Burberry Prorsum to show in London for SS10

Maybe London Fashion Week might finally be a destination worth including in the international editors’ schedules, after the announcement today that Burberry Prorsum is showing in London for SS10 this September.

When I worked as an English fashion editor, I was fiercely partisan about the London shows, and was always shocked at how few international editors & buyers bothered to come to London, the so-called laboratory of trends.

La Wintour might come say every five years for a quick recce, and maybe US Elle might send Kate Lanphear, or US Vogue’s Hamish Bowles might swing by, but no editor in chief bothers to attend each season.

But then I moved to New York, and became the fashion director on a major US publication. And it all became crystal clear: attending the London collections from America is an exercise is setting fire to dollar bills. With no major advertisers to justify a physical schmoozing presence, the scoop on new designers can just as easily be picked up from style.com.

It's difficult enough justifying the cost of Paris & Milan. The final total for me (& no assistant) to attend five days of shows & meetings in Milan topped $7000 last time around – my car & driver alone came to $3000. Add on the cost of Paris & London & the logistical problems of being absent from office & home for over three weeks in a different time zone and omitting LFW with its lack of major advertising money suddenly becomes a very simple decision.

But if a major, major advertiser like Burberry decides to show its main line at LFW, (as opposed to, say Marc Jacobs bringing the relatively unimportant diffusion Marc by Marc show over here a few seasons back to support the Mount St store opening), then normally one has to presume that the editors will follow.

But, in this cash-strapped time, with head-count reductions across all the major US publications, can they really justify sending more editors to London to basically attend just one show in the hope of continued advertising dollars? Prepare for a nasty battle on the costs vs results equation at the US mags.

Grazia has the scoop here And get the inside track on what it's really like to attend the Milan Collections here

Celebrity spawn

Christ Giles gets my goat. He continues to show in a space too small to fit in the majority of the press, yet fills his front row with fashion irrelevancies. Last season it was David Walliams, Margo Stilley & Savannah Miller, this year it was Lily Allen, Bee Shaffer, Francesca Versace and Kimberley Stewart. And what do they all have in common? They are the spawn of famous people. And let’s fine that down: people who famous for having a career of several decades, not several seconds.

Today’s published sharply falling ABCs (magazine circulation figures) are being put partly down to the public’s dwindling interest in D-list celebs. Please, please let that be true.

Mango sponsor Jean Pierre Braganza

I'm quite keen on Mango at the moment, following the announcement of an intelligent spot of sponsorship directed towards two young British designers. After having sponsored Osman Yousefzada's LFW show last season, (& whilst continuing to support Osman), they will also be sponsoring Jean Pierre Braganza.Braganza's signature sharp tailoring and deconstructed shapes can be seen at his show at the Mango flagship store on London's Oxford Street on Sunday, February 10. The utterly briiliant Osman Yousefzada, whose show also takes place at the store on the same day, debuts his collection of Little Black Dresses in 220 Mango stores worldwide from March.

Photo: Jean Pierre Braganza SS08. Vogue.com

Moet fashion bus for London Fashion Week

When I read that Moët was introducing a tour bus this February to transport editors around the east end of London to the series of fashion week shows known as The Block, I thought, what a great idea. Especially the bit that read, “Guests will be greeted with champagne.”

Then the release went on to list the designers whose shows would be included: House of Holland, Fashion East, which includes Louise Gray, Noki and David David, Roksanda Ilincic and Gareth Pugh. And I thought hmm, but isn’t Giles showing there too, and on the same day?

And then I remembered: Giles doesn’t like, indrawn breath, fashion assistants, and scabrous people who might actually not have drivers or the wherewithal to take cabs, to attend his shows. Senior editors & important buyers only darling.

Whilst I understand that designers like to show in spaces that work with their collections, that are often rather small, I also think that if you are going to be part of the official LFW schedule then you shouldn’t treat the junior editors, assistants and foreign press with such derision. Especially when London has so few big names showing.

And especially when his front row last season had David bloody Walliams, Margot Stilley and Savannah Miller perched on it. Any moral high ground gained was lost the moment he let those completely fashion-irrelevant attendees in.

LFW Schedule published for AW08

The BFC have published AW08's show schedule. The shows run from Sunday 10 - Friday 15 February, opening with the solid commercial worthy-ness of Paul Costello and ending with Julien Macdonald's star-spangled journey to the land that taste forgot.

As I noted last season, for the first time in my memory (I've been doing this for way too long), the BFC have finally decided to run schedules that makes sense geographically so we aren't pinging across London like elastic bands (when we aren't stuck in traffic jams.) There are still a few crazy back & forths between the Topshop venue (Marylebone Campus of University of Westminster) & the BFC tent (Natural History Museum), but they are mainly in the evening - or at least they will be once the shows start running as late as normal.

I understand that with the dearth of decent models doing the London season, the shows are always going t run late as designers wait for the frantic girls to zip between consecutive shows, but I am consistently gobsmacked that designers showing first on the schedule run 20-40 minute late. (I was so innured to this that the first time I covered the New York shows I actually missed a couple as they all ran ON TIME - extraordinary!)

Vivienne Westwood to show second line in London

Following a nine-year absence from London Fashion Week, Vivienne Westwood is returning to show her Red Label's AW 08/09 collection on-schedule in February. The Red Label, which has not been shown during a fashion week before, was first launched in 1994 to appeal to a wider audience and is inspired by Savile Row tailoring and French couture. Vivienne's first line the Gold Label will be shown in Paris, as usual.

I just think it's shame that London's official show schedule is becoming the place to show diffusion and second lines: Marc the season before last, Stella's line for Adidas last, and now Dame Vivienne's. Is this really the way to boost London's reputation and get the foreign press in? I think not.

