The British Fashion Council’s new CEO, Laura Weir, shared her strategy update for London Fashion Week last night, at the BFC’s annual Summer Party.
Weir mentioned she plans on building on the “great foundations” of the BFC, acknowledging that LFW is losing design talent to Paris, Milan and Berlin, mainly because of the current lack of support for the designers. “It is time to reset,” Weir said.
She shared her commitment of continuing to “put designers at the heart, to make mentoring and business skills central to our offer, and to ensure our funding models result in long-term impact for the British creative economy.”
The BFC will get rid of LFW fees for design members showing IRL in September. In the past designers would need to pay a listing fee to be shown on the fashion week calendar, and that was on top of paying for a BFC member status, where a brand needs to pay £500-10,000 per year, depending on its annual turnover.
The BFC will also increase scholarship funding, having locked down a three-year funding commitment by the UK government for the Newgen program.
The guest budget has also been doubled in order to bring in more international press and buyers.
Weir also mentioned that she envisions the BFC not being just about London designers, launching a creative education program called the Fashion Assembly that will take designers back to their old schools to help young people outside of London envision themselves as designers.
“As I take on this role, I’m aware that the task ahead is Herculean. I took this job because I care about the creative and commercial success of British fashion, and I won’t rest until my tenure has had a positive impact on its global reputation,” Weir said.
This is major news, as the fashion industry has been worried about London Fashion Week’s future: Men’s LFW was missing from the schedule this SS26 season (for the first time since its launch in 2012), which followed the February LFW being emptier than usual due to designers opting for digital presentations, deciding to show only once a year, or moving to Paris or Milan.
Maybe London can save its fashion week after all.
Featured image Martine Rose©
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