A cup of Kenco Millicano with Collete Costello by Anne Kelly  

This article can be viewed on the Kenco Millicano Facebook page!

In the first of four trendseeker interviews in her hometown of Manchester, our Kenco Millicano ambassador Anne chats to fellow local Colette about her vintage fashion business.

Over a cup of Kenco Millicano, Collette tells Anne “winning a business start up award from Salford Council enabled me to produce my first fabric collection, based around the history of Victorian Manchester. I designed the fabrics at my local museum and they now stock my bag and purse designs there”.

So what inspired Collette to set up her business?

“I’ve always been creative. I studied textiles and embroidery at university and really wanted the freedom to produce my own designs. Winning the award gave me the confidence to go for it. It was hard work – a bit like Dragon’s Den, presenting business plans! – but I won the top cash prize.”

One of Collette’s most successful ventures is her vintage dressmaking course, with Fifties style polka dot dresses proving particularly popular.

 “To date all the courses I’ve taught have sold out. With the recent vintage revival and the on going recession, people are wanting to rediscover lost skills and make own clothes or buy cheap clothes from a charity shop and then up-cycle them.

“ The Kenco Millicano Trend Report shows that 64% would like to learn a new skill or take up a new hobby in 2012. Collette nods in agreement.

 I think the way to motivate people is to show them the outcome. So with the dressmaking course they’ll come away with a practical skill; they can save money by making their own curtains or if they see a dress in a magazine they can make their own version of it.

Up-cycling second hand clothes or clothes from a charity shop is getting trendier. It also means your clothes are unique! So looking ahead to 2012 what will be on our fashion radar? The Kenco Millicano Trend Report has identified colour blocking and colour popping as a continuing theme. “I agree” says Collette “you can take really basic clothing in different colours but mix and match to create an eccentric outfit.”

Another motif noted by the Trend Report for its resurgence in popularity is the Union Jack.

 “It’s just so iconic” says Collette “in the 60’s you had the mods and it was a really important symbol, in the 90s Cool Britannia and now it has come back again. People are proud of Britain and our heritage”.

As for the future of vintage fashion, Collette says

“vintage will continue because people are valuing materials so much more now. Investing in a classic black dress and adding a vintage scarf or a quirky necklace makes it so much more individual.”

So as someone with a finger on the pulse of Manchester’s happenings, which are the key trends of the moment?

“I’ve got three!” says Collette “my first is The Retro Show which takes place at Pin-up Bowling; there’s a catwalk show and stalls with independent fashion designers. My second is the Creative Hive, a bit like Facebook but for Manchester artists to network. My third is The Black Lion on Salford Crescent, a traditional real ale pub that’s been refurbished as an art centre and theatre.”

And finally, does Collette have any advice to anyone wanting to start their own business?

Yes, I want people to realise that to start your own business you don’t need lots of money. I started off really small but approached shops and got my stuff out there without spending a lot. I also try to do a lot of skill swapping, so for example if I’m doing a photoshoot I’ll find a photographer who wants to build their portfolio, that way we’re both swapping skills rather than investing money at the early stages of our businesses.”

This interview was first printed in the Northampton Chronicle and Echo, and is one in a series of four columns with Barbara. Take a look at our other trend-seekers interviews from across the UK with Anne from Manchester, Zoe from Halifax and Sue from Bournemouth.