SCOTTISH FASHION AWARDS

Dolly Jones first stepped into the world of fashion, post-History of Art at Manchester University, in 1998 for three weeks work experience that turned into six months as editorial assistant at Vogue magazine. Next up was the London College of Printing periodical journalism course, which commissioned her to interview "someone at the top of their game" – Alexandra Shulman kindly obliged – and then the "Writer" job at VOGUE.COM came up in January 2000. Eight years later – after breaking news every day, working with the CondéNet UK team to develop and expand the site to its fullest potential including cover archives and VogueTV, and being named editor in 2005 – she is now responsible for an awarding-winning website that boasts 1.2 million unique users per month and is the most fashion-forward and regularly updated fashion destination online.

We are delighted that Vogue.com are joining us this year as official sponsor of the evening’s most coveted award, ‘The Scottish Fashion Awards Designer of the Year’ and welcome Dolly Jones as an official judge.

Following in the footsteps of British Vogue Editor Alexandra Shulman, who was a judge at the inaugural event in 2006, Kate Phelan is representing the fashion bible as a judge for the 2008 awards. As Fashion Director at British Vogue, Kate was born in Exeter. She moved to London in 1984 and enrolled on the Fashion Design course at Central St Martins. During her third year placement, she worked at Vogue and made the decision to not return to university to complete her degree. Phelan worked at Vogue as a Fashion Assistant and later moved to Marie Claire where she joined as Junior Fashion Editor. In 1993, she returned to Vogue as Fashion Editor and was recently appointed Fashion Director, a position she shares with Lucinda Chambers. She is one of the foremost fashion authorities in the UK and has worked with many of the world’s supermodels and international fashion stars for British Vogue. We are delighted to welcome Kate back for the second year in her role as a judge.

Hilary Alexander is the well respected, larger than life Fashion Director of The Daily Telegraph, who is known for her energy and passion for the fashion world. She was first named British Fashion Journalist of the Year in 1998 and went on to scoop the award again in 2003. She acts as a Visiting Professor for the London Institute, which is responsible for the fashion colleges, Central Saint Martins and London College of Fashion and the Chelsea and Camberwell art colleges.

Born in New Zealand, Hilary started her career at 17 when she became assistant to the woman’s editor on her local paper. She later came to London and worked her way up the ranks.

With over 30 years of experience, Hilary is the guru on fashion who combines high street with couture. She has extensive broadcast experience that includes three years on BBC 2’s Style Challenge, regular appearances on GMTV, Lorraine Kelly, BBC Breakfast and various documentaries for BBC1, BBC2 and Channel 4, as well as national channels in Germany, France, Spain, Russia and China. She has appeared on The Weakest Link and is regularly interviewed for major fashion cable channels including Fashion File, Fashion TV and Video Fashion as well as for major radio stations. She is the regular stylist and presenter for the Designer Catwalk shows at the annual Clotheshow Live in Birmingham. Hilary was the featured stylist in the Living TV series “Britain’s Next Top Model” in 2005 and 2006 and also appears in the latest series.

Hilary was delighted to attend the inaugural Scottish Fashion Awards in 2006 not only as a judge, but as an homage to her grandmother who was born in the City of Stirling. She wrote in The Daily Telegraph: “I suspect Stirling Castle has not seen such finery fluttering over the flagstones since the courts of James 1 or Mary Queen of Scots. Taffeta rustles, diamante and real rocks sparkle and silks and satins shimmer in the light of flaming torches as Scotland’s best-dressed gathered for the first-ever Scottish Fashion Awards… Everyone agrees it’s a great event and MUST be repeated next year.”

Well, it has been repeated every year since and we are honoured to welcome Hilary back for the third year as a judge for the 2008 event.

Brigitte Stepputtis has been with the Vivienne Westwood brand since 1990, when she started with the label as head of the studio. Having begun her career in fashion as an apprentice tailor and ladies pattern cutter, she went on to study MA in Fashion Design at the Hochschule Fuer Kunst und Musik in Bremen, Germany, where she graduated with distinction.

Brigitte became an integral part of the Westwood brand, co-ordinating all aspects of the Gold Label collections and then eventually designing the Vivienne Westwood Red Label collection. In 1996 Brigitte designed and launched the Bridal and evening wear collection, which is an exclusively made to measure service. Since 2003 she has managed the Couture shop in London’s Davies Street, whilst working on the art direction for many of the brand’s international advertising campaigns. As Head of Couture at Vivienne Westwood, Brigitte has dressed countless celebrities and has overseen the incredible Vivienne Westwood retrospectives in Bangkok, London and soon to be Milan.

