Manchester

The best restaurants, venues and individuals named at the This is Manchester Awards 2023

A star-studded event took place last night.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 10th November 2023

The very best individuals and organisations in Manchester have been named at the This is Manchester Awards 2023.

The awards celebrate the incredible talent across Greater Manchester, in categories championing industries including arts and culture, hospitality, fashion, and the night-time economy.

More than 500 people attended the glittering awards ceremony on 9 November, with stars including Christine McGuinness, Brooke Vincent, Lucy Mecklenburgh, and Adam, Ryan and Scott Thomas.

The fifth This is Manchester Awards were hosted by Jenny Powell and Scott Thomas, and this year including the first-ever Dianne Oxberry Special Impact Award in honour of the late presenter.

The special ward went to Khatra Paterson, who was chosen from a shortlist of 10 worthy recipients in partnership with Dianne’s husband Ian Hindle and the trust.

Khatra is a survivor of female genital mutilation (FGM) who has built her career upon caring and advocating for others. She was flown to Somalia at just 10 years old, for what was thought to be a family holiday, but was subjected to a brutal and harrowing FGM.

Khatra was chosen from a shortlist of ten worthy recipients.

Ian Hindle, Dianne Oxberry’s husband and founder and trustee of the Dianne Oxberry Trust charity, said: “We were blown away by the incredible people that were put forward for this special award and it was a really difficult decision to choose a winner.

“The amazing thing about Manchester is the sense of community and the huge number of people who do amazing things for others every day, often in the face of extreme challenges. 

The Manc Team at the This is Manchester Awards 2023
The Manc Team at the This is Manchester Awards 2023
The Thomas Brothers at the This is Manchester Awards 2023
The Thomas Brothers at the This is Manchester Awards 2023
The Vain Photos – Carl Sukonik

“Being able to present this award to celebrate that true Mancunian spirit is a real honour, and a wonderful legacy to Dianne too. She’d be so moved by their stories and inspired too.”

The awards recognise rising stars and those that have contributed to the development of the Greater Manchester community.

Hundreds of businesses and individuals submitted detailed nominations across 16 highly contested categories for the This is Manchester Awards 2023, with winners representing the night-time economy, entertainment, arts and culture, technology, live events, charity and fashion.

The Supernova Award went to Julia Fawcett, Chief Executive of the Lowry, recognised for her 20+ years dedication to making The Lowry one of the most popular visitor attractions in the Northwest of England, which has now engaged more than 340,000 children and young people in creative programmes and activities.

Credit: The Vain Photos – Carl Sukonik

Other notable wins for charities and good causes went to Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity DJ Battle, which saw Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram going head-to-head on the decks, which won Best Live Event.

Jeremy Roberts was also awarded Individual Making a Difference in the Community in acknowledgement for setting up The Tim Bacon Foundation, raising over £1.5 million for several regional and national cancer charities. 

Monies raised on the night were donated to the HideOut Youth Zone Manchester and the event was supported by headline sponsors The Kamani Club.

The full list of winners at the This is Manchester Awards 2023

  • Leading Restaurant of the Year (Formal) – El Gato Negro
  • Leading Restaurant of the Year (Casual) – Colleens
  • Leading Restaurant of the Year (Casual) – Holcombe Tap
  • Leading Chef of the Year – Simon Shaw
  • Leading Bar / Club of the Year – Albert Schloss, Manchester
  • Leading Hotel of the Year – Kimpton Clocktower
  • Leading Newcomer of the Year – The Padel Club
  • Leading Live Event of the Year – Greater Manchester Mayors Charity DJ Battle
  • Leading Live Event Venue of the Year – Albert Hall
  • Leading Arts & Culture Venue of the Year – Octagon Theatre Bolton
  • Force for fashion – Cress Marketplace
  • Leading tech / Digital Innovator of the Year – Versori
  • Organisations / Individuals promoting Health & Wellbeing – Foundation 92
  • Individuals Making a Difference in the Community – Jeremy Roberts, Tim Bacon Foundation
  • Organisations Making a Difference in the Community – Lancashire Cricket Foundation
  • Diane Oxberry Special impact Award – Khatra Paterson
  • Manchester Supernova Award – Julia Fawcett

Featured image: The Vain Photos – Carl Sukonik

Manchester

Inside the UK’s largest Bershka store that has just opened inside the Trafford Centre

Clementine Hall Clementine Hall

Bershka has opened its first-ever Manchester store this week, and it’s a fashion lover’s paradise.

