London Fashion Week is set to re-brand into a single, gender-neutral showcase.
The British Fashion Council (BFI) has been working to reimagine its seasonal showcases following the cancellation of London Fashion Week Men’s, originally due to take place in June, because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Today, BFI announced their plans to merge the women’s and men’s wear showcases into one “gender-neutral platform” where all designers will showcase their collections and brand stories under the London Fashion Week umbrella.
The BFI is also set to introduce a new digital platform in time for the June online showcase, which will be open to both trade and consumer audiences. The aim of this new format is to give designers more flexibility and increase their audience reach.
This online platform will feature a range of multimedia content from designers, creatives, artists and brand partners in the form of interviews, podcasts, designer diaries and digital showrooms.
The BFC’s chief executive officer Caroline Rush has said that this is an opportunity for the industry as a whole to make necessary changes during this uncertain time. She also added:
“Many of our businesses have always embraced London Fashion Week as a platform for not just fashion, but for its influence on society, identity and culture. By creating a cultural fashion week platform, we are adapting digital innovation to best fit our needs today and something to build on as a global showcase for the future.”
“Designers will be able to share their stories, and for those that have them, their collections, with a wider global community; we hope that as well as personal perspectives on this difficult time, there will be inspiration in bucketloads. It is what British fashion is known for,”
This new, three-day digital showcase will take place on 12 June, the same time that the men’s wear shows were originally set to take place.
