Like every other in-person event in 2020, London Fashion Week had to make some serious changes. What a lot of people aren’t aware of is just how successful their online show went. Hailed as a shift in dynamic that made the iconic fashion event more accessible than ever, fears that it would be more vulnerable as a result of the global pandemic weren’t just disproved but smashed. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. London Fashion Week has always defied the odds and has made its way from fashion underdog to one of the biggest of the ‘big four’ fashion industry events held every year.
Economic Impact
You should always pay attention to London Fashion Week because it just keeps on delivering the goods. It might have had its first catwalk back in 1984 in a tent on a car park in West London, but it’s come a long way since then. Now located in the luxurious Store X in The Strand, London Fashion Week makes more than enough money to justify its more swanky location. At the 2020 show, more than 100,000 people attended the event, with an additional 5,000 invited guests and more than 250 designers. London Fashion Week has grown year on year, and only becomes more important.
Industry Standing
It’s always been easy to dismiss London as one of the fashion capitals of the world. After all, the glamour and glitz of New York, Paris, and Milan almost always seem to overshadow the London-based event. What you might not know is that of the four big fashion weeks, London is only just behind New York in terms of visitor numbers. According to research by Online Casino Betway, around 105,000 people attend London Fashion Week. Milan Fashion Week gets around 22,500, while the Paris show gets about 30,000 visitors. That means London Fashion Week has more attendees than the Paris and Milan shows combined.
Career Launcher
One of the reasons behind the success of London Fashion Week is that it has always been on the cutting-edge of the fashion world. Even the very first event in 1984 saw iconic guests and designers, including both Vivienne Westwood and the debut of five-time British Fashion Designer of the Year John Galliano. Over the years, some of the biggest names in fashion have made their debuts at London Fashion Week, including Philip Treacy, Alexander McQueen, Simone Rocha, and Stella McCartney, to name just a few. One of the reasons why London Fashion Week has become one of the most important dates on the fashion calendar is simply that it dares to go where other fashion shows won’t. It might court controversy, but it always does it with style and panache.
It’s the youngest of the four big fashion events of the year, but London Fashion Week is the event that you should always pay more attention to. It defines many of the fashion trends of the season, showcases the latest and greatest names in the industry, and sets the tone for wardrobes and style choices for the rest of the year.