My dedication to the WRG crew made me crawl out of bed at an ungodly hour on a Sunday morning after a Saturday night belting out karaoke (Bohemian Rhapsody is the one) before heading to Brighton for a much anticipated day off.

Margin London is in it’s 8th year – being a trade show that aims to present young directional streetwear and lifestyle brands that sometimes can get overlooked in a market saturated with labels. I headed to the South Molton Music Rooms at 10am on a Sunday to check out what was really good (like the pun?)

Since I had to lug my laptop around, one of the event organisers kindly offered to put it in the cloakroom. I knew they wouldn’t nick it, because it wasn’t a Mac. Sometimes, being poor pays off.

There are two rooms at Margin: Room 1 which has the newer brands in their first collections; and Room 2, with the brands that have been through a couple of collections. Or so I thought. It was a little confusing, since I met people in the second room on their first collection. Oh well.

Room 1 had Trikki, brother and sister duo, Rikki and Nikki; designer, Rikki, is a recent graduate of London College of Fashion who actually knows where his clothes come from. I don’t mean, in a box in the post, but where they’re manufactured and the conditions of the factory and the workers. Rikki and Nikki even told me that they had visited the factory. It even says it here on their site. And they support the children’s charity Kids Company. And they’re just dead nice really.
Rikki aims for his hoodies to be classic and unique, having a limited run. Even his t-shirts are endorsed by Barack Obama!

Dumpe Fresh, extremely unfortunate name, but a well known brand in France. Having stand alone stores there, and having launched in the US last year (but not Canada, where their French compatriots are… hmmm). Fatman Scoop, who needed to have a special t-shirt made for him which I don’t think I need to explain why, and Flo-Rida have worn Dumpe t-shirts. Now if that isn’t a reason to go out and buy them!

However, they made me pose in a violently pink hoodie and gave me a free t-shirt. Now isn’t that sweet, trying to buy off the press! I wouldn’t say the t-shirt was to my taste, but it feels quite nice, and guess what Leslie’s getting for Christmas! Dumpe being a French term went over my head being the uncultured English swine that I am. Would anyone care to enlighten me?

Emily the Pemily screenprints in her spare room, once worked at Alexander McQueen and has an excellent t-shirt about Maggie Thatcher. Even though I’m lactose intolerant, I’d've loved to have a skittle of milk every morning. I’d rather be bloated than have osteoporosis.

I’d like to add, for a smaller space, there was a lot in there, and it wasn’t cramped. I was very impressed. I did however try to be extra cheeky and cage some t-shirts off other exhibitors. They just gave me the “On yer bike look.” You don’t get if you don’t ask.

Room 2 was deceptively large. And hot. I met Charlotte Dutton, who may be familiar to you Canadians, as she’s a champion snowboarder, and resides in Whistler. Previously designing ski-wear for Topshop, she now has her own range called Misticon, for all the ladies who model and snowboard too. It confused me too, but it’s probably cos I’m not hot, blonde and no good at standing on a board for a lengthened period of time. But as Charlotte explained, Misticon is functional and fashionable. I wish we had mountains in London now. At least when I faceplant spectacularly, I can walk off the slope and still go to the supermarket.

When designers decide to shoot their new lookbooks, they usually get a model, get in a studio and take some shots. Not Conquer. For their AW10 lookbook, they trotted over to Hampstead Heath and hung t-shirts in a tree, and waited around with cameras to see what passerby’s did as they walked past, and each t-shirt had a different hand-written label. As explained to me by one of the designers, “You put a t-shirt in a different context, and people look at it differently.” And the t-shirts were up for grabs too. Conquer also stick to a strict ethical guideline and use 100% Fairtrade cotton.

For the funky fresh hipsters out there, New Love Club sold in Topman, are screenprinted with kitschy, retro images that’ll just turn your chequered shirted friends green with envy. No need to buy a pair of deadstock frames from American Apparel to be cool, just wear a picture of them on your shirt!

Connected Generation have been going for about a year, and have a novel interactive approach with their consumers. Rachel Cosford, the owner and designer, goes out and trendspots, by taking street style photos. Those are then uploaded onto the site where people can vote for their favourite, which the most popular are used for inspiration for new pieces and the winner gets a voucher to use in the online store. Ultimate win. You can also vote for your favourite pieces online, and those items will get produced to be sold. Taking social networking and people’s take on fashion to a new level.

Last but not least, 1 in A 100 commission fine artists to produce their prints, which run in a limited edition set of 100 (hence the name). AHHH moment right there. Each t-shirt is silk-screened by hand, lending tiny variations which make each t-shirt unique. I was impressed, Freddie and Aldo, the designers are in their first collection, yet have a clear brand identity and a beautifully designed lookbook. I expect big things from these two in the next year.

I could wax lyrical about all the brands I saw and all the people I met, because Margin was for once, a highly enjoyable press event. And I hate press events. I will leave you with pictures of my other favourites below.