Brits Lead the Show at London Fashion Week
August 16, 2008 by Stephen S Alison
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The home team… Brits lead the show at London Fashion Week Daily Mail, UK - By Ellen Widdup
Luella, Christopher Kane and Stella McCartney are some of the homegrown stars who will be showing at London Fashion Week next month.
The new catwalk schedule for the spring/summer collections reveals that of the 53 designers featured, 40 are British, including veterans Jasper Conran, Jaeger, Nicole Farhi, Amanda Wakeley, Betty Jackson and Ossie Clark.
This season’s hot picks include adidas by McCartney, Marios Schwab and former Vogue journalist Luella Bartley.
The Issa collection - by Brazilian designer Daniella Issa Helayel - is also likely to be of interest after recent reports that Prince William’s girlfriend Kate Middleton favours the brand.
There is no sign of global couture stars such as Gucci, Dior, Chanel and Prada, who have always avoided London Fashion Week, preferring the catwalks of New York, Milan or Paris.
But a spokeswoman for this year’s six-day event , which starts on 14 September, insisted organisers were more interested in properly showcasing the work of London designers than attracting names from abroad. “London Fashion Week is known for promoting British designer fashion to global audiences,” she said.
“One of the key attractions for international buyers is to see the exciting new creative talents coming out of London.
“The same can be said for the New York show, which attracts predominantly American designers; or Milan, where you get the likes of Armani or Valentino; and Paris, which features designers like Dior. Our schedule is diverse but it focuses a lot on homegrown talent.
“The show includes iconic designers such as Betty Jackson and established names like Jasper Conran through to rising stars like Giles Deacon and the new generation taking their first steps into developing their businesses, like Louise Goldin.”
But one fashion insider said the lack of international names meant London Fashion Week failed to attract key magazine editors and buyers from the major international stores.
She said: “London has always been the poor cousin of Paris but this schedule just makes your heart sink. There are some good British designers on offer but they have been squeezed into slots alongside some other more bland and boring collections.
“The older established [British] designers deserve to be there but at the same time, they are unlikely to set the stage alight. Fashion editors and buyers will not take the time or pay to fly to London, get all dressed up and then have to sit through six or seven collections before they see anything worthwhile.”
Another expert said: “One fashion director from Barneys in New York is worth 20 from stores in the UK.”
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