London Fashion Week is Coming But Not As You Know It…

The show must go on…even if it’s via livestream. In just under a week London Fashion Week will begin its bi-annual showcase of designer talent and to kick off the proceedings Burberry will present their latest designs live and online on Thursday 17th September 2020.

While Covid-19 continues to play havoc with large events and mass gatherings, it has also sparked a new wave of working that includes staying put and communicating online. London Fashion Week is one of the very few international events to still be going ahead in London, and has been split into three sections to include brands showing digitally, physically or both.

What was once deemed as an ‘invite only’ event is about to be democratised on the world-wide-web for all to see. The LFW digital platform, launched in June, will continue to serve as the Official Digital Hub and will be freely accessible to everyone, industry professionals and global fashion consumers alike. The platform will host exclusive multimedia content from designers and brand partners, enabling collaboration and bringing together fashion, culture and technology.

There is no doubt that the British fashion industry faces enormous challenges due to the impact of COVID-19 and the British Fashion Council (BFC) is working closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to mitigate these challenges and support  a sector which in 2019 contributed £35 billion to the UK economy and employs over 890,000 people (Oxford Economics, 2020).

The BFC has worked very closely with DCMS to establish guidelines on social distancing to guarantee the safety of both the guests and those working at the physical events.

Brands showing with both a digital and physical presence are Bethany Williams, Bora Aksu, Christopher Kane, David Koma, Edeline Lee, Emilia Wickstead, Emilio de la Morena, ERDEM, Eudon Choi, Fashion East, Halpern, Kaushik Velendra, Mark Fast, Molly Goddard, Osman, Paul Costelloe, PREEN by Thornton Bregazzi, PRONOUNCE, Temperley London, TOGA and Victoria Beckham.

Physical events this season will include a hybrid of appointments, exhibitions, presentations, and socially distanced catwalk shows. Internationally celebrated brands Eudon Choi, Molly Goddard and Victoria Beckham will return to the schedule with salon shows/presentations while brands including Christopher Kane, David Koma, Edeline Lee, Emilia Wickstead, ERDEM, Halpern, Margaret Howell, Paul Costelloe, PREEN by Thornton Bregazzi, ROKSANDA, Sharon Wauchob, Simone Rocha, Supriya Lele, Temperley London and TOGA will present their new collections by invitation-only appointments. Bora Aksu, Mark Fast and PRONOUNCE will be hosting socially distanced catwalk shows. Bethany Williams, Emilio de la Morena, paria /FARZANEH, Osman, University of Westminster MA Menswear are also planning physical activations on-schedule. Agne Kuzmickaite, Cyberdog X Kappa, Ingrid Kraftchenko and Kaushik Velendra, will activate through physical evening events.

Designers with a digital only presence include 16ARLINGTON, 1×1 Studio, 8ON8, ACCIDENTAL CUTTING, ART SCHOOL, BIANCA SAUNDERS, Burberry, Charlotte Knowles, Choose Love, CONSTANÇA ENTRUDO, DANSHAN, Edward Crutchley, EFTYCHIA, Feng Chen Wang, FYODOR GOLAN, Hill & Friends, Hillier Bartley, Jamie Wei Huang, JORDANLUCA, JW Anderson, KIKIITO, Liam Hodges, Luna Del Pinal, Lupe Gajardo, L.Y.P.H., Marques’ Almeida, MARRKNULL, Matty Bovan, MAXXIJ, Misa Harada, Natasha Zinko x DUOLtd X G-Shock, NAYAL, On|Off Presents…, palmer//harding, Per Götesson, Phoebe English, QASIMI, RÆBURN, Richard Malone, Richard Quinn, RIXO, Robyn Lynch, SONIA CARRASACO, Stephen Jones Millinery, Susan Fang, Typical Freaks, Vinti Andrews, Vivienne Westwood and Xander Zhou.

Other features of London Fashion Week this September will include Designer Profile Pages and wholesale showrooms, the BFC Fashion Forum podcasts, a behind-the-scenes look with the Designer Diaries, a FASHION ZOO talk on sustainability, films, competitions, click & shop and more courtesy of LFW’s leading sponsors.

London Fashion Week – 17 – 22 September 2020

To find out more and view online content go to: www.londonfashionweek.co.uk.