London Fashion Week Kicks Off on Friday, Showcasing Industry's Top Talent

The upcoming London Fashion Week, commencing on Friday morning, is expected to be a significantly high-profile event with an array of new talents, major fashion shows, and exclusive parties. There will also be a select gathering for afternoon tea at Downing Street.

While London might not have as many influential brands as Milan or Paris, it undoubtedly leads in terms of raw talent.

The four-day season formally starts on Friday morning with our seasoned Irish designer, Paul Costelloe. The highlight of the event will be on Tuesday evening, marked by the third ramp walk by Burberry, directed creatively by Daniel Lee. Significant shows and presentations will take over the six-day event.

Furthermore, there will be important college graduation shows during the weekend. These shows range from the London College of Fashion joint presentations to Central Saint Martins masters show taking place on Friday night, all the way up to Fashion East. Courtesy of fashion guru Lulu Kennedy, Fashion East is known to be a crucial launching platform for budding designers worldwide.

The fashion week will also witness the return of the house of Dunhill with a ramp walk. Expected to reveal its collection at one of London's prestigious locations - the National Portrait Gallery, Dunhill has long been one of the UK's most esteemed brands.

Simone Rocha, fresh from winning recognition in Paris for her incredible interpretation of Jean-Paul Gaultier, will be one of the main attractions of LFW. The Hong Kong Irish couturier will, true to her usual style, conduct her show inside a church, this season at St Bartholomew the Great, a 12th-century church known for its Norman architecture and alleged therapeutic powers.

Following Rocha will be Richard Quinn, who has quite a packed week. Quinn is set to introduce his first collaboration with Max & Co, through presentation and dinner at Terrazza Martini, Milan, just four days later, with a view of the Duomo.

Moreover, the fashion week will present must-see events by designers such as J W Anderson, Erdem, Roksanda, Molly Godard, David Koma, and Edward Crutchley.

In total, the official schedule includes about 60 catwalk shows, nearly as many presentations and more than twenty digital exhibitions. These often involve DiscoveryLAB, a digital showcase unique to the UK and featuring emerging talents like Rhyzem, Savvas Alexander, KYLE Ho, Nyland Studio, and Amber W. Smith.

Fashion inversely reflects UK and France's football relationship. Just like the Premiership, the world's wealthiest football league, drafts young players from French suburbs, the prominent fashion houses from Milan and Paris scout new design talent at London Fashion Week. European brands then make attractive offers to the most promising individuals - offering them jobs, partnerships, collaborations, and creative director roles.

This has been the norm since when John Galliano and Alexander McQueen first moved to Paris to lead Dior and Givenchy, around thirty years ago.

Even though Brexit has complicated UK fashion operations, turning straightforward deliveries to Europe into costly and lengthy exports, it has not stopped the UK's fashion schools from being the most esteemed globally. At least so far.