London: The Forgotten Fashion City?

Alexander McQueen AW'96 'Dante'.

New York. London. Milan. Paris. Fashion month is relentless, isn’t it? Hundreds of shows, countless presentations and press dinners every night create a schedule so saturated that, somewhere along the line, something has to give.

Often, that something is London.

It’s a common practice that editors, buyers, and well, just about anyone in the fashion circle, hightail it from New York to Milan during the endurance test that is fashion month, leaving London high and dry. The more it happens, the more the British fashion capital slowly finds itself fading into oblivion; whilst other weeks thrive, London begins to fail. 

Here’s the deal: if I were an editor at a high-flying glossy publication, London would be the last city I’d be missing. Sure, it doesn’t quite have the deep heritage of Paris or the polish of Milan, though what it does have is young, fresh talent. That’s what sets the British fashion industry apart: the unrivalled ability to nurture new designers and build them into global powerhouses.

Central Saint Martins is the most renowned school in the world, and London College of Fashion isn’t far behind. Between the two, they’ve produced generational talents of the past, present and future, cementing London as a hub for prodigies. 

Alexander McQueen. John Galliano. Jonathan Anderson. Amongst many others, these era-defining designers learned their craft in London.  Although they do have something else in common, they hopped across the channel to the City of Light. It’s understandable why, given that Paris is the centre of the industry and home to the most respected houses in the world. However, it creates a vicious cycle; London puts in the work and churns out the talent, then other cities reap the rewards, leaving us to continually fall just short of greatness.

It’s not just the schools that are garnering London this reputation of being the place to promote fresh faces, but the many programmes which cultivate emerging stars. The most prominent of course is Newgen (headed by the British Fashion Council), which most recently has supported the likes of Steve O Smith (who dressed Chioma Nnadi of British Vogue at the recent Met Gala) and Daniel del Valle (aka The Vxlley), who is known for producing wearable art. Additionally, smaller organisations such as Fashion East and Fashion Scout have aided several cohorts of upcoming designers and allowed them to successfully break into the industry.

There is some serious talent arising from London right now, and even in the early stages of their careers, they’re making a mark on the world of fashion. One of those names is Macy Grimshaw. Having recently completed her MA at CSM, she caught the eye of renowned stylist Harry Lambert (who has worked with Harry Styles since 2014), and went on to dress Lola Young at the BRIT Awards. Grimshaw is just one example. It’s too soon to tell where her work will take her, and whilst it’s clear her career is on the same trajectory as those that came before her, will that be realised in London, or beyond?

The challenge that lies with the BFC is not producing formidable designers, but establishing an environment which encourages them to pursue their careers within the UK. Enter Laura Weir. Appointed as CEO of the BFC just over a year ago, Weir is taking tremendous steps to ensure that London Fashion Week doesn’t fade into obscurity.

Steve O Smith SS'25.

Before taking the first steps to success, Weir acknowledged the key problem at hand. London cannot, and likely will never, compete with the luxury conglomerate power of Paris. Instead of embarking on an impossible task, Weir is focusing on setting London apart from its counterparts with innovation, cultural influence and accessibility.

That last one is particularly important. It’s not cheap to pursue a career as a designer, and unless you have significant backing behind you, it’s near impossible to stage a show on an official fashion week calendar. Weir is well on her way to flipping that narrative. In an attempt to thrust independent labels into the spotlight, for the past two seasons the BFC have waived fees for designers presenting physically on the main schedule, opening doors for small brands to showcase. 

It’s certainly a strong start. Whilst London is of course home to some big industry names (Burberry, Erdem and Simone Rocha to name but a few), the real pull of the city comes from rising stars, unparalleled creativity and undeniable edge.

Paris and Milan already exist, and matching what they do simply isn’t a viable option. Though there is no need for London to offer a substandard version of PFW, as it has so much unique flair of its own. 

With so much emerging talent bursting through the seams, waiting to make an impression on the industry, and with Weir at the helm of the BFC, the only way is up. London will no longer remain the forgotten fashion city.