BFC announces NewGen Sponsorhip for SS08

The BFC has announced the Topshop New Gen sponsorship for next season. It's a timely reminder that critical adulation doesn't mean pots of money: young designers like Chirs Kane wouldn't be able to show without this funding.

Catwalk sponsorship: Christopher Kane, Duro Olowu, Erdem, Krystof Strozyna, Louise Goldin, Marios Schwab, MeadhamKirchhoff, Todd Lynn

Exhibition sponsorship: Anna Vince, Borba Margo, Charlotte Olympia, David David, Emilio de la Morena, Felder•Felder, Hannah Marshall, House of Holland, Justin Smith, Nicholas Kirkwood, Peter Pilotto and Poltock & Walsh.

I'm particulary pleased to see lovely Nicholas Kirkwood on this list. I've been a supporter of his since the get go. After he left Cordwainers, he worked for Philip Treacy, all the while planning setting up his own label in 2005. He is way in the vanguard of shoe design, setting the agenda for footwear design way before any of his competitors. This summer he won the prestigious AltaRoma Vogue Italia award for accessories design.

Shoes by Nicholas Kirkwood

God help us.

Giles is the hottest show ticket in London. He works out of the Rochelle Studios complex in Shoreditch and he shows there each season, hugely restricting the numbers of press that can attend. Which is why I find it depressing that space was made for on his front row for David Walliams, Margo Stilley, and Savannah Miller. Outside of the UK I doubt you will have heard of any of these people. For your edification they are: One fashion-irrelevant millionaire comedian with a fondness for arm candy, one MTA* notorious for a) having explicit real sex in a Michael Winterbottom film, & b)going to the opening of an envelope, and a young designer, famous for being the sister of an actress. Even more dispiriting is that the badly written LFW official daily email saw fit to mention these people as being newsworthy attendees. Is this really what LFW & the BFC* has come to?

*Model-turned-actress
*British Fashion Council

BFC announces Fashion Forward sponsorship

It's all go at the British Fashion Council this week. They have just announced that Sinha-Stanic, Jens Laugesen and Richard Nicoll have been selected to receive Fashion Forward sponsorship to show their Spring/Summer 2008 collections at London Fashion Week this September.

The release follows.(Sorry, I'm on deadline, so no time to rewrite with acerbic comments. Yet)

The Fashion Forward sponsorship, in association with Westfield London is in its third season. The scheme gives support to British designers who have already established a profile at London Fashion Week through the New Generation programme or who are at an equivalent stage in their business. The sponsorship consists of substantial funding towards a catwalk show at London Fashion Week.

Sinha-Stanic will be receiving Fashion Forward sponsorship for the second time in September, showcasing their contemporary designs for the modern woman. Fiona Sinha and Aleksandar Stanic, who have gained much acclaim since their catwalk debut in 2004, produce garments that are beautifully cut with an easy sophistication that is entirely modern and relaxed. Their stockist line-up is already impressive and is growing gratifyingly fast. Fiona and Aleksandar said "Showing at London Fashion Week has always been a very exciting prospect for our brand, as we believe it to be the most interesting and creative of all fashion weeks. The Fashion Forward award from the BFC and Westfield London is enabling us to do just that, whilst developing our business on both creative and commercial levels. It is initiatives like this that are making London an extremely strong competitor to the likes of NY, Paris and Milan."

Richard Nicoll, who will be receiving Fashion Forward sponsorship for the first time this season, was spotted by the fashion world soon after he graduated from Central Saint Martins MA Course in 2002. He had a promising start to his career when his final year collection was bought by Dolce and Gabbana. Richard, who was named ‘King of shirts’ by Suzy Menkes of The International Herald Tribune, combines menswear fabrics with corsetry and couture detailing, creating strong sculptured garments that are young and fresh with an idiosyncratic accessible style. Richard’s collections are now stocked in more than 30 high-profile stores worldwide.

Richard said: “I am delighted to receive the Fashion Forward award, which has come at a pivotal time for me and the business. The BFC and Westfield London have offered me a life line and are great supporters of strong London based talent. This award will allow me to strengthen our client base and to indulge my ideas for Spring/Summer 08, it’s really exciting.”

Jens Laugesen, who will also be receiving Fashion Forward sponsorship for the first time, has a design philosophy of ‘Hybrid reconstruction’ of generic garments. Jens is currently teaching in Fashion on the MA Course at Central Saint Martins and since 2003, has been designing a capsule collection for Topshop. “I am really honoured to receive the Fashion Forward award from the British Fashion Council and Westfield London because it will enable me to stay and maintain my high profile presence during the coming London Fashion Week. It is great to receive such recognition from the high profile industry panel behind the British Fashion Council, and this coming show will be crucial for the future expansion strategy of my brand. I am very proud to be part of London Fashion Week, and think it is great that a generous award like this exists.’’ Said Jens.

!!!!Breaking fashion news!!! Luella to show in London

Ok - I know that this means absolutely bugger all to the 99.9% of you who don't work in fashion but, to those of us who have a vested interest in London's waning position on the world fashion map, it can only be a good thing when one of London's fashion diaspora returns to the mother ship.

Luella started showing in London: her debut fashion week show ‘Daddy, Who Were the Clash?’ was part of LFW February 2000. The next year, in September 01, she moved the show to New York Fashion Week and has continued to showe there.

Of course Club 21 (her London-based distributor, owned by Mrs Ong) isn't just showing the Luella spring/summer 2008 collection at London Fashion Week for purely philanthropic reasons. Oh no, it's because Luella will open the world’s first standalone Luella store at 25 Brook Street, London W1 this winter, a la Marc.

It would also explain why the lovely Miss Diane Crook recently upsticked from Miu Miu to head up the Luella London press office - after all, Luella has hardly been big on the editorial radar of late.