AO.com, the UK’s most trusted electrical retailer, has been announced as a principal partner of Manchester Fashion Week.
Alongside the runways, an AO exhibition will shine a light on how personal style extends beyond the wardrobe and into the home by encouraging customers to think differently about the products they live with and use every day, including making bolder decisions about the colour of appliances which can become expressions of individuality, as much as our clothes are.
Vicky Monk, AO’s retail director, said: “Fashion has always been about self-expression, but we believe that shouldn’t stop when you get home. The choices we make in our homes, like colour palettes and statement appliances, are another way of telling the world who we are.
“Products in our homes are some of the most-used and highest-value items, yet they’re rarely chosen with the same attention to personal style as clothing.
“We want to challenge that gap directly and show how these appliances can be the centrepiece of the room.”
Taking over a dedicated space in Versa Studios, AO will create an interactive space designed to explore how colour and personality can transform our spaces and the crossover between fashion and our homes.
The activation will present a range of colourful kitchen appliances in design-inspired spaces, encouraging visitors to think about their homes in the same way they curate their wardrobes. The installation will show how colour choices can reflect personal identity and help create spaces that feel uniquely individual.
It will also include a panel discussion, ‘Style Doesn’t Stop at Your Wardrobe’, with top experts in the home interiors and artistic spaces who will share their insights about incorporating colour and personality into your home. Speakers include interior designers Sophie Robinson and Matt Smith-Wood, alongside Manchester-based artist, Caroline Dowsett.
Monk added: “Not only are we celebrating local designers and artists through our sponsorship of Manchester Fashion Week, we’re also aiming to open customers’ eyes to the design possibilities offered by being braver with your appliance choices.”
The event and installation coincide with the upcoming colour edit launch on AO.com, with top products and guides on how to inject colour and style into your home.
Gemma Gratton, CEO of Manchester Fashion Week, said: “Fashion is expression, it’s how we communicate who we are, what we love, how we feel and how we want to be seen. But that expression doesn’t stop at what we wear. Our homes are an extension of that identity too; they reflect our personalities, our tastes, our moods and, ultimately, what makes us feel at home.
“At first, AO and Manchester Fashion Week might seem like an unusual pairing, but when you look at fashion through the lens of modern living, the connection is incredibly natural. The way we dress ourselves and the way we dress our spaces are both forms of self-expression.
“That’s exactly what Manchester Fashion Week is about – challenging perceptions, creating new conversations and looking at fashion through a much wider cultural lens. We’re delighted to have AO helping us explore that conversation this year.”
To find out more visit: ao.com/manchester-fashion-week
