GTWO-PR Announces its New UK Location in Manchester

Manchester (April 21, 2008) – Public relations company GTWO-PR proudly announces a new UK location in Manchester. GTWO-PR was founded in Canada by Brit Graham Gartside-Bernier and quickly established itself as one of the most stylish and forward thinking public relations agencies around. 

Previously GTWO-PR’s creative ideas have developed projects for high profile clients in the hospitality, fashion, design, and media industries such as Kanye West’s Hip Hop Jam, Tiesto’s ‘Elements of Life’ Tour, Secrets Deodorant, British Columbia Fashion Week, Komakino Guerrilla Store and international fashion brand, Richard Kidd. 

Founded in Vancouver by Gartside-Bernier but with international reach, GTWO-PR will continue to focus on what it does best – create buzz for the best fashion, lifestyle and culture brands. The move broadens the agency’s portfolio of client offerings, which includes multi-layered branding campaigns with web design, advertising, events, and product placement integrated with public and media relations. 

In conjunction with more traditional public relations, such as working with mainstream influencers to secure media coverage for clients, GTWO-PR specializes in “PR 2.0” –reaching consumers through weblogs, e-newsletters, podcasts, web promotions, and other emerging digital channels. Gartside-Bernier, Founder of GTWO-PR stares, “Our clients will greatly benefit from our dedicated affinity and techno-savvy approach to fashion and trendy social styles.” 

To feature its new services GTWO-PR celebrates with a refreshed looking website and blog: www.gtwo-pr.com. The redesigned web site better reflects the professional, yet contemporary, edgy nature of the firm, and will better serve the needs of clients seeking information about public relations services. The new site also offers user-friendly navigation to quickly access the most popular pages on the site, such as case studies, press releases and clippings, and featured client news.

We had the pleasure of attending the launch of Matthew Williamson’s ’10 Years in Fashion’ exhibition sponsored by Coutts at Manchester’s Urbis.

The crowd was as glamorous as can be expected for such an event as they mingled with Matthew himself. Pear Martinis courtesy of Grey Goose were the the drink du jour and were the perfect compliment to the beautiful designs on display.

GTWO-PR stays fresh in the frame by constantly looking to the streets for new and emerging styles, trends and people that are generally are just COOL. Here are just a few examples of the individual looks we have seen this week on the streets of Manchester.

By Graham Gartside-Bernier

The Big Apple has bestowed some of its city style and panache on Vancouver, courtesy of a relatively new arrival in Gastown — the (212) boutique. New York has long been a leader in the world of fashion, and anyone who is anyone, or who wants to be anyone in the fashion industry, has to serve a rigorous apprenticeship in the city. Scott Walhovd and Anthony Castro, co-owners of (212), have done just that and are now spreading their experience in Vancouver.

Opened last summer and soon after recognized as one of the places to be seen and to get the best of fashion and style in the city, (212) takes its name from the primary area code of Manhattan, while its tagline — 212 in the 604 — cleverly and successfully combines the very premise of the boutique’s aim: bringing together fashion influenced by New York City trends, with incredible fabrication, to the Vancouver lifestyle.

“We found a niche here that was waiting to be filled,” says Castro, a native New Yorker who has worked for iconic American fashion houses Calvin Klein, Donna Karan and Perry Ellis. “[Gastown] has so much history and character, and it seems like it’s meant for the customer who wants to find something different in the city, something away from the everyday.”

Walhovd, a Vancouver native, spent years in New York working as a model for Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren. It is understandable that with all of their experience in differing aspects within the fashion industry, Walhovd and Castro are able to predict with accuracy what will appeal to Vancouver women. Their fashion know-how, thirst for success and eagerness to appeal to their clientele is accurately reflected in the collections available at (212).

An example of their recent success was their collection Fall in the Big City (2007), which was a showcase combining style and comfort “so that it’s not a chore for our customers to get dressed in the morning,” says Walhovd. The high–waisted jeans with tie belt were an immediate hit. The slouchy men’s pants were snapped up and the staple skinny jeans in grey or black became a “must have” in so many wardrobes. The stylish and versatile range on offer ensured that women could confidently wear the pieces and remain comfortable yet elegant and stylish.