Her innovative style and incredible fashion expertise has earned her numerous positions as a judge on many international fashion events such as the Lancome Competition at Central St.Martins, London; School of Fashion and Textiles Sweden; Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp, Belgium and in 2007 The Scottish Fashion Awards.

The Scottish Fashion Awards hope to draw upon Brigitte’s extensive knowledge of textiles and are confident that her insight will enable the awards to identify fresh talent in these fields.

Daphne Guinness's love of art, fashion and literature evolved from an eccentric and flamboyant upbringing in London, Ireland and Cadaques in Spain. Her career in film and the arts has led her to work as a contributing editor for Tatler, an executive producer on the Oscar-nominated film Cashback, fashion consultant for David LaChapelle on various shoots and videos, and advisor to Valentino. She has herself launched this year a small range of white shirts under the brand name ‘Daphne’.

Hailed by the world’s leading fashion glossies as ‘Couture Queen’, Daphne has a penchant for high fashion and a unique inimitable style. With her disregard for convention and her love of extraordinary glamour she has a keen eye for discovering new talent and is regularly seen in the front row of the world’s fashion weeks. Quite simply she adores fashion and we are thrilled that we can expand her already extensive knowledge of the Scots in the world of fashion as a judge in 2008 and look forward to welcoming her to the tartan red carpet at Stirling Castle.

Janette Harkess is Deputy Editor of The Herald, Scotland’s leading quality newspaper.

Appointed in April 2006, she is one of the most senior women in Scottish journalism. The Herald, founded in 1783, is one of the world’s oldest English-language newspapers.

With a staff of around 130, it is a respected and multi award-winning ‘newspaper of record’.

Prior to joining The Herald, Janette was Deputy Editor of Glasgow’s Evening Times, one of the UK’s largest-circulation evening newspapers. She is the first - and to date only - woman to hold that post in the newspaper’s history. During her six-year tenure at the Evening Times she was integral to many of the paper’s most successful campaigning initiatives including the raising of £1.6million to build the West of Scotland’s first Maggie’s Cancer Care in Glasgow. During her time there, The Evening Times won many awards including Scottish Daily Newspaper of the Year, Campaigning Newspaper of the Year and UK Evening Newspaper of the Year. A joint honours graduate of Edinburgh University, Janette began her career in journalism through graduate entry to the Thomson Training scheme and has worked on a number local and national newspapers including the Sunday Mail and the Daily Mail.

She is a former Scottish Young Journalist of the Year, a member of the Society of Editors and an honorary Vice President of the Journalists’ Charity.

Janette sits on the board of the arts charity GGA, is a founder member of the steering group of Aye Write! Glasgow’s literary festival and sits on the Advisory Panel of leadership organisation, Common Purpose.

In September 2007, Brian was recruited to Gant to bring in his 20 years of experience in Luxury fashion into the Gant team, to further develop Gant’s design concept and strengthen the brand on the international fashion arena. As the Creative Director, he is the head of the design and product development of all Gant collections,. incl the licencees (Home furnishing, Fragrance, Footwear, Time and Eyewear). The Gant premium lifestyle brand combines American casualness with European elegance. The company’s values are based on its authentic American East Coast heritage, dating back to the launch of the brand in 1949. Since then the brand has been further developed, taking influence from Europe, and is now a truly global brand.

Today Gant is established in over 70 countries through more than 330 Gant stores and a large number of selected premium retailers. With Brian's knowledge of design and international experience he is set to take the Gant brand, with great potential, to one of the top lifestyle brands in the world.

The Scottish Fashion Awards are delighted to welcome Brian back as a judge and to Stirling Castle for the third consecutive year. He is truly a global fashion Scot whose expertise and knowledge will be invaluable within the judging process.

