As London Fashion Week Men’s kicks off today, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and queen of punk fashion Dame Vivienne Westwood, hail London the fashion capital of the world, thanks to it’s growing status in the fashion world and opportunities for new designers.
Speaking of London’s thriving fashion industry, Mr Khan said:
“London Fashion Week Men’s is a truly international celebration of fashion, design and creativity. Our city can now legitimately lay claim to being one of the big four fashion capitals of the world, alongside Paris, Milan and New York. As Mayor, I’m proud to be able to provide funding to support this event and the next generation of London designers.
From Burberry to Stella McCartney, Agi & Sam to Vivienne Westwood, London has been at the forefront of modern fashion, shaping and defining the latest styles and trends for decades.”
Vivienne Westwood was also quick to sing her praises for the capital, expressing how the recent buzz around London’s fashion scene was enough to encourage her to move back to the city from Italy, telling the Evening Standard:
“I’ve been working in Italy because I appreciate the cost of manufacturing there, but for reasons of efficiency and because it is our home we decided to come back to London – because London has suddenly got on the map.”
LWFM is now in its fifth year and is expected to see a 20 per cent increase in the number of buyers and designers, making it bigger and better than ever. Things are about to change for the fashion industry however, as the event marks a shift in the traditional bi-annual fashion week format, as more and more designers have decided to mix up the way that they showcase their collections.
Vivienne Westwood is just one to name a few who will be doing things a bit differently this year, having come to the decision to combine both her men’s and women’s collections for one of the most highly anticipated shows of the week.