Castro and Walhovd veer towards classic muted tones in their collections: monochrome black and white with grey, accent colours of rich purple, chocolate brown and old gold with their focus on shape and silhouettes. “We feel that Vancouver women like to dress in a more relaxed way, but still want diverse shapes that they can work back into their wardrobes,” says Castro.
The designers do admit to turning their backs on “inspirations” for their collections, but they look on each season as a continuation of their work in progress. “The line will constantly be an evolution of what we feel our customer wants, the direction she’s progressing,” says Castro. “We base our collections on the strong feelings derived more generally from colours, images, architecture, and people. We’re inspired by the New York lifestyle; the energy and vibration that comes out of the city alone is amazing. It’s a city where people can accomplish great things.”

The partners now travel between Vancouver and New York during the less busy weeks of the season, researching their collections and seeking out suitable designer labels to complement the (212) brand, including, for the spring, Winster, Odyn, Maria Bonita Extra, Nylon, Clione, and Lidi. Thus far, they are excited with the reaction to their venture and confidently predict being able to stock solely (212) very soon.

The spring collection features high-waisted shorts, jersey tops, boat neck mini dresses and the launch of the (212) knitwear collection that once again manages to combine New York style with the comfort that is demanded in Vancouver and will fix (212) firmly on the Canada fashion map.

(454 West Cordova, 604 685-2426, TwoOneTwo.net)

The New Breed of Ugg-ly Chav

How things have changed in Manchester in the two years since I was last here! Gone are the mandatory ‘Chav’ girl outfits I recall seeing in their droves sashaying along Market Street every Saturday. No more are the fake Burberry bags and micro skirts in evidence and the gaudy gold hoops from the discount jewelers and the hair in buns so tight the wearer could barely blink have disappeared! In their place a new uniform has evolved and one item in particular seems to be firmly established as the key to this new look.

“Uggs”, or look a likes, seem to have taken over the city and I am still not even sure what they are. Is it a slipper? Is it a boot? Is it the favoured footwear of the wife of Bigfoot? I’d really like to know who first thought these boots would be suitably worn away from the outback or the Rocky Mountains?

The new, Manchester chav girl is a genetically modified creation using a combination of cells from the four more attractive members of Girls Aloud. Coleen McLoughlin and Sienna Miller (circa 2005) seem to have taken this trend into their hearts and made it their own. With cheap variations on the original sand coloured offerings now available from supermarkets and high street accessory emporiums in every conceivable colour, but seemingly favored in pink and brown, the boot is now firmly entrenched in chav culture.

‘But I own a pair and I’m not a Chav’, I hear you cry. If your hair extensions are finely preened and glue free, you’ve broken out the discount gold and your juicy velour or your stonewashed jeans are tucked into your well trodden, shapeless wannabe Uggs, then you, my dear are the new breed of chav.

Along with their appalling fancy dress appearance, I am reliably informed that the offending Uggs are too hot to wear socks inside and therefore emit foul odors from feet made sweaty through long hours of trooping the pavements even on the balmiest of days. Usually the prized possessions are worn to the point of disintegration by said chavettes, ensuring that very soon they offer little support to the foot weary wearers, so are not even good for the feet as some proclaim.

So, isn’t it time that this unstylish and inelegant trend just died and went way and the offending items were buried as with other small furry creatures that depart this earth once they have seen out their days? If anybody is in any doubt about this then I leave you with a quote from Vanessa Williams in the TV series, ‘Ugly Betty’.

“She’s as out as Ugg Boots!” RIP UGGs!!

William’s New Movie Leaves Us Wondering, What Next?

Paul Andrew William’s first full length movie, London To Brighton, was an unsettling experience for the viewer but within a few minutes it made compulsive viewing, even the bits that had to be viewed with eyes half closed . The inventive director gave us a two hour insight into the world of prostitutes and their pimps and young girls gripped by fear and despair. The second offering from Williams, The Cottage, is at the other end of the spectrum and nothing like you would expect after ‘London to Brighton’.

The Cottage is a horror story coupled with dark comedy that will have you rolling in your seats and wondering why you are laughing in the face of adversity. ‘The Cottage’ refers to the little house in the country where a pair of incompetent brothers hole up with their kidnapped victim, Tracy (Jennifer Ellison). The brothers are David (Andy Serkis), who is supposedly the brains and the brawn of the organisation, and Peter (Reace Shearsmith), his drippy, spineless sibling. The duo have Tracy tied up and gagged outside in the boot of their car. Tracey has a filthy rich dad and an even filthier mouth, and has a devious, underhand step-brother Andrew (Steve O’Donnell) who has an evil streak in place of a backbone. His arrival puts the cat well and truly among the pigeons as far as the brothers are concerned and leads to a hot pursuit through the woods somewhat reminiscent of the Keystone Cops, except this outing is about to come to a bloody end. Hidden in the middle of the woods is another house belonging to a hideous grotesque farmer and his faithful weapon of choice, the pick axe.