New York based Gary Van Dis, Vice President, Corporate Creative Director of Condé Nast Publications, has been an authority at the publishing powerhouse for the past two decades. He joined the Condé Nast family as the art director of GQ in the early 1980’s, and built upon those successes at the New Yorker as Creative Director from 1986-1994. After a promotion to Vice President Corporate Creative Director of Condé Nast Publications, his presence became even more apparent in national advertising campaigns such as “The Point of Passion,” a double installment of creative ads that swept the print and advertising world. The second round of this campaign was just released in mid-2007 and can currently be found globally in print and online. It represents people of cultural authority and influence and their ties to Condé Nast magazines and websites. Condé Nast currently publishes twenty-six magazines, not including its B2B market and web presence in the U.S. as well as a presence in the global market.

After years of experience in the publishing, design and fashion world, Gary has come to believe, as Carmel Snow says, “elegance is good taste, plus a dash of daring.” This is something he saw evident at last year’s Scottish Fashion Awards as he judged design and fashion talent from all over the world. Gary’s philosophy of taking in with all of the senses what the world has to offer was realized last year at the awards, which promise to be even more brilliant this year. When the Scottish mist clears, with the right mix of diversity and design, something almost spiritual can be seen; the talented group at The Scottish Fashion Awards has realized this and created something lighter than air.

Gary Van Dis is a fellow at IIT/ID and the new Bauhaus. He is also a member of the Burns Society of New York, the Saint Andrews Society of New York, the New York Yacht Club, the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club and the Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club. He is an avid museum and architecture worshipper, a foodie, and a sailor.

Eric N Smith is Scotland’s leading designer in diamond jewellery and has earned a reputation of innovative craftsmanship and superior quality. He has built up an enviable reputation running one of Scotland’s leading fine luxury jewellers, which he founded some thirty years ago.

Eric trained at Glasgow School of Art and then worked in at the Bench in a Scottish jeweller and silversmith before going it alone with his own business. It wasn’t long before he amassed a list of awards and credits which included a Diamonds International Award, two-time winner of Best Design in Diamonds at the UK Jewellery Awards, and a seemingly permanent position in De Beers Diamond Selection of Top Ten Designers (appearing every year except one between 1979 and 1995). Smith’s reputation spread as the Scottish business became a leading name in its field of diamond design. The creation of the internationally successful ‘Morse Code Collection’, which uses diamonds to incorporate secret messages of love in diamond dots and dashes into his jewellery, won numerous accolades as well as the countless national and international column inches on this incredibly successful collection.

In addition to the numerous awards, Eric has received a number of other honours in recognition of his outstanding achievement including: ‘Freedom of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths of the City of London’, ‘Freeman of the City of London’, ‘Member of the Incorporation of Goldsmiths of the City of Edinburgh’ and ‘Warden of Edinburgh Assay Office’

Eric will be offering his invaluable industry expertise as an award winning jewellery designer and judge for the 2008 awards. Having introduced an ‘Accessory & Jewellery Designer of the Year’ category in 2007, brought significant new talent to the platform and it is within this arena that Eric is passionate. He said:

“We are very proud to be sponsors of The Scottish Fashion Awards and very proud to be the Scottish manufacturers at the cutting edge of the jewellery industry. As a judge I am looking for Scottish designers who can instill a sense of passion in an innovative and creative look for their jewels. Whether that comes from their use of gemstones or metals, I am looking for individual signatures that captivate the consumer - that’s exciting”.

Jennifer Üner is the executive producer of the Los Angeles Fashion Awards, which she co-founded in 2005 to honor the California-based designers, brands and innovators of global influence. This annual event program has recognized more than 20 tastemakers, generated more than 30 million media impressions and attracted the participation of the Mayor of Los Angeles. It also earned her an invitation to host a NASDAQ closing bell ceremony in New York at the close of New York Fashion Week, and an invitation to participate as a judge of the Scottish Fashion Awards. She has enjoyed several trips to Stirling Castle for the occasion, and continues to marvel at the depth of fashion talent that hails from Scotland.

In 2002, Jennifer launched FashionWeekLA.com to coordinate and cross-communicate LA Fashion Week time slots to avoid schedule conflicts for participating designers and press. She continues to “keep the calendar” today. She is also an independent consultant in business development, marketing communications and promotions for lifestyle-oriented companies. With more than 20 years experience in apparel retail and wholesale merchandising, plus publishing, trade shows and events, she brings a wealth of knowledge and contacts to her client’s pursuits and her own independent projects.

