London Fashion Week Shakes Up Calendar Ahead of Queen Elizabeth’s Funeral on Sept. 19
LONDON — Designers taking part in London Fashion Week have been forced to make last-minute adjustments to the timing of their spring 2023 shows given the mourning period following Queen Elizabeth II’s death, and the funeral, which is set to take place on Monday.
Burberry, a Royal Warrant holder, was forced to cancel its show on Saturday, and has settled on a new date: Sept. 26 at noon. The show will take place in London after the Milan collections end, and as Paris begins. Burberry said Monday it would confirm the location in due course.
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Following the queen’s death last Thursday, the British government has been urging businesses not to cancel trade events during the mourning period, with the exception of Monday, which has been declared a national holiday.
It’s expected that over one million people will travel to London to pay their respects to the queen, who will lie in state at Westminster Hall from Wednesday until the funeral at 11 a.m. on Monday.
Transport for London has said services will be “very busy” with passengers urged “to allow plenty of extra time for their journeys and to avoid driving where possible,” while Downing Street warned Monday that commuters may want to “change their working patterns accordingly.”
London Fashion Week was originally set to run from Friday to 20, and it will still go ahead every day with the exception of Monday, when no shows or events will take place.
The British Fashion Council, which organizes the week, has also asked designers and brands to refrain from holding parties, or the usual celebratory events that mark the week.
The organization is keen to preserve what has become an important marketing moment for designers, whose businesses were damaged during two years of lockdown due to COVID-19.
Instead, the BFC is planning a celebration in honor of London Fashion Week “with a focus on London as a creative capital” in October, which will include citywide parties and store activations.
Most of Monday’s events have been moved to Sept. 20, which originally only had two shows: the South Korean fashion label Bmuet(te) and the LVMH Prize shortlisted Canadian-Chinese designer Susan Fang.
Richard Quinn, the inaugural recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design, has moved his show from Sunday night to Sept. 20 at 7 p.m., to close the London Fashion Week.
It’s understood that Quinn will pay tribute to the monarch, who turbocharged his fashion career when she sat in his front row and handed him the award in 2018. It was her first-ever visit to London Fashion Week.
Over the weekend the American fashion designer Harris Reed spoke up about why fashion week needed to go ahead.
He said his fellow young designers “have put their entire brand budgets into their shows to bring in sales and brand awareness,” with the ultimate aim of building their businesses, rather than having to wrap up or restructure them. It’s so important now more than ever to support and be there for the small brands at London Fashion Week,” he said.
The London-based Greek fashion designer Eftychia Karamolegkou, who was supposed to present her spring 2023 collection next Monday morning, confessed that for emerging brands like hers, not doing a show is simply “not affordable.”
“I don’t have advertising spreads on magazines. I can’t splash millions for a campaign, and my only impactful visibility is this show. Canceling a show that has been planned and prepared in advance and includes a team of people is like burning banknotes just for fun. I prefer to use these banknotes in a more sustainable way,” she added.
American-Chinese designer Chet Lo was due to host his solo runway debut on Sept. 19 after graduating from Fashion East. He also argued that “canceling a show that we’ve spent months and money on is not an option.”
“Of course, this is an important moment in U.K. history that will change a lot of what it means to be British, but for an emerging designer making a life in London, it’s a difficult situation. For us, fashion week is a massive source of income,” he added.
The Romania-born, London-based Ancuța Sarca, founder of her namesake footwear brand, said she looked forward to her first in-real-life presentation in three years, which has been moved from Monday to Sunday.
“We’ve been working restlessly for the past months. I’m hoping that the international press and buyers attending London Fashion Week will consider supporting us with their presence, as U.K. coverage has been withheld until after the showcase,” she added.
On Monday afternoon, the BFC released an updated schedule after speaking to designers, brands and members of the British fashion press.
It also outlined a list of plans, including a moment of silence at the start of the showcase, a memorial wall where people can write tributes to the queen, and a new set of guidelines.
