into her work. 

"I love the simplicity of this design with the small details of the zip pocket and gradual slopping of the coat at the back."

I adored the response Eloise gave when I asked her for advice on starting a fashion brand.

So much so in fact that I've taken on board what she said myself, as I'm currently in the process of creating a fragrance brand at university. 

"Be sure from the start what your brand is about and talk to as many relevant people in industry for advice."

The future seems to be nothing but bright for S&C due to Eloise's positive outlook on everything she does. In the future, she hopes to expand their product range into waxed cotton bags such as rucksacks - these I can't wait to see!

Nottingham has been Eloise's home forever, so she's so excited for NFW to begin .

"I live in such a creative city, I can't wait for the buzz that this week is going to create."

I hope to see loads of you tonight and tomorrow! Come and support the array of independent brands that make Nottingham such an incredible place to be!

#NottmFW

Love, Lana Skye x

Photo Credit: Eloise Salter.