"F*ck London! I want to be a designer here, where my home is!"
First collective Fashion Show Held by Scousers to Platform Liverpool's Fashion Scene to the UK. - Beyond The Rail 2026.
Photography of Drew Kent's 'Glamourpuss' by Rosemarie Derbyshire @roze.pixel
On Friday 18th September, London Fashion Week celebrations were brought to Liverpool by the British Fashion Council under their new 2025 initiative 'Fashion Britain' which aims to platform fashion around the UK outside of London.
As part of 'Fashion Britain', the British Fashion Council aims to decentralise British Fashion, distribute finances, and celebrate the creativity, talent and culture that exists far beyond London. More than 1,000 events took place nationwide, with Liverpool joining a selected group of cities who took part in the inaugural programme.
Liverpool's schedule was made up of 4 days of events:
Friday 18th September - 'Beyond The Rail' fashion show
Saturday 19th - Sunday 20th - 'Beyond The Rail' exhibitions
Monday 21st - BFC x Elle UK panel, featuring Patrick McDowell & Talia Byre
Beyond the Rail - fashion show guests captured by Rosemarie Derbyshire @roze.pixel
Friday evening's fashion show was held in Liverpool's Metquarter shopping centre, once a monument of Liverpool's fashion retail known for it's range of well-loved chains and independent designer boutiques like Cricket, Kids Cavern, and Armani Exchange...
"Who even sets foot in the Metquarter anymore?"... Lots of Liverpool's youth, creative scene, and tourists actually since independent concept store 'All Over The Shop' opened its doors to the public in January 2025. Based on the shopping centre's ground floor, All Over The Shop is home to a collective of creative traders ranging from designers, makers, and crafters.
After hearing the news of Fashion Britain taking place in Liverpool, All Over The Shop owner, and founder Bethan took it upon herself to contact British Fashion Council , she says that she instantly saw the potential in having the shop take part."Reading about the initiatives [the British Fashion Council] wanted to push, it immediately made me think of what we’re already doing at All Over The Shop. We’ve built such a boss community of independent designers, makers and creatives through AOTS, and I wanted to use the opportunity to showcase that community and show what Liverpool already has going on. From that initial conversation, there was a lot of trust. They really loved the ideas I had and essentially gave me free rein to develop the event in the way I thought would work best. That was really exciting because it meant I could bring as many people from our community into it as possible. Our community is huge, so I wanted 'Beyond The Rail' to feel like a genuine representation of the people around All Over The Shop rather than just a small selection of designers.
It was a massive opportunity to take something we’ve built at AOTS and put it on a much bigger platform." She told Destined.
As part of Friday's 'Beyond The Rail' fashion show, 3 local designers - Melissa-Kate, Charlie Supastar, and Drew Kent, took the Metquarter's concourse to showcase new collections. Melissa-Kate's mermaid themed 'Washed Up Tart' collection, Charlie Supastar x Protect Scouse Dolls collaboration capsule collection, and Drew Kent's knitwear collection 'Glamourpuss'
Washed Up Tart - Melissa-Kate SS27 photographed by Rosemarie Derbyshire @roze.pixel
The event was nothing short of extravagant, with models coming out of shops, and riding down escalators. The creativity was spilling out of All Over The Shop and strutting it's way across both floors of the shopping centre's concourse, and bringing a whole new level of life to the Metquarter (all being done in the highest heels I've ever laid my eyes on)...
Charlie Supastar x Protect Scouse Dolls photographed by Rosemarie Derbyshire @roze.pixel
Destined Magazine caught up with Bethan, Melissa-Kate, Charlie, and Drew to discuss initial reactions to the Fashion Britain announcement, to what we're taking away from this seasons celebrations.
Drew Kent's 'Glamourpuss' photographed by Rosemarie Derbyshire @roze.pixel
How did you find out about the events taking place?
