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Oh, Glasgow - Our AW20 City Guide

Oh, Glasgow - Our AW20 City Guide

 

With a pitstop in Paisley, our AW20 campaign was shot entirely in Glasgow. Featuring more than a few of the city’s most famous landmarks, we had a wonderful time revisiting Glasgow’s greatest hits. With so much to enjoy on your doorstep, join us for this virtual tour as we pay homage to the city that never stops.

 

Glasgow Subway

 

The best way to get around the city, we begin our tour with a ride on the Glasgow Subway, the third-oldest underground metro system in the world after the London Underground and the Budapest Metro. Nicknamed ‘The Clockwork Orange’ by the media, the subway runs in one great big circular loop and is painted a distinct shade of orange. If you were a student in Glasgow, you’ll likely remember the tradition of the Subcrawl, which involved an all-day ticket and a drink at a pub outside each of the subway’s 15 stops. Get off at Hillhead station to see the ceramic mural that decorates its foyer, created by the Scottish writer Alasdair Gray and artist Nichol Wheatley. The late, great Gray stated, ‘I have lived and worked in the district since 1969, and I knew I would enjoy depicting it, and those who use the subway, in a symbolic and humorous way.’ Hillhead Station, Byres Road, Glasgow G12 8SH

 

Barras Market

 

Glasgow is full of characters and there is no bigger personality than ‘the Barras’. A major part of the city’s identity, the famous Barras Market takes place every weekend and has done since 1934. The market’s iconic arches – ‘the gateway to a bargain’ – are the best place to start exploring. Just about anything can be purchased at the Barras – the hodgepodge of indoor and outdoor stalls offer everything from antiques to a pair of old work boots. Most recently there has been an influx of new arts venues and events. In a 1986 interview, Billy Connolly credited the Barras stall trader, Frank Bennett, as the reason he became a comedian. You haven’t experienced Glasgow until you’ve spent a weekend ‘down the Barras’ – you never know what, or whom, you might stumble across. Barras Market, 242 Gallowgate, Glasgow G1 5DX

 

The Barrowland Ballroom

 

A hop, skip and a jump from the Barras arches is the legendary Barrowland Ballroom. With its iconic flashing neon sign – believed to be the biggest of its kind in the UK – the ‘Barrowlands’ has hosted every band you can think of, with thousands of people cramming its sprung dance floor to get a glimpse of Simple Minds, Arcade Fire, Pixies, U2, The Clash, The Smiths, Franz Ferdinand, Big Country, The Stranglers and many more. The venue’s stage crew has been voted as the friendliest in Britain and Oasis and Metallica are two of many bands who have described it as one of their favourite venues in the world. David Bowie famously took a fallen ceramic star from the venue as a souvenir when he visited in 1997. A charming space with a uniquely special atmosphere that can’t be beat, the Barrowlands is always a night to remember. The Barrowland Ballroom, 244 Gallowgate, Glasgow G4 0TT

 

The GFT

 

A B-listed building, the Art Deco Glasgow Film Theatre – more commonly known as The GFT – is an independent cinema with a history as storied as the films it shows. In its original 1939 incarnation as the Cosmo, it was Scotland's first arts cinema and the second purpose-built arthouse in Britain after London’s Curzon Mayfair. Designed by architects James McKissack and WJ Anderson II, the Cosmo’s geometric, windowless façade remains today. The foyer was revamped for the GFT in 1998 by James Doherty, incorporating a mosaic floor globe designed by the Glasgow-based artist Todd Garner and new curtains from Glasgow design studio Timorous Beasties. Home to the Glasgow Film Festival, the cinema has played host to guests including Martin Scorsese, Tilda Swinton, Sean Connery, Willem Dafoe and Richard Attenborough over the years. The GFT, 12 Rose St, Glasgow G3 6RB

 

Alexander Stoddart’s Studio, Paisley

 

Travel ten minutes by train to Paisley and you will find the studio of sculptor Alexander ‘Sandy’ Stoddart, our final stop. Located inside the University of the West of Scotland’s Paisley campus, Stoddart always marks his works with the word ‘Paisley’, even when he does not sign his own name. Appointed Sculptor in Ordinary to her Majesty the Queen in Scotland in 2008, he is best known for his colossal public monuments of historic figures, such as Robert Louis Stevenson and David Hume, who both tower over his birthplace of Edinburgh. Enter his studio and you are immediately hit with scents of plaster and clay crowding every work surface. Statues and busts of gods and greats loom large and lend the studio a busy atmosphere. Stoddart himself is larger than life – a charismatic figure with a hint of the eccentric who welcomed us into his studio with open arms. University of the West of Scotland, Paisley PA1 2BE

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