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London Fashion Week kicks off on Friday with new and established designers presenting their autumn/winter lines and fashionistas joining in the celebration as the showcase event marks its 40th birthday this year. Representatives of the British Fashion Council (BFC) will open the London Stock Exchange on Thursday and London landmarks such as Covent Garden and the London Eye will be illuminated in green light to mark the anniversary and celebrate the contribution of the creative industry to the British economy.
Sales of women’s clothing and men’s clothing in Britain last year totaled an estimated 47.5 billion pounds ($59.6 billion), the BFC said, citing research firm Mintel. The council was founded in 1983 and its first London Fashion Week was held a year later.
It is one of the Big Four catwalk fixtures along with New York, Milan and Paris and is known for its emerging talent and avant-garde trends, and where designers such as the late Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney began their careers.
“London has always been famous for its extraordinary creativity and I would say that’s what sets it apart,” Lydia Slater, editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar UK, told Reuters. “If you look at so many huge, really successful fashion houses, they are often led by British creators who started here and who made their mark at London Fashion Week.
Over the years, London has provided some major fashion highlights: from robots spray painting model Shalom Harlow’s white dress at McQueen’s Spring/Summer 1999 show to models turning furniture into clothes at Hussein Chalayan’s Autumn/Winter 2000 presentation till.
“If you’re trying to start out in, say, Paris, these brands are so big, so shiny and so polished that it’s very difficult to make your mark that way,” Slater said.
“Whereas in London, you can be a small designer and have a show that creates an incredible hit by doing something really unique and different. And so I think that’s why we’ve had so many shows in London over the last few years.” “Have seen exciting things happen that you can’t really imagine attending other fashion weeks.”
London could also boast a surprise visitor in its front rows, when the late Queen Elizabeth attended designer Richard Quinn’s show in 2018. This season, there will be more than 150 events at London Fashion Week, which runs from 16-20 February.
“Newgen designers will definitely be front and centre,” Caroline Rush, chief executive of the BFC, told Reuters, referring to a program that provides financial support and mentorship for new designers. “But equally, we’re also very excited to see (designers) Simone Rocha, Roksanda, Emilia Wickstead, 16Arlington and (the) Burberry show on Monday, which will definitely be worth a look.”
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