London Fashion Week has started, the occasion when the capital shows off its creative brilliance to the world, and this year, thank goodness, the parties are happening again.
The big names aren’t yet back in town – there are no shows from Burberry, Victoria Beckham and Christopher Kane — but that is good news for young creative talent which has a new chance to shine.
There is lots to look forward to from the likes of Molly Goddard, Conner Ives, and 16 Arlington, for instance; many of the designers showing this week have taken on board concerns about sustainability and recycling, as well as glamour.
The shows will have all the colour, panache and creativity that London is famous for — along with the solid tailoring tradition of Saville Row. But we should not assume that because fashion is fun it need not be taken seriously.
London Fashion Week itself usually brings in more than £269 million for the capital. In 2019, the British fashion industry contributed £35 billion to the UK economy and employed almost 900,000 people directly, with more jobs indirectly attributable to fashion.
But these are challenging times. One estimate suggests that 240,000 jobs, representing more than a quarter of the UK fashion workforce, have been lost on account of Covid.
This makes it all the more important that this Fashion Week is a success. London is a global fashion centre and it needs support to thrive. This is a critical part of the economy. We look forward to a week of creativity and fun — the qualities for which the fashion world comes to London. The resurgence starts here.