The Cottage draws comparisons with other cult horror movies but has to be viewed with a barrel of salt, not just a pinch! For some bizarre reason, every time a limb spurts blood and the crunch of broken bones is amplified, the laughter mounts to near hysteria. The Cottage starts on the back burner, simmers for a while then soon turns up the heat, with limbs, blood and guts in abundance. The Cottage spans the divide between comedy and horror with skillful simplicity.

Graham Gartside-Bernier had the pleasure of speaking with the cast at a recent viewing of the movie in Manchester.

What inspired you to write this story?

Paul: Originally I was intending to write a film that cost no money and was all set in one location-that was the first section of the film involving the kidnapping. For the second section I got a bit carried away! I was always interested in the relationship between brothers. I think without this relationship the film would be pretty boring. The reason I wrote about two brothers is because siblings argue and talk to each other in a very different way. There is always a certain bond that no matter how stamped on it gets, it will always be there.

I read on the Internet that the movie is slated to go straight to DVD in the US. Considering how well received movies like Hot Fuzz and 28 Days Later were, why do you think this is?

Paul: Basically, to be honest, I think when they first saw the promo’s they were pretty much all horror. They read the script and thought they were getting American style slasher movies. When they saw the first half and didn’t see young virgins running around everywhere I think they were a bit disappointed.

I was personally surprised after watching the first half of the movie. A lot of things were unexpected and you have some ingenious maimings and deaths as the action gets going. Do you think this why the US audiences just don’t get it?

Reece: We were asked to do more of a build up to the horror for the Americans so that they could expect it coming rather than be a surprise.

So what can audiences expect?

Paul: Something interesting and something funny, something very different from my last film. I hope they have a good time. This is not meant to be terrifying. It’s meant to be a ghost train or a rollercoaster. We want people to be scared but laughing. Getting horror and comedy to work together is really difficult. It’s not easy because you’re asking people to feel two very separate emotions at the same time.

Andy, my publisher has been badgering me for a week. He wants an apology for the 20 minutes you made his wife cry when you died at the end of King Kong.

Paul: What? She cried? That’s *@$!. Why?
TWICE: Because it was, erm… sad!
Paul: No!
Andy: LAUGHS

It’s been quite some time since we’ve seen your face Andy. Do you feel like you’ve been hidden behind the CGI of late?

Andy: Not at all. A character is a character whether it’s manifested as CGI or as a live action character. It’s all about that character and what the character brings to the story so it doesn’t make any difference to me.

And does Gollum haunt you?

Andy: No. In fact he’ll probably be making a come back very soon.

Reece, you seem to be building up a catalogue of very adult work. I have to ask you, does having two kids ever make you want to do anything a bit more, disneyesque?

Reece: Well, I have done a few children’s voice-overs for cartoons, which they have seen. They will get to see what their daddy does when they are at an appropriate age. They don’t know anything yet so they call it my silly work.

While I scoured the Internet I discovered a small fact. You were once in an episode of London’s Burning. Is that true?

Reece: Yes, I played a bloke that got caught photocopying his arse in the office.
Paul: Really? No way! (Laughs).
TWICE: Is it on your CV?
Reece: No, it’s not on my showreel. (Laughs).

Jennifer, what surprised you most on this film?

Jennifer: What surprised me most was probably how much fun you can have while you’re making a horror film. When you’re watching them in the cinema or on DVD it can be really scary and intense and you sometimes forget that it’s actually just a film and what goes into making it. We had a great time, yet the film’s going to be very scary.

Did the weather help the atmosphere?

Jennifer: The first night I started filming I just felt normal. I didn’t feel I was doing a performance because the cold just took me over and I was so tired. I literally got woken up at one point and sat by a fire, by a little heater. Reece and I fell asleep and then woke up to “come on, ready for you on set.” So it was really difficult!

You swear a lot in this movie and I have to say, you really have championed the word c$*t in my vocabulary.

Thank you, thank you.

So Paul, it is common knowledge that you borrowed £80, 000 from a friend to make London to Brighton. Do you think with the success of The Cottage they’ll be getting it back?

It wasn’t really borrowed. More like invested and yes, they’ll be getting it back.