It’s nearly Oxford Fashion week (3rd-9th March) and the cameras will be a-clicking: the question on everyone’s lips, surely, is whether fashion is wearable art? While the making of any piece of clothing typically involves aesthetic considerations, perhaps the term ‘wearable art’ implies that the work is intended to be accepted as a serious and unique artistic creation or statement, and the creation of an outfit by combining articles of clothing and accessories and the image it projects can be an artistic endeavour. So, here in the Artweeks office we think ‘Absolutely!’, not least because amongst the Artweeks designer-makers we have a number of textile artists who produce clothes, scarves and hats, for example, including Oxfordshire Craft Guild members Lizzie Hurst who makes fascinators, trilbies and soft hats as well as brooches, corsages and Mary Lowry whose handwoven scarves & shawls in silk, linen & wool vibrant with colour & texture will be on show in Ewelme.

For the fashionista, however, look towards Abingdon where fashion designer Feng Ho will open her studio to the public from 3rd-11th May. Ethical fashion designer Feng Ho is putting together a new collection of contemporary clothing in time for Artweeks. She originally set up her business in East Oxford with a business grant from The Princes trust, working at the Magdalen Road Studios. Acclaimed for her feminine draped shapes, geometric lines, experimental pattern cutting and timeless colours, she’s always been interested in fair trade and being environmentally friendly. It’s been a challenge but she has developed her ethical approach over the last 6 years and being as responsible as possible with the world’s resources. Amongst other things, Ho pursues a zero-waste policy as well as sourcing chemical-free jersey fabrics from around the world including some of which is made from bamboo and eucalyptus! She has also collaborated with the Mayamiko Trust to bring fabric over from Malawi, the bold patterns of the African influence a striking contrast to the rest of the rail!

Jewellery has long been a key facet of bodily ornamentation and during Artweeks there’ll be the chance to see silversmiths creating beautiful adornments to accessorise one’s outfit. In the interim (until 30th March), see striking contemporary pieces in Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum: ‘A Bestiary of Jewels’ is a special exhibition of the imaginative work of goldsmith, Dr Kevin Coates, a London-based jeweller, who has created fantastical exquisite jewel art from gold, precious stones, shell, and other exotica, the pieces wall-mounted pages of a bestiary, a medieval animal encyclopedia.

During Artweeks, you’ll be able to find necklaces inspired by Faberge eggs in Dorchester on Thames; and wonderful gold and silver pieces tucked away in a workshop down the Cowley Road, or in vibrant city studios, aboard a 1930s houseboat on the river Thames and in Chipping Norton Theatre and to name just a few.

So, what will YOU be wearing this summer?