Want the inside scoop on what it's like to be a professional working in the fashion industry? Hear the tales of hard work, dogged determination and fate at BFW's Ready to Wear Show Talks and Presentations featuring industry insiders: fashion designer/performance artist/taxidermist Charlie Tuesday Gates, photographer/editor-in-chief of 125 Magazine Perry Curties, ex-model Renske McFarlane, and Electric London hair salon Creative Director Mark Woolley...

Charlie Tuesday Gates, Fashion Designer/Performance Artist/Taxidermist Saturday, 2nd June, 2pm

Rooted in the subconscious memories of a very strange and uncanny childhood in Dorset spent watching her mother, who ran a rubbish dump, accumulate, sort and meticulously arrange endless amounts of other people’s dumped possessions, forgotten memories and abandoned lives, Charlie Tuesday Gates' obsession with collecting stems from years of playing on her own at the rubbish dump, where she would would create imaginary worlds, rummage for treasures… and poke wildlife.  After some strange animal related incidents she taught herself taxidermy, then later studied Sculpture at Camberwell College of Arts. Gates will talk about her extraordinary life, the evolution of her art, and demonstrate process of creating elaborate and very lady-like hats using feathers, fur, and small taxidermied animals .

Perry Curties, Photographer/Editor-in-Chief 

125 Magazine, Saturday 2nd June, 3pm

Curties will discuss his career as a prolific commercial, fashion, and portrait photographer, as the Editor-in-Chief of the internationally renown high fashion photography magazine 125 Magazine, and his fairly unique position as an artist and commissioner of fashion photography. After graduating from art college in 1996, Perry spent 5 years assisting a number of high profile photographers in London and New York. He has since become a highly regarded fashion photographer working with a wide mix of commercial and editorial clients that include Universal Pictures, GQ, Pathe Films the BBC and Channel 4 among others. His portrait work includes an eclectic range of personalities including Sir Mick Jagger, Heston Blumenthal, Simon Pegg, Stellan Skarsgard,  Tom Hardy, David Schwimmer and Sir Michael Caine.

On top of his busy workload as a photographer and publisher Perry also lectures at universities around the UK, inspiring the next generation of photographers to produce exciting new work and instilling them with the drive to succeed. View Perry Curties' full portfolio HERE Also, take a look at 125 Magazine's online presence for up to the minute reports on what's hot and cool in photography, art, culture, and fashion.

Renske Mcfarlane, Model/ Eco-Fashion Show Organizer Saturday, 2nd June 3.30pm

From age 18 - 30, Dutch model Renske McFarlane worked with top agencies, brands and magazines in Paris, NY, Tokyo, Milan and London. She has worked for Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, Vivienne Westwood, L'Oreal and Abercrombie & Fitch, to name a few. She also has an honours degree in Anthropology and Development Studies from University of Sussex and is currently organising shows in the eco-fashion world. Mcfarlane will talk about what it is really like to be a model, the highs, the (honest) lows, the pitfalls, the good agencies vs. the bad agencies, examining myths around modelling vs. the reality, and the ongoing controversy of dieting.

Mark Woolley, Creative Director, Electric Hairdressing, 

Sunday 3rd June, 3pm

Mark is the Global brand ambassador for Denman (the iconic brush manufacturer) and has a host of creative and business awards to his name. With uber-cool salons in London’s fashionable Marylebone, Brighton and Reading, Electric has absorbed Mark's down-to-earth nature and accessible style, focusing on delivering a total service that blends outstanding cuts with gorgeous colour. Mark is regularly used as an expert on celebrity hair trends on TV and his work regularly appears in leading publications across the globe.  Mark will be at the Ready to Wear Show for the Electric Hair Showcase on stage. Come if you are a budding hair stylist or just in love with the latest in hair styles and fashion. For any other salons in the Electric group view the website www.electric-hair.com