Last Friday I was invited onto the Leeds Loves Shopping bus: a special one-day takeover of the Leeds Sightseeing Tour, which is a live commentary bus that travels round the city past various historic buildings and places of interest.
The bus take-over was to publicise the upcoming Leeds Loves Shopping festival, which runs from 14 to 24 October 2010. Delivered by Marketing Leeds, City Centre Management, Leeds City Council with support from Leeds Retail Association and Yorkshire Forward, the festival showcases the city’s retail offer. Full events calendar and booking information can be found on the Leeds Loves Shopping website.
There was a lighthearted spirit of celebration and optimism on the bus, thanks mainly to the entertaining, ‘no-nonsense’ commentary by JoJo from Radio Aire. Sporting a beautiful 50s-inspired dress from Rose & Co (oh, how I love looking through the window of that shop), she talked us round the city’s retail and fashion areas and upcoming festival events. Rather than focus mainly on big brands and large-scale developments that could be happening anywhere, it was refreshing to see the bulk of the commentary was about emerging home-grown talent, local produce, independent retailers and boutique shopping.
The historic buildings and retail history of Leeds were also covered. I was fascinated to learn, for example, that Kirkgate Market is the biggest covered market in Europe and the Farmers Market (every 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month, 9am – 2pm) has one of the last remaining tripe shops in the world.
Celebrating what makes Leeds unique, as opposed to how it competes, is not only ‘nice’ for local people, it is what visitors to the city want to hear about too, and what will keep them coming back to visit. Feedback from Spanish fashion and retail bloggers, students and visitors that took part in the Leeds in Barcelona Festival (Marketing Leeds and Hebe Media) earlier this year overwhelmingly confirmed this.
In terms of modern developments, cinema-goers will enjoy the boutique independent Everyman Cinema that is planned as part of the Trinity retail development. Incidentally, it is great to see that some developers taking the time to engage with the local community and support the cultural life of the city – Land Securities (the Trinity developers), for example, have been great supporters of Art in Unusual Spaces, and it is these retailers, developers and landlords who will reap the rewards of a more forward-thinking and inclusive strategy.
So does Leeds love shopping?
In a city that has such a wealth of other cultural events and activities on offer that are more inclusive and don’t require wads of cash, and especially in these times of particular financial hardship, it is easy to be cynical of such assertions. Certainly, for many people who are struggling to put food on the table, flashy events that celebrate, necessitate or promote luxury spending may leave bad taste in the mouth. But a look through the programme of events for Leeds Loves Shopping reveals numerous free events, and plenty of opportunities to grab a bargain.
While there is no getting away from the fact that a shopping festival is about buying stuff, what I have seen and read about Leeds Loves Shopping this year is a subtle shift in focus from “contemporary and cosmopolitan” to “vintage and inclusive”, from “big brands” to “emerging talents” and from an unapologetic look to the future to a respectful nod to the past.
I see real efforts being made in this year’s festival to support independent retailers, promote local young designers and entrepreneurs and to offer events and activities that encourage people to ‘have-a-go’ and make things for themselves too, and that is something that Leeds really needs right now.
If we want a varied retail sector, one which celebrates creative spirit and ingenuity, it is up to us to support these efforts by buying local and supporting our independent retailers. It is this kind of investment that will see Leeds weather the economic storm and retain its individuality.
My highlights from the Leeds Loves Shopping events calendar include:
- Leeds Rocks – Friday 15 October – “A fashion, music, dance and art extravaganza” (raising money for Future Arts)
- Millies Fresh and Organic Elysambre FREE 30-minute makeovers – Saturday 16 October, 11am – 4pm
- Something Old, Something New at Bird’s Yard – Tuesday 19 October, All day
- Leeds Fashion Show – Tuesday 19 October, from 7.30pm – “Showcase of independent designers” at the magnificent Leeds City Museum building (raising money for Education for the Children Foundation)
- Independents Showcase at The Style House (pop-up fashion marquee on Briggate) – Sunday 17 October, 11am – 5pm – FREE
Those who like a bit of DIY arts and crafts at home should also look out for the workshops on understanding and altering patterns, making a seamless purse and making your own bracelets and chokers.
While many events are free, most are ticketed and require pre-booking, so check the website for details: http://www.leedsloveshsopping.com
Helen Robinson is a freelance marketer, copywriter and journalist in Leeds. Twitter @BobbinsLeeds
Photos of Bird’s Yard by James Abbott Donnelly
THE ONLY TRUE VINTAGE SHOP IN LEEDS IS UPSTAGED GRAND ARCADE
Karl: Upstaged is, indeed, a wonderful shop with some truly beautiful and unique vintage clothes and accessories. It would’ve been great to have seen Upstaged represented at this event so I could have included the shop in this report.
Perhaps you could write something up for The Culture Vulture detailing what Upstaged is about and how you would define ‘true vintage’ as I’m sure many Culture Vulture readers would enjoy learning about vintage and find it really educational.
From what I’ve seen, targeted events and promotions – or even just informative articles – offered through The Culture Vulture are generally very well recieved and successful in promoting what Leeds has to offer, so it might be something the owners of Upstaged might like to get involved in.
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