Britain's fashion showcase has been more successful than ever, says Hillary Alexinders, with a mix of new stars and old favourites.
High drama and hot design went hand in hand at London Fashion Week. On the catwalk, the Great British Eccentric enjoyed a comeback, wrapped in a stylish, boho mix of belted tweed, patchwork and silk; jewelled and gloved - and never without a little fur shrug or stole adorning her shoulders.
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Julien Macdonald and Boudicca |
Boudicca and Sophia Kokosalaki staged
two of the strongest shows. Betty Jackson, John Rocha and Jean Muir added wit
and eclecticism to the tailoring tradition. Clements Ribeiro, Eley Kishimoto
and Jonathan Saunders all demonstrated London's innovative strength with
print. Newer names – Bora Aksu, Rafael Lopez, Miki Fukai – made a strong
bid for the limelight, and older names, such as Pringle and Jasper Conran,
delighted with fresh looks. Behind the scenes, there were worries that
the venue at Duke of York's Square on the King's Road, the main LFW site where
Britain's fashion revolution began back in the Sixties, would be snatched
away. And glamour boy Julien Macdonald caused another frisson of anxiety by
declaring that he was ready to decamp to a rival fashion capital. An enforced
move to Battersea Park, say, in the future, would not be ideal because it is
far from the central hub of shops and restaurants that brings in extra
business from the thousands of international press and buyers. But where else
could LFW go? Macdonald has suggested Hyde Park. It has been used for many
concerts. Why not for the event that showcases the country's £5 billion
fashion industry? The British Fashion Council's new chairman, Stuart Rose,
former chief executive of Arcadia, seems to be in control of the situation. A
man with a solid commercial background, he sees no reason why the week should
not be a commercial proposition and he is determined to get more support from
the high street and industry. But fashion's version of the brain drain – with
Roland Mouret and Matthew Williamson in New York.
Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney in Paris – does not worry him
unduly. "If everyone stayed at London Fashion Week, there would be no room to
develop new talent. And that is our strength. London is not New York, it's not
Milan and it's not Paris. What we've got is newness and that's what we should
be celebrating," says Rose. Certainly, the figures bear out his faith.
There were 39 shows on the official schedule - and dozens more staged
off-piste. For the first time, visitors topped the 5,000 mark (20 per cent up
on last February) and more than 1,000 were overseas buyers. The exhibition was
booked to capacity with 174 fashion companies - 50 per cent of these have
already booked for next season. All we need now is enough support to ensure
that London Fashion Week stays in its rightful home.