Before applying her energies to her current endeavors, she launched "the edge" apparel trade show at the semi-annual MAGIC Marketplace, pioneered style online at ShoppingTheWorld.com, gave voice to REALTOR® products at Homestore, established The Intersection co-marketing alliance of the LA Fashion District, and transformed the brand of LA's wholesale fashion hub, the California Market Center. Recent clients include GOOD magazine, Solitude Clothing for JC Penney, Woodbury University, and web start-up Stylit.net. Jennifer also produced the worldwide Film2Music competition for her husband, composer Kubilay Uner, culminating in a screening at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival at the invitation of the Sundance Institute.

The TFF Agency is an award winning fashion and lifestyle communications agency based just outside Glasgow . Founded almost 12 years ago by Tessa Hartmann, the company has grown in stature and reputation and boasts a small but dynamic team with an abundance of public relations, brand marketing and event management experience.

Having studied at Stirling University and graduating with a degree in Marketing and Business, Hartmann’s first work experience was an internship with the Kennedy Foundations Special Olympic Games. Having proved her ‘salt’ as they say in Europe, she was offered a contract to work in their Washington DC office to work as an Event Management Executive. Remaining in the event management and marketing spectrum she then moved to London to work in a US owned below the line agency working across a host of blue chip brands.

Ultimately wanting to be ‘her own boss’, she set up the first truly specialized fashion and lifestyle agency in Scotland and has accumulated a host of awards since. Such accolades from the Institute of Public Relations Pride Awards & Public Relations Excellence Awards have earned the agency the reputation as Scotland ’s authority on fashion and lifestyle and a client roster that includes some of the world’s most luxurious brands. With her team which includes Director Ejay McEwan, TFF have worked with LK Bennett, Patek Philippe, Bafta Scotland, Bvlgari, Stobo Castle Health Spa, Furla, MTV Europe, Louis Vuitton, Bentley Motors UK, Stephen Webster and Hamilton & Inches to name but a few.

Tessa has been polled in lists such as ‘The Sunday Herald’s Top 100 Most Influential Women in Scotland’, ‘Evening Times Most Influential People in Glasgow’ and ‘The Herald’s Scotland’s Top Power Players’ to name but a few and her network of contacts holds no bounds.  Proof of this is her other role as Co-producer in her husbands animated feature film project ‘Sir Billi’ where Tessa recruited the impressive cast including Sir Sean Connery, Alan Cumming, Ruby Wax, Miriam Margolyes and Oscar nominated Scottish composer Patrick Doyle.

Her addiction to fashion resulted in the creation of Scotland ’s first major fashion event, The Scottish Fashion Awards. Now entering its third year the event is now firmly established in the fashion arena and has honoured some of Scotland ’s most exciting talent such as Kirsty Hume, Albert Watson, Jonathan Saunders, Christopher Kane and Graeme Black. The combined force and ambition of these feisty fashionistas means that they make things happen. Their infectious motivation, determination and impressive ‘wee black book’ have resulted in a high fashion event in the highlands that Scotland can be proud of.

Tessa will Chair the judging panel for 2008 providing in-depth biographies on the nominees for the judges challenging task.

Louise Roe, 26, is a budding fashion presenter catching eyes within the TV industry. She has just begun filming her own BBC programme – a documentary about body image and plastic surgery, which will air in the summer. A fashion presenter for The Clothes Show and GMTV, she also spent last year hosting online channel VogueTV, hitting red carpets all over the world to interview celebrities and designers. Louise made it onto Style.com’s ‘Top 10 Most Stylish’ list last month, and has just been signed to the celebrity department of Viva, Paris’ top model agency.

A journalist by background, (she gained a first class degree in English Literature from Durham University), Louise has worked at Elle, In Style and even Wedding magazine, and written for Glamour, Grazia, and The New York Post. She now pens an opinionated style column for The Observer Women’s monthly, trying out various crazy catwalk trends – spending the day in a bondage pvc suit, dressing as an action hero and wearing a bin-liner to Milan Fashion Week - are all things she’s done in the name of fashion research!

Louise grew up in Surrey and now lives in Notting Hill. She loves to travel and spent a year teaching in Sydney, aged 19. Traveling with VogueTV lead to some really memorable moments too – interviewing George Clooney at the Oscars, being in a five-person audience with a guitar-strumming Bono at the Cannes Film Festival, and flying to Rome for a dinner with Roberto Cavalli and Halle Berry. Next up, she’d like to hit LA, and is in talks with BBC America and Granada USA to host fashion-based shows with both networks.