Washed Up Tart - Melissa-Kate SS27 photographed by Rosemarie Derbyshire @roze.pixel
Remembering where she was and what she was doing when the Fashion Britain announcements took place, Birkenhead-based womenswear fashion designer, Melissa-Kate, explains it felt like all of her dreams had came true. "I felt like I had been fighting the past year to get Liverpool seen. My last fashion show was in Birkenhead, it was called 'London, Paris, New York, Birkenhead' and I was trying to make a point which was that you don't have to be in these major cities to be putting on a fashion event, or to be seen as a fashion designer - it was really successful! I held my show during the same week as London Fashion Week, so being cheeky, I had applied to British Fashion Council to see if they could put me on the official schedule (even though it wasn't in London) and they replied saying that it wouldn't be possible but they did say 'stay in touch for the future...', then a few months later they announced Fashion Britain. I knew I had to be a part of it, there was no way I was not going to be part of it. After my last collection in February being ready-to-wear, I knew my next season had to be a return to couture because I hadn't done a couture collection in a while, and now that Fashion Britain was happening in Liverpool, it felt like the perfect opportunity. I remember the day, I was chilling with my family, and I got a message from Bethan saying that a huge event is happening in Liverpool for Fashion Britain. She had this idea to hold a fashion show in the Metquarter, which was such a dream because the Metquarter has always been Liverpool's centre of independent fashion retail like Cricket, and a place I've looked up to since I was young. To me the Metquarter is fashion, and it felt like a huge full-circle moment..."
Charlie Supastar x Protect Scouse Dolls photographed by Rosemarie Derbyshire @roze.pixel
Burnley-born Transwear fashion designer, and Liverpool John Moores graduate Charlie Supastar was in the process of creating a capsule collection with Protect Scouse Dolls (a charity which is dedicated to the collective freedom of the Trans+ community in Liverpool) when being told about the Fashion Britain celebrations taking place in Liverpool "I was asked by Bethan to take place as being one of the designers, the Charlie Supastar x PSD collection was due to be released anyway. I brought the idea to the PSD team and they were proper up for it, and although I was asked as a designer to be involved, I was so happy to bring transgender women into the collection to be part of Liverpool's first fashion week involvement."
Drew Kent's 'Glamourpuss' photographed by Rosemarie Derbyshire @roze.pixel
Liverpool-born knitwear designer and Central Saint Martins graduate, Drew Kent, told us how he's known Bethan for a while, and used to sell pieces at All Over The Shop before they had their Metquarter unit "Bethan asked me to showcase my designs on the catwalk at Beyond The Rail and it was the easiest yes, she helped me start up by allowing me to sell my designs in her shop so I wanted to make this event the best it could be for her!"
How was your experience working alongside All Over The Shop, British Fashion Council, and Pulse Modelling Agency to put on the show?
Bethan (All Over The Shop): "Honestly, amazing. It was all really new to me, I’d never put on a catwalk before, let alone anything on this scale, so having everyone around me who knew what they were doing was brilliant. I already knew all of the designers involved before the event and they were all boss. They were so patient with me, especially knowing it was my first time putting on an event of this size, and they brought such amazing energy to the launch event. They were really organised on their side too, which made such a difference... Pulse [modelling agency] were amazing as well – it was my first time working with them and I have a feeling it wont be my last! Both Pulse and the designers covered their own costs, which took a lot of pressure off me financially and meant I could concentrate on pulling the overall event together and making the experience work. Working with the BFC was obviously a completely different experience for me. They brought that insight and experience of working within an established, well-known fashion organisation, which was something I’d never experienced before. But what I really appreciated was that they trusted me. They were happy to back my ideas and put their name behind something that I’d never done at this scale before. Hopefully this is just the start of a really long-lasting relationship, because I’d absolutely love to do more with them in the future."
