The Trafford Centre is home to some the country’s most successful stores – and latest to join the ranks will be Forever Unique.
This stylish womenswear boutique began from humble origins in 2008 as an online venture but has rapidly gained popularity in the 13 years since.
The brand, which is headed by Salford graduate and Real Housewives of Cheshire star Seema Malhotra, will soon have a new home in the North West’s biggest shopping centre.
Forever Unique has signed for a unit near Selfridges, ready for April 12 when non-essential retail is permitted to open.
From growing up alongside her cousin who was always sketching dresses to constantly being surrounded by clothes, Seema always knew that she wanted to become a fashion designer.
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She studied BA Fashion and Design at the University of Salford and shortly afterwards met Sandeep Malhotra, who became both her husband and business partner in establishing Forever Unique.
Inspired by 1980s supermodels like Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford, Seema set out to reinvent this glamour for the women of today.
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Her luxury fashion brand aims to pave the way for more affordable designer fashion, offering an in-between of red carpets and the everyday.
Forever Unique’s collection ranges from elegant occasion clothing to everyday wardrobe staples, offering something for everyone.
Celebrities such as Amanda Holden and Ashley Roberts have been spotted donning some Forever Unique garments, with the local creations rapidly amassing popularity.
Manchester has been ranked one of the ‘most influential cities’ in Europe
Danny Jones
As per a development that we’d consider so obvious it’s barely worth writing about (even though we are), Manchester has been ranked one of the most influential cities in Europe.
In other news, water is still very much wet.
While there’s plenty of it here in Greater Manchester, given our standard rainy forecasts, when it comes to anything besides the weather, we deliver in spades.
Let’s be honest: we know it, you do too, and apparently so do plenty of other folks – and there’s some concrete statistics to back it up.
Case in point – First Chanel, now Vogue… (Credit: The Manc Group)
You’ll find all manner of surveys, polls and studies diving into how Manchester ranks across various categories, but knowing we boast nods such as ‘the original industrial city’, the place that helped split the atom and the place that the first modern computer was born, we know all about our global impact.
With that in mind, when we saw that Sixt had recently named us as one of the most influential cities in all of Europe, we couldn’t ignore the well-deserved pat on the back.
That’s right, although you might not associate the car rental company with this sort of stuff, as part of their new exclusive ‘Sixt Ride’ offering (think a posh taxi service), they looked into which cities have the most luxuries, tourist attractions and other cultural bonuses to their name.
Per their recent research, Manchester city centre didn’t just break into the top 100 but found itself among the 30 most influential cities in Europe.
You can see the full rankings table down below.
#
City
Country
*Fortune 500 Companies
Fashion weeks
Film Festivals
International Airports
5-Star Hotels
High End/Luxury Shopping areas
Michelin Restaurants
1
Paris
France
10
6
77
2
122
11
134
2
London
United Kingdom
12
3
241
3
182
5
81
3
Milan
Italy
1
4
52
3
29
5
22
4
Rome
Italy
2
0
97
2
65
4
21
5
Stockholm
Sweden
0
3
14
2
12
2
13
6
Madrid
Spain
5
0
38
1
42
2
29
7
Zurich
Switzerland
6
0
10
1
12
4
18
8
Munich
Germany
5
0
10
1
16
4
17
9
Berlin
Germany
1
1
76
1
40
2
21
10
Hamburg
Germany
1
0
16
2
17
3
16
11
Amsterdam
Netherlands
4
0
24
1
29
1
30
12
Copenhagen
Denmark
1
2
12
1
12
2
20
13
Barcelona
Spain
0
0
45
1
47
1
31
14
Lisbon
Portugal
1
0
38
1
49
1
20
15
Athens
Greece
0
0
41
1
52
2
12
16
Vienna
Austria
1
0
24
1
24
3
14
17
Bucharest
Romania
0
0
22
2
12
2
0
18
Warsaw
Poland
0
0
22
2
17
1
3
19
Glasgow
United Kingdom
0
0
17
2
4
2
2
20
Lyon
France
0
0
9
2
7
0
16
21
Prague
Czechia
0
0
16
1
60
1
2
22
Brussels
Belgium
0
0
18
1
14
1
29
23
Oslo
Norway
0
1
8
1
6
1
11
24
Manchester
United Kingdom
0
0
20
1
7
3
2
25
Budapest
Hungary
0
0
16
1
24
1
7
26
Dublin
Ireland
2
0
16
1
11
0
6
27
Naples
Italy
0
0
34
1
5
0
22
28
Porto
Portugal
0
0
8
1
28
0
10
29
Turin
Italy
1
0
21
1
4
0
10
30
Sofia
Bulgaria
0
0
22
1
14
1
0
31
Helsinki
Finland
0
0
5
1
10
1
5
32
Belgrade
Serbia
0
0
32
1
9
0
1
33
Marseille
France
0
0
5
1
4
0
12
34
Birmingham
United Kingdom
0
0
12
1
4
0
6
35
Minsk
Belarus
0
0
11
1
0
0
0
Read it and weep; we Mancs landed 24th on the leaderboard, just behind Norway’s capital, Oslo, and ever so slightly ahead of Budapest in Hungary.
