King of the catwalk, and TV darling, Gok Wan, hosted Fashion Rocks on the Flag Market on Saturday, and helped bring this season’s must have colours, trends and styles to the city of Preston.

The free, fashion-meets-music, event formed part of the Preston Rocks bank holiday celebrations, which also saw the return of Prestfest, a musical celebration of the city’s ‘Purple Flag’ status.

The fashion parade, which showcased the best in Preston’s high-street fashion, wasn’t Gok’s first visit to Preston though; the fashionista was last here in October 2017 where he DJ’d at the St George’s Shopping Centre Student Lock-In.

Read more: Mel C to headline Prestfest on the Flag Market

Back then, Gok proclaimed that he loved the city, as it has a vibrant, eclectic mix of clothing brands and people.

Eager to find out why he keeps coming back, Blog Preston caught up with the style-icon to chat all things fashion, and of course, Preston.

BP: What are you doing here today then?

GK: I’m hosting Preston Rocks which is a collaboration between three local bands and the retail that’s in the city as well.

BP: Which stores, and collections are you excited about today, and what do you think of the musical line-up?

GW: I thought the River Island collection was really strong and actually, I really liked the first band that were on; they were so young! I thought they were really excitable, they really enjoyed it. Building Giants, who were the last band on, obviously they were a lot more experienced, which is great, but the first band, they were quite raw, and that’s what it’s all about isn’t it.

BP: Are there any specific looks that have stood out for you today, from the collections we’ve seen so far?

GW: Yeah, there’s loads of pieces in there; we’ve got 104 looks on that catwalk, so there’s a lot. But when you’re a fashion stylist you can’t have favourites.

Live music during the fashion show

BP: What’s on-trend for summer this year then?

GW: There’s loads of print, loads of colour, it’s very ethnic which is great, very bohemian. There’s a lot of Moroccan stuff around as well. And there’s huge, huge primary colours too, bright reds and blues and yellows and stuff, so yeah, it’s a really bright season for us.

BP: Where do you see high street fashion heading in the next few years in terms of high street stores vs online fashion?

GW: I think it’s a very difficult time for retailers, without question, there’s a lot of stores that are really struggling. I think that we are absolutely becoming far more savvy about online shopping but there still will be a demand to physically go out there and see the cloth and see the designs. And I think if we’re clever about it, and places like St George’s for instance, if they ensure that what they do is look after their customers I think you’ll always see a foot flow through.

BP: How important is it for independent designers to keep plugging away at the fashion industry?

GW: I don’t think that independent designers would ever get into high street stores, but I think that if they are building on their collections and they are working very hard at doing everything they need to do then I think they’ve got as much chance as a performer, as an actor, as a band, for instance, it’s a little bit like…you’ve got to be in the right place at the right time.

BP: What is it about Preston that you enjoy?

GW: It’s friendly, down to earth, ambitious, which I love. What really stands out today is that there’s a real sense of community in the square (outside the Harris), everyone comes together. It feels like a music festival out there and it’s a really nice event. And you know, I’ve only been here three times, once to film, once to DJ and now to host a fashion show, and I’ve not had a bad experience yet!