Washed Up Tart - Melissa-Kate SS27 photographed by Rosemarie Derbyshire @roze.pixel
Melissa-Kate: "Working with so many companies to put on this show, probably made it the easiest show I've ever done. Not only did Bethan have a lot of things in place already because she was doing all the trader workshops across the weekend, she also had a lot of support from the Metquarter, and other companies in Liverpool to help with the logistics (which we wouldn't have been able to do on our own!) The BFC was able to support us as well, and in turn ended up supporting us as designers as well - we can't thank them enough! Pulse [modelling agency] were amazing, and so professional, their experience and models elevated the whole evening. With there being 3 of us [designers] we were also able to share the load of preparation for the show."
Charlie: "Working with AOTS was a really great experience, Bethan is such a dedicated, and cool person, she makes everyone feel looked after and at ease. Plus the staff from AOTS , including Charlie who was show runner, were really well organised especially for a first-time fashion show. Charlie is a really focused and hard working person, she just. proper has her head screwed on which I think designers really need because we can be all over the place with our ideas. I did speak to a representative from the BFC who loved my collection and took a bunch of photos backstage which was really cool."
Drew : "Everything throughout the show ran so smoothly, everyone worked together as one big team to put on an amazing weekend of fabulous events. Pulse model agency especially were a massive help providing me and Melissa-Kate with models for our runway shows. They have such amazing talent and their models really sold our garments on the catwalk!"
Prior to Liverpool's events, were you aware of how hungry Liverpool's fashion scene was to be noticed on a national/ global scale?
Bethan (All Over The Shop): "Yes, but I don’t think I realised quite how hungry people were until we actually announced Beyond The Rail. Liverpool has such a strong fashion identity, but I think a lot of people here have felt for a long time that we don’t always get the recognition we deserve nationally. There is an incredible amount of talent here... designers, stylists, vintage sellers, makers, photographers, artists and independent businesses, but sometimes it can feel like you have to leave Liverpool to be taken seriously. The response to Beyond The Rail really proved to me that people are ready for Liverpool to have a much bigger voice in the fashion conversation."
Melissa-Kate: "I've been really lucky to be a part of what's been going on in the Liverpool fashion scene since I moved back up here around a year and a half ago, I have noticed a big shift since then in the growth, expansion, and involvement of the scene. So absolutely, I know we're hungry because I am definitely part of that hunger, I am trying to champion people into becoming more hungry for this - I think I've been a big part of trying to get us all on a global platform. It all has to happen with us working together, we all have to big each other up, and support each other. There's been so much going on and we have to keep supporting each other in it. The more help, and support we give each other will allow us to break barriers which Liverpool has broken in the past: for example in the 1960s, and in the early 2000s, and we're bringing it back to this generation now."
Charlie Supastar x Protect Scouse Dolls photographed by Rosemarie Derbyshire @roze.pixel
Charlie: "I've lived in Liverpool for a few years now, working as a designer, and we're all just so hungry for it here. The representation, the audience, the funding, the opportunities. We're like a pack of Hyenas, we want it so badly. To be a working-class northern person, working in fashion and taking it seriously can be really difficult - you get knocked down constantly, and you're the only person who can pull yourself back up. Most of us are doing this with no funding, no teams, no background of wealth or connections, just us, and purely us fighting for it. I'm not from Liverpool originally - I'm from Burnley and I grew up there until I was 19. I hated Burnley growing up, being a young, queer lad who loved dressing up, and making art was just not accepted there yet. It's a working town, you do good, honest work or you stay in poverty - there isn't any other choice, and anyone who steps out of that cycle is ostracised. I've grown to appreciate where I'm from, and the good working people there but there just isn't a scene for me there, and I understand that there's parts of Liverpool which operate in the same way but in the heart of the city you can break out of that and follow your creative, crazy, gay little dream. I came here for university to study fashion, and I just fell in love with the people and the city, and moved here shortly after I graduated. Scousers are just honest and passionate people, and they will show up when they appreciate someone's work and they will also tell me if they think my work is a load of shit!"
Drew: "I definitely had an idea of how hungry Liverpool was to be noticed within the fashion industry, the people of Liverpool have always been known to be trend setters so it really is about time that the city starts being noticed for its talent and style. I think this really is the start of something great in Liverpool and hopefully it opens people's perceptions of fashion not only being in the south, there is so much unnoticed talent up north that deserves a spotlight."
