fashionUK

Introduction to London Fashion Week

Twice a year, all international fashion eyes are focused on London for the ready-to-wear designer shows. The fashion calender is divided into two seasons, (sping/summer and autumn/winter) with each designer/label showing a season ahead. London is the first stop on the bi-annual international fashion tour. As the marquees are being taken down at the Natural History Museum (which has served as the site for London Fashion Week since 1993) , the photographers, models and journalists are already on their way to Milan. After Milan comes Paris and finally the last stop of the season, New York.

Although most designers will opt to hold their catwalk shows in cities where they're based, this is not always the case. British designers John Galliano and Vivienne Westwood prefer showing in Paris and so when Westwood's diffusion label 'Red' was launched at this season's Fashion Week, it was hailed by the press as further evidence of London's ascendancy on the international fashion ladder.

Fashion Week serves two important functions for designers and labels. First (and most importantly), it gives buyers an opportunity to view the new collections and decide what to order for the shops. And second, Fashion Week fuels public interest and works to promote fashion. Generally, the more outrageous a show, the more likely it is that we'll get to read about it next day in the newspapers. Often the headline-grabbing stories barely mention the clothes or the designer. For example, the two big newspaper stories surrounding this London Fashion Week were a schoolgirl model at Vivienne Westwood's 'Red' and Patsy Kensit's appearance at the Ben de Lisi show (the tabloid press was particularly harsh on Patsy, accusing her of looking tired, depressed and ill).

This season, 'Cool Brittania' rules the waves. London Fashion Week attracted more buyers, designers and media than ever before. The week was extended from the usual five days to six, featured 48 catwalk shows and played host to 140 labels at the Designer Exhibition. Television crews crammed into every show and repeatedly caused congestion at the exits where they competed for sound-bite reactions.

London Fashion Week is not open to the public. While the British Fashion Council decides which designers show each season, it's the designers themselves who control who is in the audience. The bottom line is, 'if you haven't got an invitation to a show you're not getting in!' This season the public was granted limited access with the inclusion of two days of public shows at the end of Fashion Week. Despite the £25 price tag, all the tickets sold out within hours of going on sale. Fashion - we're mad for it, us!

London Fashion Week | Introduction | Behind the Scenes | Collection Reports

---

© WideMedia Ltd. 1995-1999