FASHION City York will return this year as city-centre traders gear up for a new battle against out-of-town shopping.

John Lewis plans to open its new department store at Monks Cross in the spring and city centre shops are looking at ways to keep shoppers in town.

One idea is to revive Fashion City York (FCY), which launched in 2011 with a host of events including fashion shows, styling workshops and swishing sessions, aimed at promoting the city centre.

This year’s FCY is scheduled for the weekend of May 17-18. City-centre businesses involved in the fashion, hair and beauty market are invited to attend a launch and networking event on Sunday at 6pm in Quad Hall South, St John’s College.

It is free to attend but there are only 80 places available (to book a place visit fashioncityyork.co.uk). You can also follow the latest FCY news on Facebook and Twitter.

Angela Horner, of Brown’s department store, is chairing the steering group of FCY and is urging city centre businesses to get involved.

She said: “We would love to meet retailers from fashion and beauty and as well as fashion students. We want them to come along and find out what Fashion City York is all about and how they can benefit.”

Fashion City York welcomes all city-centre businesses, whether they are big chains or independents, added Angela.

She said with the imminent opening of John Lewis, it was important city-centre traders pulled together.

“John Lewis is going to have a huge impact on the high street and the city centre and we need to give people a reason to come into York.”

Angela and other FCY committee members plan to visit Bath to find out about the success of a similar venture. She said: “Bath has a fashion week and it attracts lots of visitors. That would be our longer term vision.”

In the meantime, Angela says Fashion City York will start off small and hopefully grow into a headline attraction for the city in a similar way to the Food and Drink Festival.

The FCY weekend will tie in with a York Does Vintage fair on May 18, she added.