What made you base your brands operations in Liverpool?
Bethan (All Over The Shop): "I live in Liverpool, I’m from Liverpool, and my shop is in Liverpool... I wouldn’t be shouting this loudly about any other city on earth! Scousers always support each other and there’s such a strong community spirit here. I always knew that, but the amount of support we got for Beyond The Rail was something else. Everyone wanted to help and support in ways that I genuinely never thought would be possible. People gave their time, made introductions, shared things, collaborated, offered support and just wanted to see it succeed. Liverpool really showed up.
That was probably one of the most emotional and amazing parts of the whole experience for me. It reminded me why I love the people of this city so much and why I think it’s such a brilliant place to build something."
Melissa-Kate: "My brand is based in Liverpool because I am from here, I studied in Newcastle, I went on to work in the fashion industry in Manchester, and then I did my masters and started my brand when I was down in London. I've been all over the country doing fashion but my heart, soul, and identity lies in Liverpool - so for my own happiness and livelihood, I've decided to base my brand here. It all makes so much sense being here in Liverpool, basing here has allowed me the freedom to create with care in my own time. I will not be moving my fashion brand from here."
Charlie: "People seem to think that fashion in the north is just starting but its been here for decades, it's just that none of the people with the money believe in us. Our fashion courses in university are smaller, and less known, and up until recently the idea was that all of the northern graduates go down to London to showcase all of their hard work and ideas in London Fashion Week and then hope and pray we can somehow get work in London after graduating but all of those ideas the people, the passion, the culture were started here. We're always told that London is the final destination to be but most of us can't afford to live there or we just don't want to! I don't want to move to London!"
Drew Kent's 'Glamourpuss' photographed by Rosemarie Derbyshire @roze.pixel
Drew: "I moved back to Liverpool simply because it was too expensive to live in London and continue to create a collection like I am now being back up north. To me it just made sense because stylists and buyers will source your pieces no matter where you are as long as your concepts are original and there is a passion flowing throughout your work, there's no reason why designers can't thrive anywhere in the UK."
Do you think this evening/ weekend has opened doors for Liverpool's fashion scene?
Bethan (All Over The Shop): "100%. I think Beyond The Rail has really strengthened and grown the fashion community in Liverpool, and it feels like the start of something really special.
I met so many new people through the event who were willing to help and support, not just me, but each other as well. People made new connections, and that opens up so many opportunities for collaborations and for us to make it even bigger next year. People are what make this. The talent is already here, but you need people willing to get behind it, collaborate and make things happen. Beyond The Rail showed that people really do want it. I also think the biggest thing Beyond The Rail has done is put Liverpool in the room. It has shown that you don’t need to be based in London to create something ambitious, exciting and nationally relevant. We had designers, makers and creatives from Liverpool being showcased as part of a programme connected to London Fashion Week, and that is a really powerful thing. I hope it also gives people here the confidence to think bigger. If this can happen in Liverpool, then what else can we do? I don’t think Beyond The Rail should be seen as a one-off event. I think it can be the start of Liverpool having a much stronger presence within the wider fashion industry."
Washed Up Tart - Melissa-Kate SS27 photographed by Rosemarie Derbyshire @roze.pixel
Melissa-Kate: "I think the doors were already starting to open for Liverpool's fashion scene, I think for a while we have really been screaming at the rest of the country, and the publications to say 'we are here, come to us...' and this event was the first time that the BFC have given us this opportunity, they've now seen the work that the designers, and creatives here are putting in, they have now seen that there is a big reaction in Liverpool, any posts by BFC on social media have done really big numbers in Liverpool so they can now see that there is a lot going on here and how hungry we are for it. We are kicking and screaming, and we are demanding our space in this industry."
