Fashion Independents’ Day has enrolled eight fashion insiders, including i-D culture correspondent Princess Julia and fashion blogger Susie Bubble, to race around London in a #FIDay Fashion Grand Prix. The journalists, bloggers, DJs and models will compete to visit as many independent fashion boutiques as they can, taking selfies throughout the day and battling to be the crowned social media king or queen by trending highest across Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Fashion Independent’s Day, or #FIDay, seeks to promote those small businesses championing the most exciting designers. “It’s our independent boutiques who pick up on the unique designs that make London Fashion Week and the worldwide fashion calendar so special,” Princess Julia explained in a blog post. The one day event is described as the “record store day for fashion,” by organiser Brendan Courtney of frockadvisor, a fashion app that connects luxury shoppers with indy boutiques via “fotocon” – a photo conversation of lust lists (from shoppers) and in-stock options (from the stores).
Kicked off #FIDAY #GrandPrix at the beautiful @katesheridan27 in Clapton @frockadvisor pic.twitter.com/qA6uDK5keK
— susiebubble (@susiebubble) May 28, 2015
The British Fashion Council are supporters of the event, with Chief Exec Caroline Rush saying, “There are hundreds of independent retailers across the country that are not only responsible for supporting British design talent but in some cases are the launch pads for the success of some of these businesses.”
You can join in on social media using the hashtag #FIDay and – even better – by visiting your local independent fashion retailers, many of which are putting on special events for the day.