LFW Entrance at the Somerset House, photo by Lala Lopez.
On the last day of New York Fashion Week, as the shows were dwindling down to the last of finale walks, I boarded Virgin Airlines for a last minute trip to foggy London Town. It had just been over two years since my last visit. I always had this instinctive feeling like there had been something I left behind. There’s something so dreamy about the city – it’s as if innovation just streams from creative fingertips and revolutionary visions are birthed on crowded sidewalks. It had always been my favourite fashion capital, although often overlooked by many. So, it was a fitting time to visit during Fashion Week, snag some interviews, run off to long overdue meetings, survey the new talent and check out London’s digital landscape.
The New Gen Exhibition Space at the Somerset House, Photo by Lala Lopez.
The Somerset House is to London as Lincoln Center is to New York, the stomping grounds of bi-seasonal fashion weeks. But like every city, the off-site showings are nothing to sneer at either. So, as I navigated my way through Central London, its tube stations and conniving cab drivers, I found myself lost on the way to show venues like the Catwalk Space at Somerset, the Topshop Show Space, Fashion Scout, On|Off, and My Beautiful Fashion – only to find that I missed showings that actually started… on time. A show that started prompted at the time printed on invitations was an inconceivable notion and a rarity in any New York fashion production.
Eleven Objects Collar, photo by Lala Lopez.
Regrouping myself and adjusting the Eleven Objects collar around my neck, that my friend Chrissy lent me from her new collection – I began my quest to find the most groundbreaking platforms and talent around. I got to chatting with New Gen designers Yang Du and Fannie Schiavoni, Kirsty Ward at Fashion Scout, and founder of Imagine Fashion, Amber Gordon. I had come to an unforeseen revelation of why all the facets of fashion are produced with such precision in London. The creative environments are not only nurturing but are fully supportive. With organizations like NEWGEN, the British Fashion Council takes strong strides to energize London’s young talent, assist in developing their skill, while ushering them into new personal heights that makes these young designers into stars. It’s that convivial risk-taking from designers to PRs to sales to journalists, that catapults the sharp aesthetic much further than anything we’ve laid eyes on.
Live Stream Screen for LFW in Holborn Tube Station, photo by Lala Lopez.
The city’s digital efforts didn’t seem too far behind either. Live streaming of catwalk shows were projected onto screens that hung on the walls of London’s tube stations. Live twitter feeds from industry powerhouses streamed on the same screen in between shows. And fashion film– it was if there was a mandate that stated if you are a designer showing this season, whether you have diffusion lines or debut collections, there shouldn’t be second thought about creating a fashion short to accompany your collection. It was fantastic. And even if you had missed film premiere parties or premieres at the digital screening rooms at the Somerset House, the London Fashion Week website had covered all the bases – by making all said films available and navigable by Designer name on the ‘LFW TV’ section of the site.
Look from the Charlie Le Mindu AW11 Show, photo by Lala Lopez.
My little eight day get away renewed by disgruntled fashion spirit. Maybe it was watching paps swarm Daphne Guinness at Charlie Le Mindu. Or maybe it was reading the International Herald Tribune like it was the Bible and Suzy Menkes was my God. Or it could have been all the British accents that spoke words of boundary pushing. But whatever it was, the word ‘risk’ has entered by work/life philosophy with no intention of an exit.