New York passes baton to London

New York passed the baton to London for the start of London Fashion Week, which will be celebrating its 25th anniversary against the background of an increasingly difficult economic and financial situation in Great Britain. The event will end Wednesday, February 25.

Considerable space is dedicated to the new generation of British stylists in the official calendar coordinated by the British Fashion Council. Of the 51 programmed shows, 33 are by emerging or rising stylists, such as Mary Katrantzou, Kinder Aggugini, Maria Francesca Pepe, Mark Fast and Twenty8Twelve, the label created by actress Sienna Miller in collaboration with her sister, Savannah (see fashionmagazine.it December 15, 2008). Already on the runway today are the proposals by new talents Eun Jeong, who won the first prize at the Fashion Fringe competition, Alice Palmer, Lu Flux, Migh-T and Studio_805, who are showing under the aegis of Ones To Watch, the event organized by Vauxhall Fashion Scout. Spotlights also on the best students from Central Saint Martins’ Fashion Styling Master.

Obviously, London Fashion Week also dedicates space to the big names of British Style, including Vivienne Westwood (who presented her Red Label line Saturday, 21), Aquascutum and Jaeger London (on the runway yesterday), Luella, Mulberry and Paul Smith (in the forefront today). Also on the runway are the rising stars of the British fashion universe: from Giles to Christopher Kane, Marios Schwab and House of Holland.

A new and significant initiative totally focused on men’s fashion makes its debut Wednesday, 13, with new menswear brands like James Long, Jw Anderson, Sibling, Carolyn Massey and Christopher Shannon. The number of presentations in the New Austerity mood have increased: the stylists who opted for this alternative include Antoni & Alison, Maria Grachvogel and Modernist.