House of Wingz brings together the town’s artists, performers and makers for a fifth Style Assembly, this time built around one message: RESTYLE.
Blackpool Style Assembly returns on Saturday 24 October, bringing the town’s designers, models, photographers and performers back to House of Wingz for its fifth edition – and this time round, organisers want to talk about your wardrobe.
Hosted by House of Wingz alongside event partners Herbrand, Durose Studios and That Alternative Studio, Style Assembly has spent four editions building a creative network of more than 100 local models, photographers, designers and makers, establishing itself as one of the town’s most distinctive cultural fixtures.
Inspired by Blackpool’s theatrical heritage and its long list of subcultures – punks, soul boys, indie kids, ravers, drag artists, dancers and misfits – the event has never tried to pin the town’s style down to one look.
This edition’s theme is RESTYLE – an invitation to rethink our relationship with clothing by showing what creativity and imagination can do with garments already hanging in the wardrobe, rather than pushing audiences toward buying more.
It’s a message with an environmental edge behind it. Organisers point to figures from WRAP showing the UK gets through around 1.42 million tonnes of new textiles a year, with British shoppers buying more clothing per person than anywhere else in Europe, while roughly 711,000 tonnes of used textiles are thrown out annually – about 35 items per person.
That carries particular weight locally. Blackpool Council has flagged the town as especially vulnerable to climate change given its low-lying coastal position, and the Beach Management Scheme has recorded beach levels dropping by around 1.7 metres since 1986, adding pressure on the town’s sea defences. For a town whose identity and economy are so tied to the coastline, Style Assembly is using the catwalk to open up a bigger conversation about consumer choices and their wider environmental cost.
“We’re telling our community that their voice matters and it’s worthy of the main stage.”
“For me, Style Assembly is about setting a different standard for what fashion can be when we look at it through a more conscious lens,” says creative and artistic director Aysh De Belle.
“As artists and creatives we have the opportunity and I think the responsibility to lead the way, to experiment, to play and to challenge the status quo and show people that style doesn’t have to come at the expense of our planet.”
Producer Iz Durose sees the event as being about more than fashion too.
“The thing I love most about Style Assembly is how it celebrates the incredible talent we have here in Blackpool,” she says. “As a working-class, northern and queer creative, it can feel so difficult to find stages that support you to explore and showcase your work, and what we’re doing with this event is telling our community that their voice matters and it’s worthy of the main stage.”
The evening runs in three parts: The First Drop takes the catwalk from 5.30pm to 7.30pm, doors 5pm; The Second Drop follows from 8.30pm to 10.30pm, doors 8pm; and The After Drop keeps things going as the official afterparty from 10.30pm until 1am. Designers and featured creatives for this edition are still to be announced.
Blackpool Style Assembly is at House of Wingz, Unit 3A, Back Reads Road, on Saturday 24 October. Tickets start from £10 and are available now via Ticket Tailor. Advance booking is recommended, as tickets are expected to sell quickly. The event is recommended for ages 16 and over. Under-16s welcome at a parent or guardian’s discretion.
