LFW & Scoop take London by storm

The Spring/Summer 2016 season saw London Fashion Week move to its brand new home in the heart of the West End. Known for its Art Deco architecture, the Brewer Street Car Park was chosen in a bid to make British fashion and catwalk shows accessible to the general public (screens were installed in Golden Square to broadcast the shows), as well as bringing visitors closer to London’s creative scene and retail spaces.

Caroline Rush, Chief Executive of the British Fashion Council spoke of the move before the event: “The long term growth of the UK’s designer fashion market is reflected geographically in this move that will see London Fashion Week designers showcasing collections in one of London’s most vibrant, diverse and creative hubs set within a mile of Bond Street, Dover Street, Mount Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street. The new and exciting venue has already been dubbed as Brewer Street’s ‘Fashion Park’ and will offer freedom and flexibility to designers who will be able to transform the show space to reflect their own aesthetics and identity.”

Over 150 womenswear designers showcased their SS16 collections at the Designer Showrooms, divided in categories including RTW, Emerging RTW, Shoes, Bags, Accessories and Multi-Label Showrooms. For the first time John Smedley, Rejina Pyo, Self-Portrait and Zandra Rhodes joined the showroom line-up which includes swimwear and intimates labels Lilliput & Felix, Moeva, Lisa King, Auria and Royalties Paris.

British Fashion Council’s emerging talent initiative, NEWGEN sponsored by Topshop, saw 1205, Ashley Williams, Claire Barrow, Danielle Romeril, Faustine Steinmetz, Marta Jakubowski, Molly Goddard, Sadie Williams and Ryan Lo present their collections to buyers and press in a colourful pop-up showroom.

NEWGEN pop-up space at LFW’s Designer Showrooms and Scoop London

This season London Fashion Week joined forces with Scoop London, the new womenswear trade show created to cater for designers who find the existing January and July Scoop show timings too early. The partnership between London Fashion Week and Scoop London meant buyers registered at either show could use their passes to access the other and take advantage of a complimentary shuttle connecting both venues. Scoop London boasted a big resort and loungewear line-up which also included Lolly 5000, Hipanema, Pistol Panties, Whykini, Lily and Lionel and Cristophe Sauvat.