It's official - Scotland is having a fashion moment. Harvey Nichols has just celebrated its 10th anniversary, Hayley Scanlan was name Scottish Young Designer of the Year 2012, and today, fashion designer extraordinaire, Karl Lagerfeld, brings CHANEL's Métiers d'Art 2012/13 show to the capital city, Edinburgh. If ever there was a fashion "seal of approval", this is it - at 6 pm today, the annual fashion show will be held at Linlithgow Palace, attracting the presence of A-list celebrities, top fashion editors, and society VIPs to Scotland's capital city.
The Métiers d'Art show is a celebration of specialist craftsmanship - Lagerfeld was inspired by the rich heritage of CHANEL in Scotland and so, by holding the show in Edinburgh, is celebrating the skilled craftsmanship of Scottish tweed and cashmere which are an integral and iconic part of CHANEL collections today. The Métiers d'Art show honours the ateliers of various fashion houses for costume jewellery, embroiderers, glove makers, shoe makers and milliners - so it is a fashion show with substance as well as one that will be a visual feast.
Previous dramatic locations for the show have included Paris and in Shanghai, and now Edinburgh too will go down in fashion history as one of the stunning locations for the international fashion show. Never holding back when bringing his creative visions to life, Lagerfeld's Edinburgh show is likely to be a visual spectacle; Linlithgow Palace will serve as a beautiful (if slightly eerie) backdrop with plenty of Scottish heritage to boot. (The Palace was the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots).
For CHANEL to host its Métiers show in Edinburgh is a great accolade for Scotland; with the show comes the interest of fashion lovers across the globe and international high profile figures, thus attracting attention to the city and Scotland as a whole. The Métiers d'Art show is a wonderful reminder to the fashion world (and beyond) that Scotland contributes greatly to the production of fashion not only in creative terms, but in commercial terms. Now is the time for Scotland to celebrate its culture, heritage and - of course - its future.