A HOLLYWOOD filmstar brought a touch of glamour to Bicester Village on Wednesday.
British actress Thandie Newton was at the shopping village to officially launch this year's British Designers Collective, which runs for the next six weeks.
It's billed as a not-to-be-missed opportunity for shoppers to survey the freshest brands in British fashion and pick up key pieces from their previous seasons' collections at an affordable price.
Miss Newton, who a BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actress in 2006 for her role in the film Crash and has starred opposite Will Smith and Eddie Murphy, is a well-known ambassador of British fashion and supporter of UK designers.
She said: “I am delighted to be working with Bicester Village supporting young British designers. The British Designers Collective is such an innovative way of giving new talent such an important ‘window'.”
Set in a specially designed, neon-coloured boutique in the heart of Bicester Village, the British Designers Collective is a collaboration between Value Retail and the British Fashion Council
to introduce emerging designers to a wider audience, who get to see a new generation of designers under one roof and snap up some bargains.
This year's British Designers Collective brings together a mouth-watering collection of some of the hottest names in British fashion, all at the usual Bicester Village reductions of up to 60 per cent off the recommended retail price.
Participants include multi-award-winning Jonathan Saunders, with his signature graphic prints and Felicity Brown's high-voltage glamour, and there's easy-to-wear luxury from Holly Fulton. There's also sequined knitwear from British-based designer Markus Lupfer, razor-sharp tailoring from Todd Lynn and well-cut dresses by Preen.
Other participating designers include Emma Cook, Felder Felder, Goat, Jean-Pierre Braganza, Marios Schwab and Osman.
Accessories include Georgina Goodman's shoes (Georgina has been hailed as the ‘future of footwear' by Manolo Blahnik), Jane Carr's hand-finished scarves, Fiona Paxton's hand-beaded jewellery and statement jewellery by Lara Bohinc.
