“I believe that London is really the greatest fashion capital in the world,” BFC Chairman Natalie Massenet said at the London Fashion Week launch event this morning, explaining that it is, “the centre of creative talent, a hub of technological innovation and a vibrant business community — with Fashion Week at its creative and commercial heart — attended by thousands and watched by millions worldwide”.
Massenet, who will receive a Damehood at Buckingham Palace tomorrow morning, highlights British designers reimagining the catwalk format. “It is exciting to see so much talk of a new focus on the consumer, a re-thinking of the platforms we can use to engage with them and an embracing of change,” she says, noting that, “From the outset of my time as Chairman we have been championing opening up our world and sharing the experience; so many designers have supported that vision including Burberry’s recent news [that they are combining menswear and womenswear into one see-it-now, buy-it-now show] that shines such a strong light on our leadership in this field. We are very proud that this started in London”.
Speaking about technical innovation at London Fashion Week, Massenet says, “We were the first capital to live stream our shows from our central venue in 2009 making London now a capital for Fashion and Technology… Living and breathing in the digital world informs everything that we do. As an organisation we amplify our events to a global audience through live streaming, social media and content distribution”. This season, catwalk shows at London Fashion Week will be livestreamed online and to outdoor screens in London and around the UK with a projected audience of 37 million people over the week. Massenet also noted that, “97% of our designers are on Instagram, 87% on Facebook and 86% on Twitter reaching millions of fashion fans across the world”.
The BFC Chairman also reveals that, “At last official count our industry was worth £26billion to the UK economy and employed 800,000 people,” adding that a designer survey, “shows that our micro businesses have grown by over 110% in the past three years and are forecasting a more ambitious growth plan for the next three years,” with a majority of the 153 designers on schedule reporting that they have been directly or indirectly supported by the British Fashion Council.
London Fashion Week events start from today, with the main catwalk schedule starting on Friday morning and continuing for five full days, closing on Tuesday evening next week.