London Fashion Week
London Fashion Week (LFW) is a clothing trade show that takes place in London, UK, twice a year, in February and September. The event showcases over 250 designers to a global audience of influential media and retailers. It is one of the "Big Five" global fashion weeks alongside Milan, Paris, New York, and Tokyo.[2][3][4]
London Fashion Week
Fashion catwalk shows and surrounding events
Semi-annually
180 Strand, London, United Kingdom
1984 (39 years)[1]
Over 5,000 press and buyers
British Fashion Council for the London Development Agency with help from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
History and Organisation[edit]
Organized by the British Fashion Council (BFC) for the London Development Agency with help from the Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills, London Fashion Week first took place in February 1984.[1] Lynne Franks had influenced the idea of putting together the London shows into a schedule.[5]
London Fashion Week has been hosted on High Street Kensington, the Duke of York’s Barracks, the Natural History Museum, Battersea Park, Somerset House, and the Eurostar terminal of Waterloo Station.[5]
It currently ranks alongside New York, Paris, and Milan as one of the 'Big Four' fashion weeks.[6] It presents itself to funders[7] as a trade event that also attracts significant press attention and benefits taxpayers. Over 5,000 press and buyers, with orders of over £100 million.[8] A retail-focused event, London Fashion Week Festival, takes place immediately afterward at the same venue and is open to the general public.[9]
On-schedule events used to take place either at the British Fashion Council's own show space, 180 Strand, or at external locations around central London.
During SS16 (shown September 2015) and AW16 (shown February 2016), British Fashion Council made the decision to host the designers' showrooms at the 'Vinyl Factory', situated at the active car park in Soho, off Brewer Street.[10]
Following increasing numbers of anti-fur protesters, the London Fashion Week held in September 2018 was the first major fashion week to be fur-free.[11]
London Fashion Week Men's[edit]
In June 2012, London introduced London Collections: Men, in addition to the collections, shows in spring/summer and autumn/winter. Since its first installment, the showcase has grown by 67% and included 77 separate designers in June 2015.[13] London Collections: Men’s name was changed from the Autumn/Winter 2017 season as London Fashion Week Men's, to help better reflect the growing consumer focus of the event.[14]
London Fashion Week Festival[edit]
Following London Fashion Week each season, the 4-day London Fashion Week Festival (LFWF), formerly known as London Fashion Weekend, offers a consumer-orientated fashion week experience.[15]
Held at The Store Studios, 180 The Strand, LFWF allows consumers to shop a curated edit of designer collections at show-exclusive prices, sit front row at catwalk shows by London Fashion Week designers, get a head start on the key trends of the coming season and listen to talks by industry experts.[16]