In an effort to cater more to the end-consumer, the British Fashion Council is combining London Fashion Week and London Fashion Weekend under one umbrella: London Fashion Week Festival.
Everything will also take place under one roof, relocating to The Store Studios at 180 Strand nearby erstwhile venue Somerset House. London Fashion Week moved to Soho last year, spending three seasons in the Art Deco Brewer Street Car Park.
London Fashion Week Festival will also feature more consumer-facing events — even during the trade-focused runway shows.
The BFC said the change is due to “an increasingly big appetite from both brands and public to open up our industry” to a wider audience.
“We saw this in September with the see-now, buy-now collections,” said Caroline Rush, British Fashion Council chief executive officer.
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“London Fashion Week and London Fashion Week Men’s will still showcase the best talent to industry professionals, giving the designers the opportunity to expand their businesses and get incredible international media exposure.
“London Fashion Week Festival is a natural continuation of the increasingly popular London Fashion Weekend. There will be a lot of different ways for the public and businesses to get involved.”
Situated near the British Fashion Council’s Somerset House headquarters, 180 Strand has a runway space as well as a sprawling presentation area on the first floor. It has recently served as the venue for men’s fashion week in the British capital. The space was also the site of the Louis Vuitton Series 3 exhibition and had served as the runway show venue for Christopher Kane, Roksanda and Thomas Tait.
London Fashion Weekend was a biannual, four-day ticketed event, held at the Saatchi Gallery. It took place each season after London Fashion Week and was aimed at consumers.
London Fashion Week will run from Feb. 17 to 21. London Fashion Week Festival will start on Feb. 23 and run until Feb. 26. Tickets for the festival will be available for purchase at londonfashionweekfestival.com on Tuesday.
