Matthew Williamson has had a career of ten years in fashion up to 2007 and to celebrate his success the Manchester born designer will have a retrospective of his work held at the Urbis Cathedral Gardens.

Apart from featuring iconic dresses designed for celebrities such as Sienna Miller, Nicole Kidman, Kylie Minogue et al. You will see Williamson’s sketch books back from when he was a student and learn the process and use of pattern, print and colour centred around four main themes: Colour and Psychedelia; Hyper-nature; Global extravaganza; and Lifestyle.

Visit the exhibition, between the 27th of March and the 21st of September 2008 at Urbis Cathedral Gardens, Manchester, M4 3BG. Visit Urbis online for more information.

Exciting news … Banana Republic has ventured across the pond to open its first store in the UK, in London to be precise.

Like many American stores, once you visit a brands shop in America you long to continue shopping there when you return home. Sadly most of the great brands and designers are American based so you can’t. Banana Republic was one of those for me. With many celebrity fans amongst them, fashionista’s including Angelina Jolie and Reese Witherspoon this brand is sure to be popping up over all the elite fashion print so look out for its designs.

The new store which is open now and is the flagship and only store in Europe, is located at 224 Regent Street, London, W1B 3BR. Visit Banana Republic online for more information.

Kurt Geiger has teamed up with Stella Magazine to host an exclusive reader event held on Wednesday the 2nd and Thursday the 3rd of April 2008.

The exclusive shopping evenings will consist of enjoying champagne cocktails while browsing through the latest collection along with an exciting 20% discount available and a free fabulous goody bag.

The events will happen between 6.30pm and 8.30pm on Wednesday the 2nd at the South Molten Street branch in London, the White Chapel branch in Liverpool and the Queen Victoria branch in Leeds. Then the Thursday the 3rd events will happen at the Kings Road branch and Regent Street branch both in London and the St Andrews Square branch in Edinburgh.

To be in with a chance of gaining a ticket call 0844 848 9393 or visit kurt geiger online for more information.

Style In The City is coming to Birmingham and is taking over the city centre from the 3rd to the 6th of April 2008. Unlike most fashion events it will be spread amongst the centre in Centenary Square, The Mailbox Shopping Centre, Harvey Nichols, The Bullring Shopping Centre, Selfridges, Adidas, Pavillions Shopping Centre and House Of Fraser.

What will happen? Aside from the many pampering opportunitys in different stores you will have the chance to see two theatre shows, one catwalk show hosted by Kelly Osbourne and the Trinny & Susannah style academy presented by Littlewoods Direct. Plus a Christopher Kane goody bag, free beauty gifts from brands such as MAC, a complimentary glass of champagne and fashion forecasting sessions with models, stylists and buyers.

Book your tickets through the Style In The City website. VIP tickets which are tickets for all visitors are £25, Gala Evening tickets are £45 and Platinum entry is £65. Visit the website for more information about the event and about the tickets.

How exciting as I said in another blog, Betsey to me was not well known, it was only because of the many magazine pictures with Betsey clothes on American stars that I knew about it.

Now it’s become one of my favourite designers and I am ecstatic that there is a 20% voucher available to print out on the website to take in and use in the Covent Garden store in London. Browse online to see if you can find anything you fancy then either phone through to ask if the store have it or take a risk and be in with the chance of being inspired by something else. They have plenty of accessories and bags in the store I love this Betsey Johnson Bow Clutch pictured here. Online it’s available for $98.

The 20% off voucher is available online under exclusive-London store promo on the main page and is valid on full price merchandise excluding accessories. It expires on the 31st of March 2008.

Yes that day came, the day when I realised I would not have to fork out for a plane ticket across the pond to the States just to get to my all time favourite store Anthropologie because as of now it’s available online.

The Anthropologie style is very cute, floral and elegant. In keeping with this seasons fashion check out this Buoy Belle Sweater available online. The nautical numbers can be found all over and I don’t deny how great they are but this embroidered sailor style cardi is so cute and so perfect for spring and summer.

Visit Anthropologie online to view the cardi priced at £65.46 and to see the super sweet collection available.

This year Ibiza Rocks is the place to be. See live bands and party all the time … a well earned heavenly break for some.

Last year saw some great bands take to the stage at Bar M on a Tuesday such as The Fratellis, Kaiser Chiefs, Kasabian, Artic Monkeys and The View. This year promises to be just as good and will now be held in The Ibiza Rocks Hotel. Kicking off on the 31st May, Ibiza Rocks begins with The Enemy plus guests performing and the initial opening party for the new Ibiza Rocks Hotel. Keep an eye on the Ibiza Rocks website to find out who will be confirmed for the wild season this mid June to September.

Book your tickets for The Enemy on the 31st of May on the Ibiza Rocks website costing €35.00 for the ticket plus a €3.50 booking fee.

Another festival to add to the never-ending list and this time it’s in Camden, one of indie and rock music’s biggest scenes.

The Camden Crawl has seen some fantastic acts play in previous years including Dirty Pretty Things, The Fratellis, Klaxtons, Air Traffic and Kate Nash so we can only look forward to more in the future. So far the line up looks set to unleash some hot new bands including One Night Only. April 18th and 19th, Two days set in twenty five different venues, the Camden Crawl is certainly two dates that should be in your diary.

Visit the Camden Crawl website for more information about the event and for tickets. A one day pass is priced at £29.70 and a two day pass costs & £49.20.

Excitements are high in Sheffield as Carling Academy are opening a new venue which was once known as Roxy Nightclub.

Since the demise of Gatecrasher last year Sheffield could really benefit from a new venue, especially one that hosts gigs. Look forward to seeing the likes of KT Tunstall, Good Charlotte, The Charlatans, The Kooks, The Pigeon Detectives and Air Traffic. Along with some of the best musical artists of the moment there will also be club nights - perfect.

Visit the Sheffield Academy website for ticket and future gig information. The Carling Academy will be open in April 2008. Gig nights are for ages 14 and over and clubs nights are aged 18 and over.

Another huge dance festival to add to your list of plans for the summer would be Global Gathering 2008.

The massive dance festival is held in an airfield in Stratford-Upon-Avon and boasts 16 state-of-the-art sound systems, an adrenaline village including bungee jumps, an outdoor cinema, hot air balloon rides and a campsite. To add to the magic, numerous amounts of stages with live dance acts playing, such as Paul Van Dyke, Faithless, Calvin Harris, David Guetta, Roger Sanchez and Basement Jaxx.

The event will take place on Friday 27th of July through to Saturday the 28th of July. Book your tickets through the festival website costing £115.50. For more information about the event visit www.globalgathering.co.uk.