British Fashion Council Ups the Ante on Consumer Event
FASHION FESTIVAL: The British Fashion Council is continuing to develop London Fashion Week Festival, a four-day consumer-facing event taking place after London Fashion Week, on Sept. 20 to 23.
This year’s lineup, unveiled today, will see a series of runway shows by emerging British talent take place, alongside industry talks and shopping experiences. The aim of the event — which drew up to 14,000 people last year — is to re-create the atmosphere of LFW for the public and offer brands a chance to connect directly with their customers.
Contemporary label Mother of Pearl will stage a see-now-buy-now show, to showcase the same collection it will present to press and buyers during LFW. Up-and-coming British labels — such as Bobby Abley and Georgia Hardinge, who don’t have a presence on the official London schedule — will also host catwalk shows during the festival. Abley’s collection, dubbed “Bobbyland,” has been created in collaboration with Warner Bros. and is said to be filled with humorous, pop culture references.
Off the catwalk, there will be shopping galleries put together by British influencer Millie MacKintosh and featuring a mix of established and emerging British designers, as well as a homeware section overseen by Erica Davis, another influencer specializing in interiors.
Another up-and-coming British name, Liam Hodges, will take part by offering an exclusive capsule created alongside one of the BFC’s new partners for the event, Low Heat, which is a new platform pioneered by the global music platform Boiler Room to share the work of local and international artists.
Among the talks on offer are a discussion on the life and work of Azzedine Alaïa by Alice Black, the codirector of the Design Museum; a “Women in Fashion” panel exploring diversity issues in the industry, as well as a talk by model and activist Charli Howard to discuss body image in the social media age.
Tickets for the event range from 20 pounds to 200 pounds.
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