As you can see, to identify the ‘most influential European cities’, they broke down how the 35 most populous cities on the continent and here UK (barring Russia and Ukraine) and what noteworthy cultural touchstones they possess.
For instance, did you hear that our very own Warehouse Project recently found itself breaking into the top half of the best nightclubs on the entire planet?
Going on to analyse everything from the number of Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the city, their connections to film, fashion, fine-dining and more, they found that Paris, London and Milan were the most influential (no surprises there), but we’re glad to be keeping such good company.
After all, in the last couple of years alone, Manchester city centre has welcomed the Metiers D’art fashion show, opened one of the biggest indoor entertainment venues in all of Europe, and still takes eternal credit for giving the world Oasis and, therefore, the Live ’25 reunion. Again, you’re welcome.
What do you make of Sixt’s study, and do you agree with their findings on the whole?
It goes without saying that we’d probably put ourselves higher on the list if anything, but then again, maybe we’re getting too used to being told how brilliant it is to live in this region.
Featured Images — Anthony Parkes (via Geograph)/The Manc Group
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There’s a studio in Manchester with welded jewellery and a build-your-own-necklace charm bar
Daisy Jackson
An independent jewellery studio in Manchester is tapping into the welded jewellery craze, offering customisable permanent bracelets, necklaces and loads more.
Aureli is the brainchild of Georgina Dunn, and as well as these increasingly popular welded pieces, is offering a charm bar where Mancs can build their own charm jewellery.
The studio is tucked away on Chapel Street, a stone’s throw from Manchester city centre.
Inside the space, you’ll find shelves full of different chains, from dainty links to chunkier rope styles, all available in gold, silver, rose gold or even mixed metal – you choose your poison.
These can then be cut to measure and welded to your person, either as a bracelet, an anklet, a ring or a hand chain.
You can add in tiny charms, like letters, birth stones, and symbols, for a piece of jewellery that’s truly unique to you and that will stay with you.
Terrified of commitment and getting a piece of jewellery literally welded to your body? No stress – Georgina can also add on tiny clasps so that you can take your treasure off whenever you like.
And for fans of chunkier, more statement pieces, you can also book a workshop in the Aureli charm bar.
Georgina fitting a welded braceletGeorgina Dunn, owner of AureliYou can have welded anklets tooAureli offers welded jewellery in ManchesterYou can customise your welded jewellery at the studio in ManchesterSome of the chains on offer at AureliThe charm bar at AureliThe beautiful Aureli studio in Manchester
Here, there are hundreds of playful charms to pick from, like enamel-coated colourful fruit, metal cowboy boots, cherubs, hearts, pearls, and LOADS more.
Georgina can then talk you through the process of hand-fixing each charm to your chosen piece of jewellery, whether you’ve gone for a chunky necklace, a bracelet, or a phone charm.
Georgina has a fashion background and says: “I always knew I wanted my own brand, I just didn’t feel like clothing was the right choice.
“I’d always made my own jewellery as a hobby and had a friend who’d seen permanent jewellery in Australia – so decided to bring that concept to Manchester.”
Two years ago, she started trading at The Makers Market around Greater Manchester, while still working full-time as a teacher.
Aureli absolutely took off, and she’s now appeared in Vogue magazine as well as at events for brands like Sephora and BPerfect.
Aureli is located on Chapel Street in Salford and you can find out more HERE.
Daisy Bradbury -
26th February 2021 
