London Fashion Week is back and the ongoing Spring/Summer 2025 collections mark the 40th anniversary of the fashion showcase since its inception in Kensington in 1984. Since then, the hallowed names of Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Simone Rocha, Vivienne Westwood, Christopher Kane, Daniel Lee and J.W. Anderson (just to name a few) have etched their mark on the fashion industry using London as a stepping point. However, if one were to look at the London Fashion Week (or LFW) line-up today, aside from Burberry, there are no other renowned fashion houses and designers have all but moved on to “greener pastures”. Even Victoria Beckham, once a permanent fixture at London Fashion Week, has decided to showcase in Paris in 2022. What happened?
London: Once Fashion’s Creative Crucible
Despite being a crucible for emerging designers, as a fashion capital London has failed to carry on their trajectory the way Paris, Milan and now New York have done. This has translated to the whittling of its days and the number of designer showcases.
London-born Kim Jones is the creative director of Dior Men and artistic director at Fendi while Irish designer Jonathan Anderson is the creative director of Loewe and most recently Sarah Burton was appointed the role of Givenchy’s creative director. Similarly, Simone Rocha, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, and the aforementioned Victoria Beckham all showcase at Paris Fashion Week leaving Daniel Lee to hold the fort at Burberry.
Does this mean that for a designer who either grew up, studied, or worked in London can only achieve success and international recognition when they are at the helm of an international Maison or showcasing at a fashion capital that isn’t London?
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Cream of the Creative Crop
London is famous for its esteemed alumni who once called the city home. Young designers from around the world travel to London to hone in on their design skills. London embraces individualism, and a niche within the already saturated market is not only celebrated but it is demanded of by tutors. John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Jonathan Anderson, Pheobe Philo and Simone Rocha are but a few names to graduate from the renowned Central Saint Martin College while Christopher Bailey, Vivienne Westwood, Stuart Vevers and Ashley Williams all call Westminster University their alma mater.
Despite a rigorous application process and an even more rigorous fight to their graduation showcase, there seems to be a lack in the level of support fashion designers achieve when they first debut their graduate collection as opposed to their third or fourth year in the industry. So why is there not the same level of support that goes into emerging designers that also goes into sustaining existing talents? “Keep Calm and Carry On Being Creative” reads the headline of Business of Fashion, however, at where is the point of intersection between creativity and profit-earning margins?
No Romance Without Finance
London fashion prides itself on creativity, whimsicality and unhindered expression backed by technical skill and prowess. Once in a while, a genius like Richard Quinn or Matty Bovan will come along and graduate with an accolade to their name like the first Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design presented by the late monarch herself (Quinn in 2018) or the L’Oréal Professionel Creative Award and the LVMH Graduate Prize (Bovan in 2015).
However, while their careers are met with steady success they have yet to take off toward an international trajectory. This could simply boil down to financial backing. “When it comes to creativity it is not necessarily the creative director themselves but it is the environment and how they can nurture and take their brands to the next level,” says stylist, editor and creative officer of MCD Creative, Mughni Che Din.
He adds, “London Fashion Week has been resting on their laurels which is the result of political and economic factors.” Perhaps this is why aside from finding success at the helm of international brands, one cannot undermine the value of nepotism.
Stella McCartney, the daughter of Beatles legend Paul McCartney, was notably supported in her fashion career; as a 2019 article reads, “…she was initially helped by her father…she was given a chance she would have not received if she were not Paul McCartney’s daughter. Her graduation collection was modeled by supermodels for free.”
Similarly, Simone Rocha is the daughter of designer John Rocha while aside from being “Posh Spice”, Victoria Beckham was the daughter of electronic engineer Anthony Adams who famously “drove in a Rolls-Royce”. The sway of economics and politics on the fashion industry are not to be underestimated. “Government support plays a crucial role in molding the designers,” says Mughni Che Din.
Not even considering mid-range designers like Mary Katrantzou, you find that people buy out the companies they founded like what Tamara Melon did for Jimmy Choo. Capital is important in determining potential, if designers cannot find an environment that can support their ideas, they need to look elsewhere to achieve success.
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A Failing Business Model
The purpose of a week-long industry event like fashion week is for designers to display their collections to the media and prospective buyers. The buyers and media then foresee upcoming trends for the approaching seasons which aim to influence consumer buying patterns. Buyers from Selfridges and Harvey Nichols or the now floundering e-retailers such as Net-a-Porter, Matches, Ssense and MyTheresa once played a pivotal role in showcasing brands.
However, what happens when the media you are displaying your collections for no longer has the influence it once did? Or when buyers are no longer able to accurately predict what will bring in profits? Designers go direct to consumer, forgoing fashion week altogether.
As FashionUnited.Uk reports, “Financial struggles persist for many designers trying to afford shows or events. Last year, designers such as SS Daley, Robyn Lynch, and Dilara Findikoğlu faced financial constraints, leading them to opt-out of showcasing.”
