Scottish Fashion Awards 2012, Glasgow (Copyright: Laura Pearson-Smith)
With the Scottish Fashion Awards making the controversial move to London, it is more important than ever that we champion awards celebrating local Scottish creatives in Scotland. Ones that boost Scottish tourism, use Scottish venues and catering, and utilise Scotland's backstage event talent. They are moving as they just couldn't get the funding in Scotland; despite founder Tessa Hartmann trying her hardest to keep it here.
The Scottish Fashion Awards brought a lot of top fashion industry talent to Scotland, and showcased our cities and hospitality to those who otherwise probably wouldn't have visited of their own accord. Fashion critics like The Telegraph's Hilary Alexander, and New York style icon Derek Warburton (amongst many others) have all made the yearly trip to celebrate Scotland's fashion talent in Scotland, and enjoyed the opulence of our top class hotels and venues such as Glasgow's Blythswood Square Hotel.
Now, it's off to London, and it's a shame. Local Scottish fashion students will now not be able to buy public tickets to see their predecessors celebrated. Many families of the 'smaller' nominees will not be able to afford to make the trip down South; and I fear the buzz that the awards created with Scottish media and local radio will be lost as well. Time will tell however, when they take place this October.
Emeli Sande at Scottish Variety Awards 2012, Glasgow (Copyright: Laura Pearson-Smith)
Best Beauty Salon Winners at INAA Scottish Hair & Beauty Awards 2013, Glasgow (Copyright: AJConsultants)
Last month I had the pleasure of being invited to the INAA Scottish Hair & Beauty Awards and dinner, held at Glasgow's 5-star Hilton hotel. It was fantastic to see local beauty talent able to take credit for their work in their own country alongside their families and friends; and for local backstage event make-up and hair talent to be utilised and showcased.
Similarly, the Scottish Variety Awards, that I was nominated for in 2012 for Twinkle Style & Travel Magazine, celebrate local creative talent at home; and performers such as Emeli Sande and Susan Boyle enjoy coming back from their travels to play in Scotland at the ceremony celebrating their home country.
We just can't afford (on so many levels) to lose another Scottish awards ceremony to London.