Spanning an absolutely massive 1200 square meters, the Spanish fast fashion clothing retailer has touched down in the Trafford Centre with a bang.

Known for its on trend and affordable pieces, Bershka caters to a younger audience who are looking to dress to impress.

From camouflage mini skirts to buckled biker boots, if you’ve seen a fashion trend online and you’re wanting to try it out for yourself – Bershka is the place to spend your money.

Images: Supplied

The new flagship store located on Peel Avenue next to John Lewis is organised into three independent sections: BERSHKA, BSK, and MAN collections.

The store concept aims to integrate the building’s interior with a groundbreaking store prototype already used in other locations across the world.

Featuring a sequence of product display modules designed to showcase the different collections while changing materials depending on the section.

Images: Supplied

Each section is designed to be your own personal shopper, so you really don’t have to go far to find your perfect fit.

Spending money has never been so easy, with the brand new streamlined checkout sections that include plenty of both traditional and self-checkout counters meaning you’ll never find yourself queueing.

Another standout feature is the store’s lighting, specifically designed for this supersized flagship store. Small rectangular LED spotlights with warm and comfortable lighting have been used to enhance the customer’s shopping experience, so you can say goodbye to harsh changing room lighting.

Images: Supplied

Custom sound panels have been designed and installed in central areas of each section, as well as AR mirrors that us AR technology allowing you to try on products through different filters created exclusively by the brand. How cool is that?

So grab your wallets and get yourself to the Trafford Centre to browse Bershka to your heart’s content.

Read more: Inside the new supersized Zara store that’s just opened in the Trafford Centre

Featured image – Supplied

Manchester

Adidas drop Liam and Noel Gallagher SPZL trainers

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Adidas drop Liam and Noel Gallagher SPZL trainers

Liam and Noel Gallagher have teamed up with adidas once again to create their very own SPZL trainers.

The sportswear giant has today dropped the designs for the adidas LG Achille SPZL and the adidas NG Marathon SPZL.

The sure-to-sell-out trainers will officially hit shelves in the new Manchester adidas store, and other stockists, next weekend.

The footwear drop coincides with the ongoing Oasis reunion tour, which attracted hundreds of thousands of people to the city when they played five nights in Heaton Park.

Liam and Noel themselves have maintained a close relationship with Gary Aspden, curator of the adidas SPZL range, for more than two decades.

They’re often seen sporting the iconic trainers and creating product collaborations, and now they’re back with a new Three Stripes partnership and their very own new adidas SPZL trainers.

Up first is Liam Gallaghers’s adidas SPZL, with the Oasis frontman asking to bring back a revised version of an archival runner, the adidas Achille.

Adidas drop Liam and Noel Gallagher SPZL trainers
Adidas drop Liam and Noel Gallagher SPZL trainers

The LG Achille SPZL features a khaki mesh base, chocolate brown stripes, a beige suede T-toe overlay, and a sand outside, with a motif of Liam on the tongue of the shoe.

Noel Gallagher’s NG Marathon SPZLs are his first collaborations with the brand since his immediate sell-out shoes back in 2017.

His are a new hybrid inspired by the adidas Marathon 85 silhouette, keeping the suede upper and rubber outsole of the Marathon 85 but with a deep navy/sky blue palette with a reworked toe box and midsole, as well as details like the Eco-Tex tongue and tonal eyelets.

Both shoes feature a portrait of their namesakes on the tongue, as well as spare laces, co-branded sock liners, and commemorative packaging.

The adidas LG Achille SPZL and the adidas NG Marathon SPZL are set to launch via adidas SPZL stockists and the adidas Carnaby and MCR retail stores on 16 August.

Read more

Featured image: adidas

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