“I have never had a moment like it before. We were all around the TV in the studio watching the updates until we found out the Queen had died,” says Chet Lo, a 25-year-old knitwear designer based in London.
On Tuesday he will host his first solo show at London Fashion Week, and is one of many independent labels who could not afford to cancel with a fortnight to go. “I’ve been given a lot of support, but the cost for shows can be in the tens of thousands. You know when you bleed yourself dry at the end of the month and you think, my next pay cheque is going to cover all this — that is the situation.” When news broke of Her Majesty’s passing at 6.30pm last Thursday, shock and grief mixed with creeping fear as designers who have spent six months preparing new collections realised London Fashion Week, which is running from September 15-20, would fall during the period of national mourning and the day of the Queen’s funeral.
