London Fashion Week, 14-18 February is set to showcase some of the world’s leading fashion talent. Set over five days, the schedule is packed with shows, presentations, installations, showrooms, events and parties from the best and brightest names in the industry. As well as the trade events, there are more ways for the public to enjoy the London Fashion Week experience with live streaming, social media and a line-up of events and exhibitions around town.
At a press conference to open London Fashion Week Natalie Massenet, Chairman of the British Fashion Council, announced updated figures showing substantial growth in the UK fashion industry over the past five years.
The direct value of the UK fashion industry to the UK economy is £26 billion; up from £21 billion in 2009. Showing an increase of 22% in nominal terms (source: Oxford Economics 2014)
The UK fashion industry is estimated to support 797,000 jobs (source: Oxford Economics 2014). This is a decrease of 2.3% from 2009
Whilst employment figures have dropped overall the increased contribution to UK GVA reflects higher productivity within the fashion sector. The British Fashion Council is committed to supporting growth in the sector which it hopes will lead to more employment opportunities
Fashion’s total contribution to the economy via both indirect support for supply chain industries and induced spending of employee’s wage income is estimated to have risen to over £46 billion. An increase of 23% since 2009 (source: Oxford Economics 2014)
The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: ‘These latest figures are clear evidence of the hugely important contribution that fashion makes to our economy. It is a dynamic industry whose value is increasing thanks to the dazzling creativity of our designers, the brilliant colleges that bring up the next waves of talent and a fast moving retail sector, which covers the spectrum of great style from bespoke to high street. My office will continue to work with the British Fashion Council to ensure that London remains on the front row in the international fashion stakes.’
George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer said: ‘London is about to host one of the central events in the fashion calendar, but more importantly it is about to showcase the world class talent we have in our fashion industry. It is testament to the designers, large and small, of the United Kingdom, and to all those who work in the wider retail industry.’
Sam Moore, COO, Oxford Economics, added “Our research underlines the continued and growing importance of the fashion industry’s contribution to the UK economy. Despite, the severe economic headwinds that have confronted British industries since 2009, the growth of the fashion industry is a testament to the popularity of the UK’s fashion industry.”
‘I wish all those involved a successful London fashion week, and hope that it generates more opportunities for some of our most promising creative talents. A successful fashion industry means more jobs for the people of this country and that in turn means economic security for families in Britain’
This February will shine the spotlight on London’s creative industries as London Fashion Week, the BAFTA Film Awards and the Brit Awards all set to showcase the very best of each industry’s outstanding talents in the space of just six days. The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said, “London Fashion Week is a fabulous showcase of what makes London one of the most exciting and dynamic cities on earth – its creativity. With the BAFTAs and the Brits taking place at the same time, let’s celebrate the great British talent that is acclaimed around the world.”
DESIGNER SHOWROOMS AT LONDON FASHION WEEK
The Designer Showrooms at London Fashion Week will showcase nearly 150 ready-to-wear, accessories, millinery and fine jewellery brands with 56 new designers this season. Set within Somerset House the AW14 collections will be exhibited for London Fashion Week’s trade audience of press and buyers and will be open daily from 9.30am-7pm. Designers in the showrooms include Cleo, Esk, Georgia Hardinge, Mawi, Olivia Von Halle, Piers Atkinson and Rayne and catwalk collections by Christopher Raeburn, Fyodor Golan, Nasir Mazhar and Palmer//Harding. The West Wing of the ground floor will house this season’s ‘One to Watch’, Central Saint Martins graduate Faustine Steinmetz and collections by the NEWGEN designers sponsored by TOPSHOP.
THE SHOP
This February the British Fashion Council will reopen its shop at London Fashion Week. The Shop, a concept store that will open on Friday 14th February and will run through to Vodafone London Fashion Weekend (20th-23rd February), brings a consumer element to London Fashion Week and showcases an edit of British contemporary design. Set across two rooms in the West Wing of the ground floor of Somerset House, The Shop is open to the public and will house SS14 ready-to-wear and accessories by brands including Bella Freud, DJ by Dominic Jones, Keely Hunter, Markus Lupfer, Prism and Zoe Jordan. The space will once again be designed by Robert Storey, one of the brightest names in set design. The logo has been created by world renowned artist, Sir Peter Blake.
INTERNATIONAL FASHION SHOWCASE
The International Fashion Showcase returns for February 2014 and will see over 30 embassies and cultural institutions across London create fashion exhibitions to display their emerging fashion designers. The showcase is open to the public, giving everyone the chance to explore work by some of the most innovative young fashion designers from around the world. For the first time a central venue at 180 The Strand will house 14 showcases. This central space will be designed by architect Pernilla Ohrstedt Studio and will show the work of exciting emerging designers from countries including Argentina, Austria, China, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Nigeria, Paraguay, The Philippines, Portugal, Slovakia, Switzerland and Vietnam. Other countries displaying the work of emerging designers in exhibitions across the capital are Brazil, Canada, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Panama, Romania, Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, Sweden), Tanzania and The Netherlands. http://www.britishfashioncouncil.com/InternationalFashionShowcase
#LOVELFW
To mark the start of London Fashion Week AW14 on Valentine’s Day, the BFC will launch the Love LFW campaign. Fashion fans will be encouraged to share their favourite fashion image, runway look or campaign using hashtag #LoveLFW. The best images will be featured on a dedicated Pinterest board, shared on Twitter and entered into a prize draw to win two tickets to Vodafone London Fashion Weekend. To coincide with the campaign, a ‘Twitter Mirror’ will be backstage at three of the shows on Friday, where models will be able to tweet selfie style images of themselves in their runway looks as they prepare to hit the catwalk.