Charlie: "The north is so underfunded in fashion, that's why nobody feels like they can start a proper career in fashion here. It's hard gritty work, and it's full of longing, and exhaustion, and I think it's actually quite radical to say 'F*ck London, I want to be a designer here where my home is' so seeing what the BFC are doing with Fashion Britain is great, but it's all well and good having big names here it's good to get more attend here, more people, more audience but what we really need is funding. We need trust, and access, and investment, that's whats lacking here. There's also this movement going on where people are finally finding out that northeners don't care about London, and telling London that they can come up here for once, it's this radical anti-classism movement within fashion - and everyone's so excited, and everyone wants a piece of the pie but no one wants to jump in the deep end with us, and put their money where their mouth is
Drew: "I definitely think the Fashion Britain weekend in Liverpool has started a fire within everyone involved to make next years even bigger and better and build on the foundations of this event we now have together. I honestly think that as years go on Liverpool will start to be noticed a lot more for its talent. The weekend was full of so much amazing talent from throughout Liverpool and it just proved that Scousers really work well together as one big team."
Is there anything you'd change about the weekend?
Bethan (All Over The Shop): "More space, more time and more money would obviously be great, because we didn’t have a huge amount of any of those! There was so much we wanted to fit into Beyond The Rail that we were constantly having to make decisions about what we could physically fit into the space. If we had a larger venue, we could have given each designer and creative more room to tell their story and allowed even more people to participate. I’d also love to see more involvement from the city and local government in future. Liverpool has the talent and the audience, but there needs to be more long-term investment and infrastructure around fashion if we’re serious about growing the city’s reputation nationally and internationally. I’d probably also change the structure slightly. We had an amazing turnout for the launch on Friday, but because everyone had been working so hard, (and we may have had one or two drinks…) we were all absolutely hanging the next day- haha! I think I’d look at having a closing party rather than a launch party next time, and potentially build in some kind of loyalty reward where people who attend workshops or engage with the weekend get access to the closing event. The workshops were around 80% full, which was brilliant, but we didn’t get quite as many people coming in throughout the weekend to engage with some of the other things like the personalisation stations. Some of that was probably down to the short lead-in time and not being able to push everything as much as we would have liked on social media. And I’d definitely look at changing the dates. Liverpool’s programme ran on the same weekend as London’s, which meant that some of the local people working in fashion had to choose between being involved here and going to London for paid opportunities. That doesn’t feel fair when we’re trying to build a fashion industry here."
Melissa-Kate: "I wouldn't change anything about the weekend, I think it went perfectly we just did the first ever Fashion Britain in Liverpool, and we hope that we made a good enough impression and that this will be a reoccurring thing for a long time now in Liverpool. I think we pulled it off really well for the first time, and I think it's fine doing it in the same weekend as London Fashion Week because we have to realise is that, yes, there will be the majority of the industry going to London instead but we still need to invite, and involve the people in our city, that is the whole point. So, the main thing which I'd want to change would be to have more people involved, and have more people aware that this is taking place. If people in other cities knew that being a part of Fashion Britain is attainable, and that it's easy to get involved with the fashion scene in this city - that's what's going to boost it more than anything. On top of that, we do want more panel discussions, the panel was great but we think that we could do with different kinds of panel discussions, and even more shows - I think it would be great if each designer had their own individual show."
Drew Kent's 'Glamourpuss' photographed by Rosemarie Derbyshire @roze.pixel
Drew: "I think the only thing I'd change about the weekend is having our show on the last day instead of the opening so we can really celebrate but still enjoy the rest of the weekend beforehand too. I would also ask BFC if we could not have it take place the same time as London Fashion Week so that the spotlight is firmly on Liverpool rather than elsewhere."
If you could have one ask from British Fashion Council for future schedules in Liverpool, what would it be?
