London Fashion Week Feb 2019

London fashion week Feb 2019 data

Over 100 businesses demonstrating creativity and innovation were showcased at London Fashion Week 2019 which drew visitors from 49 countries.

For the event, which ran from Feb 15th to 19th, the British Fashion Council put its focus on a move towards more sustainable practices and the Positive Fashion initiative through a partnership with BBC Earth and designer Amy Powney of Mother of Pearl.

The collaboration explored the impact that the fashion industry has on the planet while highlighting the positive tangible opportunity for sustainable fashion choices by businesses and mindful consumer behaviour.

On Tuesday 19th February, the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design was presented to Bethany Williams by the Duchess of Cornwall. The Award recognises creativity in design while embedding sustainability and community practices within the business.

The show schedule featured over 100 catwalk shows, presentations and events. This season, there were 52 designers on the LFW Show Schedule, 31 presentations, 17 events, over 60 designers exhibiting in the Designer Showrooms and 7 NEWGEN designers in the NEWGEN Designer Pop-up.

To mark the week, the British Fashion Council announced new data from Mintel on the British Fashion Industry:

Consumer spending on womenswear rose 5.5 per cent to £30.9billion in 2018, with womenswear now accounting for 51 per cent of the total clothing market, whilst menswear accounted for 26 per cent. According to Mintel, consumer spending on clothing is forecast to rise 25 per cent to £76 billion in the next five years to 2023.

Further stats:

• The fashion industry directly contributed £32.3billion to the UK GDP in 2017 ($41.8billion). This represents a 5.4 per cent increase after 2016; a growth rate 1.6 per cent higher than the rest of the economy.  The Fashion industry employs almost as many people as the financial sector with 890,000 jobs (Oxford Economics, 2018)
• £42bn contributed by culture and creativity to London’s economy per year (london.gov.uk)
• £10m generated every hour by the Creative Industries (london.gov.uk)
• 1 in 11 of all UK jobs are in the UK creative economy.  This comprises jobs in the creative industries and creative jobs which are in non-creative organisations (e.g. design or marketing teams within manufacturers). (Creative Industries Council, July 2018)
• 1 in 6 jobs in London are in the creative economy (london.gov.uk)

The London Fashion Week catwalk and presentation schedule, Designer Showrooms and DiscoveryLAB at The Store X, 180 Strand featured the very best of emerging and established names within the industry.

This season included the return to London of Vivienne Westwood, winner of the Swarovski Award for Positive Change at The Fashion Awards 2018. Victoria Beckham showed in London for the second season and following last season’s much anticipated first collection under new Chief Creative Officer Riccardo Tisci, Burberry hosted its catwalk show on Sunday 17th February.  London’s New Establishment continued to be a key draw with shows including Erdem, JW Anderson, Christopher Kane, Simone Rocha, Roksanda, Emilia Wickstead, Peter Pilotto and Mary Katrantzou.

The NEWGEN 2018/19 line-up, the internationally celebrated BFC talent identification scheme included catwalk shows from Kiko Kostadinov and Matty Bovan, Halpern, Richard Malone, Supriya Lele and Paula Knorr.

Wales Bonner joined the womenswear schedule for the first time presenting a co-ed show whilst Richard Quinn, British Emerging Talent Womenswear winner at The Fashion Awards 2018 in partnership with Swarovski.  NEWGEN Accessories designer ISOSCELES Lingerie showcased her collection within the DiscoveryLAB and Alighieri and The Season Hats had dedicated space in the Designer Showrooms.

New additions to the schedule included 16Arlington, Asai and Symonds Pearmain. Other internationally celebrated designers participants included Adidas x Ji Won Choi, A.W.A.K.E Mode, Alexa Chung, Alice Archer, Amanda Wakeley, Ashish, Ashley Williams, Aspinal of London, Bora Aksu, Chalayan, David Koma, Edeline Lee, Emma Charles, ERRORTIQUE, Eudon Choi, Fashion East, Fyodor Golan, Gayeon Lee, House of Holland, Huishan Zhang, International Woolmark Prize, IZZUE, Jamie Wei Huang, Jasper Conran, Jenny Packham, Johnstons of Elgin, Malene Oddershede Bach, Margaret Howell, Markus Lupfer, Marta Jakubowski, Molly Goddard, Mother of Pearl, N atasha Zinko, On/Off, Pam Hogg, Paul Costelloe, Ports 1961, Preen by Thornton Bregazzi, Pringle of Scotland, Push Button, RIXO London, Rejina Pyo, Roberta Einer, Roberts Wood, Roland Mouret, Ryan LO, Shrimps, Tara Lilly, Tata Naka, Toga, OSMAN, Toogood, Xiao Li, Xu Zhi and Zandra Rhodes.

Another aspect of London Fashion Week is the International Fashion Showcase (IFS), which nurtures and presents work from the best up-and-coming fashion talent from around the world. The biennial fashion presentation is a partnership between the British Council, British Fashion Council, London College of Fashion, UAL and Somerset House.

For London Fashion Week this February, the showcase had a new format. For the first time, 16 selected designers from across the globe showcased a series of compelling installations to represent their respective country. The designers explored politics, sustainability, identity and heritage and show their latest designs in immersive environments.

The 16 countries represented were: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, India, Georgia, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Lithuania, Netherlands, Rwanda, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Uruguay and Vietnam.

The generosity and commitment of sponsors, suppliers and supporters is more vital than ever.  These included: Official Sponsors Code 8, Evening Standard, JD.com, Inc., Lavazza, The May Fair Hotel, Mercedes-Benz, Nivea, The Store X, TONI&GUY; Official Suppliers Bags of Ethics, DHL, evian, Fashion & Beauty Monitor, The Gel Bottle, Getty Images, Lärabar, Launchmetrics, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, PROPERCORN, Propress, Scavi & Ray Prosecco, S by Sloggi; Official Supporters: The Department for International Trade, The European Regional Development Fund and The Mayor of London.