For years, brands have utilised popular culture to inform and enhance advertising strategies. Now, with increasingly sophisticated technology and ever more savvy consumers, What does the future hold for culture-driven marketing?

‘‘It’s a new era in fashion - there are no rules. It’s all about the individual and personal style, wearing high-end, low-end, classic labels, and up-andcoming designers all together.” These are the words of Alexander McQueen, a man at the veritable heart of the fashion industry who evidently knew a thing or two about his trade. Long has the dominating ideology of the fashion world leant towards the new and innovative, attempting to capture, draw, design and sell the zeitgeist. However, what makes a designer label a mainstay of this multi-million pound industry? With apparently successful or well-known names disappearing overnight – Isaac Mizrahi a notable example – what follows is an exploration of some of the most exciting new designer labels working in the fashion world today. Brands that have thrived or made a name for themselves in the harshest of economic climates.

As The Great Gatsby wowed audiences this summer with a stylish take on an American classic, and The Shaftesbury Theatre opened this autumn to rave reviews of Tim Rice’s From Here to Eternity – a musical adaptation of the Hollywood film, Amy-Louise Roberts takes a look at a whole generation of cinema and stars that continue to influence our contemporary style

In business, as in life, the presence of a mentor can prove an exceptionally significant feature. Luke Skywalker had Obi-Wan Kenobi, Dr. Phil had Oprah Winfrey and now – perhaps more than ever before – help is available for budding billionaires in the form of mutually beneficial start-up funds. Launched by well-established names looking to help out and kick-start other efficacious ventures, the latest addition to this hearty supply is a fund opened by high-profile entrepreneur, and former Apprentice candidate, Raj Dhonota .

It is a truth universally acknowledged that in the current economic climate, very few things are a sure-fire success. Nevertheless, one sector that is going from strength-to-strength is the technology industry. And it is with this knowledge in place that career accelerator Startup Institute launches its first international programmes in both London and Berlin.

When young we are taught ‘neither a borrower nor a lender be’, a gauntlet laid down by Shakespeare but a concept seemingly forgotten in contemporary history. Be that as it may, more recently released figures suggest it is a notion to which an increasing number of small businesses are seeking to return, as the desire to borrow funds apparently reduced in the latter part of last year.

When it comes to small-scale businesses, astute entrepreneurs are mindful that fate and fortune are vital ingredients for victory. However, even smarter would-be billionaires are aware of useful tools at their disposal, designed to assist and even shorten the elusive road to financial triumph. Preparing now for its seventh semester, the Accelerator Academy is just that.

Long has London been a cultural hub of the UK, set in the heart of innovative style and design. Vivienne Westwood, Malcolm McLaren and Carnaby Street, all synonymous with cutting edge couture, conjure images of a fashion scene rife with anarchistic yet simultaneously commercial success. It is perhaps this rich heritage in the world of fashion that also explains why this month, amongst a flourishing British menswear industry, Mayor of London Boris Johnson has launched a new campaign that attempts to support the thriving sector.

In an inescapably fragile global economy, positive news can be an elusive mistress, with gleeful projections and hopeful outlooks few and far between. But amongst woeful reports of future spending cuts, and the seemingly tragic trajectory of unemployment figures, faith and confidence in the UK business market appears to have gone undaunted; with the promise of growth and future development at a twenty-year high.