Bethan (All Over The Shop): "More. More funding, more press, more support and, most importantly, more opportunities for the people actually making fashion happen here. I’d also love to see a more diverse panel and representation of the people who are actually doing the work on the ground in Liverpool. We have successful local designers who have gone on to build careers in London, which is brilliant, but I also want to hear from the people who are actually making sh*t happen in Liverpool right now. The people who are here, running businesses, making clothes, putting on events, building communities and doing it day in, day out. And I’d definitely say give Liverpool its own date. If we’re serious about building Liverpool as a fashion city, we shouldn’t be competing with London for the same people on the same weekend. We should be giving people a genuine reason to stay here and invest their time and energy into what’s happening locally. I think the BFC has shown that they’re willing to look beyond London, and I’d love to see that continue. This feels like the beginning rather than the end. Give Liverpool more of a platform and the resources to actually build something with it, and I genuinely think the city could produce something incredible. And for me, it’s not just about having one weekend once a year. What happens for the rest of the year? If we really want Liverpool to become a serious fashion city, we need to make it easier for creatives and designers to work here, stay here and build successful careers here. That means affordable spaces, opportunities, funding, events, connections and infrastructure throughout the year, not just one big moment."
Melissa-Kate: "I would ask to have some type of new gen BFC support but for the other cities. At the moment, to be a BFC member as a designer you must be a registered business and be contributing to the economy - as much as we are trying to do that here, it's still really difficult to make a lot of money so it would be great for us to still have that support. We are in different cities because we don't have the financial backing."
Charlie: "I wish we all had more money to play with, more funding and access so that we could collectively make things bigger and better. All Over The Shop worked with everything they could on basically no budget, and did a fantastic job, I can't congratulate and compliment them enough."
Drew: "I definitely think I would ask the BFC for more press coverage of the weekend. In order for Liverpool's events to be on par with London it really needs to be broadcasted a lot more and enable designers and everyone involved to further their careers."
Collections photographed by Rosemarie Derbyshire @roze.pixel
Once the fashion show had concluded on the Friday evening, Bethan held a heartfelt speech directed towards Liverpool's creatives who were in attendance and highlighted the importance of events like this, and Liverpool's creative economy.
Bethan explained "This is probably the biggest thing I’ve taken away from Beyond The Rail.
We created something on a relatively small budget, with a huge amount of our own time, energy and resources going into making it happen. But there’s another side to that which I think is really important. A lot of people involved in the event weren’t paid. We had stylists, makeup artists, assistants, photographers and loads of other creatives who gave up their time because they wanted to be part of it and believed in what we were doing. That generosity was amazing, but I don’t think that should be the message we give people. It shouldn’t be that if you want a creative career, you have to work for free. You wouldn’t ask a builder to come and build something for you for free just because they love building. Creative work should be valued in exactly the same way. I actually ended up distributing the money raised through the workshop tickets to some of the people involved who hadn’t been paid, because I wanted the money to go back into the people who had helped make the event happen. So if there was funding available, that would be a huge priority for me — paying people properly. I’d also put funding into affordable creative spaces where designers and makers can actually work, events and showcases that allow people to get their work in front of new audiences, and marketing and PR that can take Liverpool’s fashion story outside of the city.
But I wouldn’t just want funding to create one big event. I’d want to build something that leaves a legacy and gives people opportunities throughout the year. And I’m serious about it. I actually don’t come from a fashion background. I studied fine art and sort of fell into this. What I’ve become really passionate about is people and creatives. That’s really what All Over The Shop is about. It’s about giving people a platform, whether they’re established, just starting out, making clothes from their bedroom or selling vintage. Beyond The Rail felt like a natural extension of that. It also made me realise how much I care about Liverpool having a bigger place in the fashion industry. I’m not interested in just putting on an event and saying we’ve done it. I want to see what happens if we actually invest in the talent that’s already here. If this is what we can achieve when we’re basically figuring it out as we go, I’d be really interested to see what we could do if someone actually gave us the money and the backing to do it properly."
Whatever comes next for the city, we're assured that the future of Liverpool's fashion scene is in great hands.
Written & Interviewed by Aleisha Petafi
With special thanks to British Fashion Council for commissioning this piece from Destined Magazine.
Support Destined Magazine by purchasing our latest print issue or attending our next launch event:
