Frequency biannually Inaugurated 1983 | Location(s) London, United Kingdom | |
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Genre fashion catwalk shows and surrounding events Attendance over 5,000 press and buyers Organised by British Fashion Council for the London Development Agency with help from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills | ||
London Fashion Week is a clothing trade show held in London twice each year, in February and September. It is one of the "Big Four" fashion weeks, along with the New York, Milan and Paris.
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History and organisation
Organised 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 October 1983. It currently ranks alongside New York, Paris and Milan as one of the 'Big Four' fashion weeks. It presents itself to funders as a trade event that also attracts significant press attention and benefit to taxpayers. Currently, it is sponsored by Mercedes-Benz, and Toni & Guy. It states that it is attended by over 5,000 press and buyers, and has estimated orders of £40 million or £100 million. A retail-focused event, London Fashion Weekend, takes place immediately afterwards at the same venue and is open to the general public.
The current venue for most of the "on-schedule" events is Somerset House in central London, where a large marquee in the central courtyard hosts a series of catwalk shows by top designers and fashion houses, while an exhibition, housed within Somerset House itself, shows over 150 designers. However, many "off-schedule" events, such as Vauxhall Fashion Scout and On|Off, are organised by other private-funded groups and take place at other venues in central London.
London is the first city to host Fashion Week in the World.
Live video stream
In Spring 2010, London Fashion Week became the first of the Big 4 fashion week's to offer designers showing collections on the catwalk at Somerset House the opportunity to broadcast their shows live on the Internet.
London Collections Men
In Summer 2012, London introduced London Collections: Men, in addition to the collections shows in spring / summer and autumn / winter. Since its first instalment, the showcase has grown by 67% and will include 77 separate designers in June 2015.