Speaking exclusively to LUXUO, London-based fashion journalist and former editor at the Daily Mail Express Natalie Chuis shares, “London Fashion Week is completely irrelevant and really doesn’t have a huge impact on shopping behaviour to this day. If you look at the rise of brands like Damson Madder for example, it is all going straight to the consumer versus the media and press, because the media in the UK have less of a hold on consumer shopping behaviour. Even designers like Craig Green, Lou Dalton, Sibling, Julien Macdonald, eventually stop showing.”
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London Fashion Week is a Joke
London Fashion Week was once a dynamic arena that showcases that has now morphed to become somewhere where influencers congregate. “It is about how many celebrities can give a shout-out to a magazine and which magazine uploads it the fasted on Instagram,” says Mughni Che Din. Some would argue that the beginning of the end came around the time of the BREXIT referendum in 2016 while there were preexisting factors, the economic and social shift post-BREXIT saw a halt in the freedom of movement, where previously young European designers could study and work in the United Kingdom now faced exorbitant tuition fees alongside the Conservative Party-led rhetoric asking “foreigners to go home”. These factors became a deterrent for young international students while companies facing their own financial losses struggled to give them financial backing. So what are they left with? The end of London Fashion Week was truly encapsulated when BooHoo and Pretty Little Thing made a showcase in 2022. The days of Topman and Topshop are long gone and in its place are BooHoo, ASOS, and Pretty Little Thing.
Prior to this, London Fashion Week had tethered the line of “accessible high street” with Topshop and Topman. Topshop and Topman were successful in creating elevated runway pieces set at an increased yet accessible price point that was made well and still had an aspect of fashion fantasy. London Collection’s Men was equally dynamic. With in the wake of the pandemic (which saw Topshop’s parent company Arcadia Group go bust) and BREXIT, the financial void was filled with fast fashion. BooHoo had a hold on the market simply because there were no competitors within the sector. The rise of fast fashion saw the increased presence of influencers and reality TV stars gracing the front rows of Fashion Week. Previously, the sighting of David Gandy, Lucky Blue Smith or Tom Daley was a rare thrilling moment however, the recent London Fashion Week showcases see celebrities pack the spaces as journalists, members of the media, and buyers and were slowly elbowed out to third and fourth rows.
This is the case as highly popular reality television shows like Love Island and Made in Chelsea often have sponsorship deals with brands like Pretty Little Thing. So what you ended up with at London Fashion Week was a showcase of fashion that was made in China with “creative direction” done by people (Molly-Mae Hague) who have millions of social media followers but dont know anything about fashion design, surrounded by an audience of their peers who were equally fashion illiterate. “As an influencer, if you have been styled at show, what does style really mean to you?” says Mughni Che Din. This sentiment is echoed by Natalie Chui who tells LUXUO “high street brands like Pretty Little Thing, BooHoo showcase at London Fashion Week because it adds more authority and credibility to their “designs”.
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Burberry: London’s Final Luxury Forefront
As it stands the “jewel” of London fashion week is Burberry but the luxury label was not spared its fair share of financial troubles. In July, Burberry appointed Joshua Schulman, former CEO of Michael Kors and Coach, as its new chief executive officer. The BBNTimes reports that the former CEO, Jonathan Akeroyd departed after sales plummeted by more than 20 percent. The announcement led to a significant drop in Burberry’s stock that week which fell by 17 percent in midday trading on the London Stock Exchange, according to the report. Despite this, Burberry still manages to reinvent itself, keeping the Maison’s heritage maison alive while updating its styles to resonate with a youthful demographic. In other words, Daniel Lee’s creative direction is successfully holding the fort down for what might be a sinking ship of London Fashion Week. Daniel Lee has successfully modernised the famous Burberry trench, which as a report says “brought a breath of fresh air to a fashion giant hit by financial troubles”. Celebrities the likes of Barry Keoghan, Jourdan Dunn and Normani descended to the show space at London’s National Theatre, highlighting the international pull that Burberry maintains.
Yes, There Is Still Hope For LFW
London Fashion Week still has the potential for relevance (for now). Interestingly enough, it is the young Indian and Chinese designers who still leverage on London Fashion Week’s platform that make it dynamic. Huishan Zhang, Yuhan Wang and Mithridate are part of the new wave of Chinese talent that sees London as a valuable litmus test for their designers on an international platform. Then you have London-based menswear designers Kaushik Velendra and HARRI (hailing from Kerala) who weave together their personal themes into their sartorial artistry. The diversity and cultural influences of these designers (albeit without the powerful backing they are yet to achieve) showcase that London Fashion Week is still a vibrant backdrop for emerging talent. While it may not be home to major fashion houses like Milan or have a long-standing tradition of haute couture like Paris, London’s impact of being the starting point for emerging designers should not be overlooked.
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