Notes on Style - Chilled Agency

NOTES ON STYLE

VICTORIA LEEDS FASHION WEEK

4 distinct pillars of style,
1 week of fashion, art & culture!

Objective

We were tasked with delivering the third iteration of Victoria Leeds Fashion Week, showcasing the Spring/Summer 2026 collections from the estate’s premium retailers.

The brief extended beyond producing a traditional fashion show. Victoria Leeds wanted to create a rich, week long programme that would engage its community, platform retailers across the estate, and reinforce its position as a leading destination for premium fashion and style.

The ambition was to create a fashion week offering that celebrated not only fashion, but style in its broadest sense, giving more retailers and experiences the opportunity to be showcased throughout the campaign.

Solution

We developed Notes on Fashion, “a week long celebration of individuality, exploring how personal style, not passing trends, defines true fashion. ”
The concept was built on the belief that while fashion trends come and go, style is timeless. Shaped by culture, history and personal expression, style becomes a reflection of identity rather than simply what’s in season. This approach allowed us to create a campaign that aligned perfectly with Victoria Leeds’ positioning: honouring craftsmanship, heritage and luxury while remaining firmly rooted in contemporary culture.

To bring the concept to life, we created four distinct Pillars of Style, each representing a different expression of personal style across the Victoria Leeds audience:

The Modern Minimalist – Polished, directional & effortlessly powerful.
Clean lines, monochrome palettes and sharp tailoring designed for dynamic city living.

The Refined Bohemian – Cultured, relaxed & elegantly bohemian.
Inspired by craftsmanship, travel and natural materials, combining relaxed luxury with understated confidence.

The Artful Expressionist – Confident, creative & unapologetically individual.
Bold colours, statement pieces and curated self-expression.

The Heritage Sophisticate – Traditional, refined & enduringly iconic. Timeless tailoring, heritage textures and enduring British luxury.

These pillars became the creative framework for the entire campaign, informing everything from marketing assets and retailer participation to live experiences, styling sessions and the fashion show itself.

The week launched with A Very Stylish Brunch, an intimate influencer and media event featuring bespoke tablescaping, pillar inspired cocktails and a VIP preview of the campaign. The event generated early excitement while providing a platform for key retailers, including a homeware showcase from John Lewis.

Across the estate, we installed six bespoke Style Pods – curated fashion displays featuring retailer looks accompanied by styling notes and inspiration. Designed to resemble pages from a scrapbook, the installations encouraged visitors to explore Victoria Leeds while creating a physical thread that connected the wider campaign.

Guests could also book appointments at The Dressing Room, where professional stylists delivered personalised style and colour analysis sessions. The experience created meaningful engagement with Victoria Leeds’ core demographic while driving shoppers directly into participating stores.

The campaign culminated in a spectacular fashion show created in collaboration with Opera North. Moving away from the typical long, straight catwalk, we introduced a bespoke circular revolving stage, creating a more engaging, theatrical and dynamic experience for guests which allowed our models, musicians and performers to take centre stage in turn.

Structured across four acts reflecting the Pillars of Style, the show featured a live orchestra, harpist and opera singer, with music and visuals carefully curated to complement each pillar. The show also championed inclusivity, featuring a diverse cast of models of varying ages, heights and ethnicities, including two contemporary dancers who performed during the interval.

For a memorable finale, the opera singer emerged from the audience, creating a surprise moment to close the show. The result was a fashion show that felt less like a traditional runway presentation and more like an immersive evening of culture, celebrating style, performance and self expression.

All ticket proceeds were donated to Smart Works, a charity helping unemployed women get the coaching, clothing and confidence they need to secure employment and change the trajectory of their lives!

Challenges

As with any fashion show, there were a significant number of moving parts to manage. One of the key challenges was balancing retailer expectations with our creative vision, ensuring every participating brand felt represented while maintaining a cohesive campaign narrative built around the four Pillars of Style.

The fashion show itself presented a complex logistical challenge. With four distinct acts, each featuring its own styling direction, music, visuals and storytelling, it was essential that every look was paired with the correct content and soundtrack. As collections and show details continued to evolve throughout the planning process, our styling team maintained meticulous tracking and documentation to ensure everything came together seamlessly on show day.

Rehearsal time was another important consideration, requiring careful coordination between the event team, AV team, models, musicians and performers. Through detailed planning, collaboration and late-night rehearsals, we were able to bring all elements together, delivering a polished and immersive show experience that appeared effortless to the audience.

REsults

Notes on Style successfully elevated Victoria Leeds Fashion Week beyond a single event into a fully integrated campaign that engaged retailers, media, influencers and shoppers throughout the week.

The Style Pods became a focal point across the estate and were particularly well received by retailers, providing an innovative way for brands to participate while encouraging visitors to explore the wider destination. Meanwhile, The Dressing Room created genuine emotional connections with guests and drove tangible sales uplift for participating retailers, reinforcing Victoria Leeds’ position as a trusted authority on style.

The campaign also helped strengthen Victoria Leeds’ network beyond its existing retailer community, opening doors to valuable new partnerships and conversations with brands and organisations including Stylist Magazine and Porsche Centre Leeds. These relationships demonstrated the campaign’s ability to attract premium partners aligned with the Victoria Leeds audience and brand positioning.

Alongside the live experiences, the campaign generated significant media coverage. Victoria Leeds Fashion Week secured a two-page feature in Yorkshire Post Life & Style ahead of the event, alongside additional digital coverage. The campaign was also featured by Visit Leeds and Fashion Network, helping to amplify its reach to both regional consumers and industry audiences.

The campaign generated valuable legacy content, increased engagement across the estate and reinforced Victoria Leeds’ position as a leading authority on fashion and style. Most importantly, Notes on Style demonstrated how a strong creative platform can unite retailers, partners and audiences around a shared vision, delivering an experience that felt distinctive, sophisticated and uniquely Victoria Leeds!