The BFC has urged “the international fashion community to attend London Fashion Week and continue to support the designers and the extraordinarily hard work they have put into these presentations and collections.”
Here is everything to know about how London Fashion Week has been impacted by the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who has canceled their shows, who is moving into new show slot and who is pressing ahead as planned.
New Slots
Eftychia: The Greek fashion designer Eftychia Karamolegkou has moved her Monday 10 a.m. slot to Sept. 20 at the same time as the Newgen catwalk space at Old Selfridges Hotel.
Chopova Lowena: The design duo Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena will move their London Fashion Week runway debut from Monday to Friday evening, taking Raf Simons’ original slot at 8 p.m. Simons, as reported, will no longer be showing in London this season.
Ancuța Sarca: The brand has moved its presentation slot to Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Pronounce: The Shanghai and Milan-based label, founded by Yushan Li and Jun Zhou, has moved its show slot from 1 p.m. on Monday to 4 p.m. on Sept. 20.
Sinead O’Dwyer: Her slot has been moved from 2 p.m. on Monday to the same time on Sept. 20.
Christopher Kane: The Scottish fashion designer has moved his spring 2023 show from 3 p.m on Monday to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
Dilara Findikoglu: She has moved her slot from 5 p.m. on Monday to 2 p.m. on Friday.
Chet Lo: The American-Chinese designer has moved his solo runway debut after graduating from Fashion Week from Monday to Sept. 20 at 6 p.m.
Emilia Wickstead: The London-based designer has moved her presentation from Monday at 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 20.
Paul & Joe: The brand has moved its show from 7 p.m. on Monday to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Burberry’s original show slot. Burberry, a Royal Warrant holder, has postponed its show.
Helen Anthony: The brand has moved from 8 p.m. on Monday to 10 a.m. on Friday.
Roksanda: The brand is still looking at options for its spring 2023 show. The brand’s original slot was at noon on Monday.
Susan Fang: The Canadian-Chinese designer has moved her London runway debut slot one hour earlier on Sept. 20 from 2 to 1 p.m. The LVMH Prize shortlisted designer will take over the Marshall Street swimming pool in Central London to present her spring 2023 collection.
Richard Quinn: The inaugural recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design has moved his show from Sunday night to Sept. 20 at 7 p.m., to close London Fashion Week.
Canceled
Burberry: A Royal Warrant holder, or official supplier to the royal family, the brand has canceled its spring 2023 fashion show, which had been scheduled to take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Raf Simons: The Belgian designer was scheduled to make his London debut and showcase his spring 2023 collection Friday night, but has decided to pull out from showing during London Fashion Week. The brand has yet to reveal its next step.
Roberta Einer: The Estonian fashion designer has decided to cancel her spring 2023 show. Instead, Einer will be releasing the spring 2023 collection with a look book. The brand will continue to showcase the collection during Paris Fashion Week for wholesale buyers and media appointments.
Patrick McDowell: His scheduled show at the Jimmy Choo Academy on Monday has been postponed. While an alternative date is still being decided, a press preview of his upcoming collection will be hosted at the Jimmy Choo Academy this Thursday and Friday.
Di Petsa: The brand has canceled its presentation on Monday. A digital look book will be revealed on Sept. 20.
Kaushik Velendra: The Indian men’s wear designer on Brook Street has decided to postpone his pre-Diwali party on Friday night.
Edeline Lee: The designer was supposed to show her new collection via a presentation on Monday between 12:30 and 2:30 p.m., but will be doing appointments instead and will stage a live runway show in February.
Purdey: The high-end British brand specializing in countryside sports, and owned by Compagnie Financière Richemont, has postponed its spring 2023 preview originally set for Thursday and Friday.
Pariah Corp: The brand founded by Ivan Zinko, son of the fashion designer Natasha Zinko, has postponed its presentation on Sept. 20.
Prada Beauty: The Milanese brand has canceled the Prada Paradoxe fragrance launch on Thursday night. A rescheduled date will be confirmed shortly.
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