London Rules The World
25-07-2016
‘London rules the world. Never before has our capital been such a centre of creativity.’
Introduced as ‘fashions leading commentator’ Dylan Jones took to the main stage at Pure London, held at Olympia to discuss London, and the influence the city has on the rest of the world, especially within the fashion industry.
“For lots of people, London is a really big deal. People are not interested in us, but in London.” Jones explains. Continuing that on a recent trip to Shanghai it became apparent that people are fascinated in our lively capital.
Faced with numerous problems and concerns such as the recent Brexit, the GQ editor addresses the results that shook the UK, explaining “we must continue to show confidence in our city.” He later continues “ordinary people are being pushed to the margins, there is a danger that our creativity is going to be stiffened.”
He continues, “London is the hierarchy of the fashion industry.. it is more fashionable than all of those cities (New York, Paris, Milan) put together. For many people London is a big deal and we must pull together through the problems and show confidence – confidence is the most important thing.”
Jenny Holloway, CEO, previously spoke upon the Brexit stating: “We will stand up and protect our outstanding migrant workforce and continue to invest in the factory and Fashion Technology Academy for the future growth of the sector. What is clear now is that we need to work together throughout the UK.”
Speaking about London Collections Mens that was launched by Prince Charles and has contributed £40 million to London, Dylan Jones informs the audience that people ‘see a city that is not only fun, but thriving… London is a creative forced and London Collections Men offered the ability for brands to pitch and show their clothes in the coolest city.’
‘London Collections Mens has a strong empathis on heritage – something that oversees obsession and anticipation’ he continues. ‘The event gives designers from Copenhagen and Hong Kong the ability to showcase here in London gaining exposure from British buyers and consumers.’
Whilst it is apparent in his keynote that the menswear industry is still not as large as the womenswear, Jones reassures us that the menswear industry is definitely growing. “Menswear is where the real innovation is happening. Consumer demand is higher than ever and men expect quality at a price that the market is delivering.”
Gushing about the city that he has lived and worked in for the last 40 years, the editor goes on to say “London is at the centre of it all. London has form for menswear due to tradition and rebellion as well as locations such as Saville Row.”
Addressing that the fashion industry is changing due to consumer trends and the social media boom as well as influence from millennials, Jones comments “our industry as we know it is going through serious disruption… we are dealing with a world controlled largely by social media… we are embracing and anticipating the change in the fashion industry.”
For those unable to afford to live in the capital city and explore what there is on offer within the fashion industry he recommends “creative hubs need to be encouraged for those that cannot afford to live in London, we have a lot of great designers and young talent in the UK that other cities such as New York can not compare too – we need to support these designers as much as we can.” Relating to this, FashionCapital offer a range of memberships and mentoring schemes to help young talent create and grow their own collections and ranges, offering them a creative hub regardless of their location.
“We are a unique city and we need to remain so… We need to treasure this.”
Dylan Jones ends his 30 minute keynote by referring to Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London.
“London is open!”
By Shivanee Tailor and Rebekah Litherland
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