Bradford: The city of stars and sparkle hosts festive fashion special

Across Yorkshire, our high streets proudly present Christmas in all its joyful, twinkling glory, bringing us bright lights and entertainments, music and festive food and, of course, shopping, as we seek out gifts for loved ones and new clothes for ourselves.

Bradford is no exception and this year, communities and organisations within the city have come together to create Sparkling Bradford, a glistening celebration of the Christmas period. This is the weekend of Illuminate Bradford, when The Imaginarium fantastical light show is projected onto City Hall, while street theatre and installations, funfair rides, food stalls and a craft market entertain alongside.

For our Christmas fashion shoot, we have teamed up with the Broadway Bradford, a shopping centre right at the heart of the city and the community. It opened in 2015, and is home to more than 70 stores plus restaurants and eateries and this year saw the launch of The Light six-screen cinema. The Broadway takes its role as a centre for the local community seriously, with charitable projects and regular events throughout the year. This festive season brings lots of family entertainment with highlights including appearances by the Red Queen and the Snow Lion, created by puppetry and animatronics.

The location for our fashion shoot was kindly provided by Bradford Cathedral which overlooks the Broadway from its hidden elevated spot on Stott Hill. It’s the oldest building in the city, with parts of the present structure around 500 years old, although there has been a place of worship on the hillside since the eighth century. It’s a beautiful and serene place and we were particularly taken with the Catherine and Jane Wells Memorial Window which dates from 1864 and depicts women of the Bible. It was placed there by a Bradford solicitor in memory of his sisters.

The cathedral is holding a full Christmas programme, with highlights on Christmas Eve including the Bradford Cathedral Choir Concert and a Messy Cathedral Nativity.

For our sparkling fashion shoot, Bradford make-up artist Doniya Malik (sister of singer-songwriter Zayn) created for model Hattie a molten-gold smokey eye, paired with a nude cream gloss lip. “It’s a neutral eye look that matches, but looks glamorous at the same time,” she says. “It’s going to be a popular look for Christmas – a lot of glitter, a lot of sparkle.”

Big hair is back and so stylist Raz Hanif created a soft but volumised look for both Hattie and fellow model Ramzan. She gave Hattie’s hair rolling waves before sweeping back into an elegant low updo, so that it almost looked like an ultra-chic bob, undoing it to become a sleek, tumbling look for later shots.

The clothes and accessories were all selected from shops within the Broadway, including River Island, Topman, Topshop, Khaadi, Debenhams, Marks & Spencer, Accessorize, Apricot and Quiz Clothing. In stores now, they point the way to sparkle with style for Christmas.

SHOOT CREDITS: All clothes and accessories from the Broadway Bradford, www.broadwaybradford.com Instagram: @broadwaybradford / Location: Bradford Cathedral, www.bradfordcathedral.org, and city centre, www.visitbradford.com/sparklingbradford / Photography: James Hardisty / Styling, production, videography and story: Stephanie Smith, Instagram: @YPStyleTeam / Make-up artist: Doniya Malik, Instagram: @doniyabeauty / Hair: Raz Hanif at Toni & Guy Harrogate, Instagram: @razhairfashionmakeup / Models: Hattie and Ramzan at Boss Model Management, Instagram: @bossmodelmanagement / Fashion team: Victoria Reddington, Philippa Usher-Somers, Alexia Evans.