Press Lounging

One of the fun aspects of attending London Fashion Week was roaming round Somerset House having  a look at the exhibition and I love having a peek in the press room at the British Fashion Council (BFC) tent. As well as being full of loads of information about the shows and designers, the press room is also a space where journalists and bloggers can bang out their copy while sipping a cup of much needed coffee.

What I love about the BFC press room is the way it always look completely different every season. The look for this season was Scandinavian Modern with wooden floor boards, chic white work desks and benches as well as round sofa's stylishly dotted around.

The media rooms at Vauxhall Fashion Scout and On/Off are always equally stylish and all the press/media rooms are equipped with laptops. The concept for Vauxhall Fashion Scout is the minimalism look with shiny lacquer white desks and white leather sofas. The furniture made a perfect contrast to the classic parquet flooring. I didn't make it down to the press lounge for On/Off which I am gutted about because I heard that it was amazing and contained some funky knitted chairs and decadent lampshades by designer, Melanie Porter which are pictured at the top. They look amazing don't they?

The picture in the middle is of the BFC tent and the one at the bottom is of Vauxhall Fashion Scout.

Fashion Diversity

London Fashion Week kicked off last Friday with the usual glamourous fashion shows, after parties, celebrities on the front row and various launches. Over six days there has been a huge plethora of designers showing their offering for next Spring and Summer but the catwalk shows have not just been restricted to the BFC tent; other partners such as Vauxhall Fashion Scout and On/Off have been drawing a huge crowd with their shows. However, LFW was given a huge boost with the announcement that the British fashion industry is worth nearly �12 billion (yes billion!) proving to be the one of the most creative industries. The irony of this statement does not escape me  as life in the Brit fashion industry is far from rosey. I was having a BBM discussion with Janice from Mad News about the position of London Fashion Week in comparison with the other fashion weeks such as New York, Milan and Paris. Jan was under the impression that LFW was up there in the echelons when in reality the event is very low down the ranks. LFW is seen as the quirkier and edgy sister and the place to go for ideas and trends but in terms of sales that is all done in New York, Milan and Paris. Most of the top editors skip London after New York and head straight for Milan along with most of the top models. Reason being? Well simply - cold cash or rather lack of. As slick as the British Fashion Council may appear to be there is a serious problem with finances within the British fashion scene. A lot of new designers in this country struggle to get their business off the ground and even when they do it is a constant struggle for them to get the next collection out. Initiatives like On/Off and Vauxhall Scout Fashion were set up to provide new designers with a platform to show their work which would hopefully lead them to bigger and better things and have done a fantastic job and now there are other collectives that are set up to promote up and coming designers.

Fashion Diversity, Fashion Mavericks and Untold are just a few organisations who are showcasing new designers. Fashion Diversity has been running for two years and their objective is to re-addrress the balance of diversity during London Fashion Week by raising the profile and supporting designers and models within the UK fashion industry. This took place in the form of a two day celebration of fashion which consists of a press launch and a VIP gala show, a fashion show featuring the work of students and graduates as well as a fashion show for the public. Last Thursday I went down to the press launch and gala awards which took place at Islington Metal Works. The event was a collaboration between Mahogany Model Management and Untold Design CIC and featured the works of Mong, Nias World, Aaron Purean Khan, Arif Khan, Aamaa Couture, Bibi Grafitti, Chichia London, Blaq by Sasha James and Kevin Patrick. The designs were a mixture of modern designs with shells and embellishments as well as African prints. Designers, Adebayo Jones, Jolaby and Patrick Kevin were rightfully given awards to honor their careers and success in the fashion industry and both Adebayo Jones and Patrick Kevin showed off their collection for us to see. I was really impressed with the quality of the designs as well as the elaborate make up and it is great to see designers with a much smaller profile getting their props.

For more information about Fashion Diversity check out their website. 

London Fashion Week - September 08

It is that time of year again when we all put on our high heels and fancy frocks and head down to the Natural History Museum for London Fashion Week. That was how I spent my Monday taking in the collections by Wildlifeworks and Olanic, that is when I was not hanging out at the sub zero press office with the lovely Michelle Obi from myfashionlife and checking out the exhibition. It was just what I expected from LFW; original, creative and stylish with an uber cool vibe in the air.

The thing that stands out about LFW are the events that run alongside it. As well as the numerous parties, launches and receptions there are fantastic fashion shows that run off schedule from the main fashion shows. On/Off and Vauxhall Fashion Scout are the main two and the idea of these shows is to allow up and coming designers who cannot afford to show to LFW an avenue to show their collection. So while On/Off takes up residence at the the Royal Academy of Arts, Vauxhall Fashion Scout makes its base on Cromwell Road. Each venue comes with its own press office complete with laptops, publications and footage of the shows.

On/Off events
In it's ninth year, On/Off prides itself in nurturing new talent in the UK and have established themselves as the trendiest designer exhibition showcase. Considering that they have talent such as Sinha Stanic, Jasper Conran and Louise Amstrup onboard this is no surprise. However, On/Off is now much more than a showcase; the brand has launched the On/Off boutique with Oli.co.uk and have also embraced technology by producing video podcasts of all catwalk shows which are available to download from iTunes, Youtube as well as the On/Off website. The brand is also making it's debut at Paris Fashion Week.

Vauxhall Fashion Scout
This is the largest catwalk event in London for emerging designers and features 20 exciting shows over the course of LFW. Designers such as Jens Laugesen, Aganovich, Avsh Alom Gur, Peter Pilotto and Felder Felder have glided through. The most striking aspect about Vauxhall is the funky and vibrant press office that is located upstairs. Taking the theme from Morocco, the press office has drapes made from North African influence with beaded cushions lying casually on the sofas. Trust me it is superfly.

With all these countless activities the mind boggles when you hear the shocking news that the country's finest fashion show may be reduced from six days to four. It seems that our pals across the Atlantic are pushing for New York Fashion Week to be put back so it does not clash with Labour Day celebrations and with Milan Fashion Week refusing to budge this puts the pressure on LFW. The decision is set to be announced tomorrow so you can imagine that the British Fashion Council along with all the Brit fashionistas will be glued to the news.

Update
Well it's smiles all round today as it has just been announced that London Fashion Week will be keeping their five days. An agreement was reached by all four fashion meccas which will accommodate all events.