LONDON.- Designers, influencersbuyers and celebrities meet today -February 16- for the 40th anniversary of Fashion Week Moda London, trying to forget the gloomy economic situation of the United Kingdom and the sector.
On physical or virtual catwalks, around 60 emerging talents and fashion icons such as Burberry will present their autumn/winter 2024 collections throughout London, and will try to convey the audacity and energy of this multicultural capital.
The show by Irish and American Paul Costelloe, one of Princess Diana’s favorite designers, kicked off the London Fashion Weekwithout the presence of the veteran creator, 78 years old, in bed due to a viral infection.
Your collection Once upon a Time pays tribute to the city of New York, where he resided. The couturier presented a classic design, in which yellow taxis and skyscrapers appear on scarves or blouses, accompanied by large coats.
For her part, the Ukrainian Masha Popova presented a collection inspired by the fashion of the early 2000s.
The weekend will give way to better-known names such as JW Anderson, declared designer of the year 2023 by Vogue; Richard Quinn, Ahluwalia or Simone Rocha, invited by Jean-Paul Gaultier for his spring/summer 2024 haute couture collection in Paris a few weeks ago.
Crisis period in the fashion industry
This 40th edition is not taking place in the best of contexts for the British fashion industry. After Brexit, which penalized trade with Europe, the United Kingdom has been going through a severe purchasing power crisis caused by inflation for almost two years, putting young households in difficulties.
New brands are increasingly questioning the convenience of investing thousands of pounds in fashion shows, such as Dilara Findikoglu who, last September, surprised by announcing the cancellation of her fashion show for economic reasons.
This industry employs almost 900,000 people in the United Kingdom and contributes 21 billion pounds (about $26.3 billion) to the British economy, according to the British Fashion Council (BFC), which organizes the event.
“However, the sector is going through a delicate period,” said BFC director Caroline Rush in an interview with AFP.
“But what 40 years of hindsight teaches us is that it is in the most economically difficult periods that we see the most incredible creativity,” he added.
In 1984, a tent set up in front of the former Commonwealth Institute, in west London, hosted the first edition of British Fashion Week.
Without being held in high regard in its beginnings, London Fashion Week took off thanks to legendary and rebellious designers like Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano, who put the city on the fashion map.
Then came the era Cool Britanniain the late ’90s, a period of cultural euphoria in which Stella McCartney and Matthew Williamson dressed supermodels Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell.
talent lab
Since then, the London week has lost its power of attraction, with the departure of renowned designers and houses, who now prefer to show in Paris, such as Alexander McQueen, Victoria Beckham and Stella McCartney.
But its British Fashion Council Newgen sponsorship programme, which has facilitated the emergence of many young designers, has confirmed London’s position as a talent laboratory.
This anniversary edition wants to place itself under the sign of greater diversity and inclusion, both in the bodies, age or skin color of the models, as well as in the collections, with creators and inspirations from the Caribbean, Iran or Ethiopia.
FUENTE: AFP