LONDON FASHION WEEK ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter Q&A sessions will give followers the opportunity to pose questions using #AskLFW to guest tweeters, who will then respond via a six-second video clip on Vine. Backstage photographers and an on-site social media wall will bring together the largest crowd-sourced insight into London Fashion Week, featuring fashion images from Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. The social media can be seen in the BFC Courtyard Show Space, displaying a visual insight into the Fashion Week experience from catwalk and backstage looks to front row images and street style. Everyone can get involved by sharing their images on social media and including the official #LFW hashtag in posts which will then be displayed on the wall for the duration of the event.
LIVE STREAMING
This season the BFC will be working with Rightster to live stream shows from offsite venues for the first time. In total over 40 shows will be live streamed, 18 from the BFC Courtyard Show Space at Somerset House, seven shows from the Topshop venue, in addition to shows outside the official show venues including Burberry, Hunter and Paul Smith. Shows will be live streamed to http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/live and shows from the BFC Courtyard Show Space will be streamed on the British Fashion TV YouTube channel and official London Fashion Week Twitter and Facebook accounts.
FASHION FILM
The BFC Fashion Film initiative, sponsored by River Island, aims to develop the collaborative relationship between fashion designers and film makers. Films this season include the River Island Designer Forum film for Katie Eary; an exclusive preview of the new feature film biopic of Yves Saint Laurent; “Catching the moment: Life through the lens of Terry Jones” a film for i-D; a film by Craig McDean & Punderson Gardens for British Vogue, and films by Roland Mouret and Sibling. The films will be screened at an evening event hosted by Laura Bailey with guest speakers including Caryn Franklin, Roland Mouret and Katie Eary on Friday 14th February. http://www.britishfashioncouncil.com/fashionfilm
RETAILERS AROUND TOWN
Joining the celebration of London Fashion Week, some of Britain’s most established retailers will be hosting special events and promotions around the capital this season. Many stores have pledged their support including Harrods, Liberty and Selfridges, both in-store and online. Other retailers including Browns and River Island will feature the London Fashion Week logo in specially commissioned window installations.
Exhibitions on in London
Launching on the first day of London Fashion Week until 21st February, the first ever bus stop roof exhibition will take place on The Strand. Fashion photographer Juergen Teller’s work will be displayed on the bus stop roofs along The Strand, The idea being to make art available to the public from the top deck of London’s iconic red buses. Somerset House is home to Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore! an exhibition celebrating the extraordinary life and wardrobe of the late British patron of fashion and art, which is on throughout London Fashion Week until 2nd March. Other fashion exhibitions around town include Bailey’s Stardust at the National Portrait Gallery; Club to Catwalk at the V&A; 40 – A Kate Moss retrospective at the Imitate Modern Art Gallery, Hello, My Name is Paul Smith at the Design Museum and Fashion Rules at Kensington Palace.www.londonfashionweek.com/exhibitions
VODAFONE LONDON FASHION WEEKEND
From 20th-23rd February the home of London Fashion Week, Somerset House will be transformed into Britain’s most exclusive fashion and designer shopping experience, Vodafone London Fashion Weekend, host to over 80 exciting designers, catwalk shows, exclusive offers, pop-up shops, unique installations, talks by fashion and beauty industry experts. This season Vodafone London Fashion Weekend has teamed up with one of the web’s most respected fashion and lifestyle bloggers, Sasha Wilkins of Liberty London Girl, to launch a competition to find the official Vodafone London Fashion Weekend blogger. http://www.londonfashionweekend.co.uk.
WeTransfer & British Fashion Council Collaboration for LFW
During London Fashion Week, free file-sharing service, WeTransfer, will showcase the work of leading illustrator, Damien Cuypers, as part of a collaboration with the British Fashion Council. From global iconic fashion houses Burberry Prorsum to Mathew Williamson, WeTransfer will showcase a unique view of the major shows, brought to life through Cuyper’s vibrant illustrative style.
“WeTransfer is an integral platform for anyone working in a fast paced creative industry so it’s fantastic that while users all over the world are sharing files we will be able to share a slice of the London Fashion Week action, uniquely captured by Cuyper’s distinctive and energetic sketches”. – Caroline Rush, Chief Executive, British Fashion Council
London Fashion Week is Britain’s biggest biannual showcase of womenswear attracting over 5,000 visitors, including press and buyers from over 50 countries. The five day event will include over 80 catwalk shows and presentations from some of the brightest names in the fashion industry and will also showcase 150 emerging and established ready-to-wear collections at the Designer Showrooms.
Nalden, co-founder of WeTransfer comments: “Partnering with and supporting the creative industries has always been our thing so it’s amazing to kick off London Fashion Week with the British Fashion Council. We have worked to showcase designers, musicians and fine artists and we know that WeTransfer is equally popular within the fashion industry which is why this partnership makes so much sense. Damien’s style of illustration aligns perfectly with the design and feel of our service. His drawings will make our curated user experience even better and bring a unique view of London Fashion Week to our global audience.”
To see Damien Cuyper’s illustrations from London Fashion Week, please visit: www.wetransfer.com 15th – 17th February 2014
Follow the British Fashion Council on Instagram for exclusive London Fashion Week images @BritishFashionCouncil
Filed under: Fashion Tagged: London fashion Week 
