British Fashion Council boss Caroline Rush reveals new deals as sector leaders arrive in London. Sunday marks the mid-point of London Fashion Week, the twice-yearly, five-day trade show that sees 5,000 buyers, designers, celebrities and generally beautiful people descend on the capital. By the end, they will have taken in 73 shows and presentations and left behind countless uneaten canapes. But they will also strike deals thought to be worth £100m and form opinions with major ramifications for an industry that employs 816,000 people in the UK and directly contributes £21bn to the economy... Read More At: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/10308861/London-Fashion-Week-UK-style-walks-tall-once-again.html

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again.html

2. LONDON FASHION WEEK: UK STYLE
WALKS TALL ONCE AGAIN
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British Fashion Council boss Caroline Rush reveals new
deals as sector leaders arrive in London.
Sunday marks the mid-point of London Fashion Week,
the twice-yearly, five-day trade show that sees 5,000 buyers,
designers, celebrities and generally beautiful people descend on
the capital.

3. By the end, they will have taken in 73 shows and
presentations and left behind countless uneaten canapes. But they
will also strike deals thought to be worth £100m and form
opinions with major ramifications for an industry that employs
816,000 people in the UK and directly contributes £21bn to the
economy.
The UK fashion industry is in buoyant mood. As it reaps
the benefits of the Middleton Factor and revels in the success of a
new men’s fashion week, London is more than holding its own
among its Big Four peers: New York, Milan and Paris. But
London Fashion Week – and the British fashion industry at large
– hasn’t always taken full advantage of its time in the spotlight.

4. “It had become a bit tired, a bit stale, it got into a rut,”
says The Telegraph’s former fashion director, Hilary Alexander.
“Buyers and magazine editors were genuinely thinking, 'why
come to London?’ Many of the best British designers were
showing elsewhere. London Fashion Week wasn’t established, it
couldn’t really walk in heels.”
But in 2009 the British Fashion Council (BFC) used its
25th anniversary to launch a charm offensive.
“We wanted to set the tone,” said Caroline Rush, who
became the trade body’s first full-time, paid CEO that year.

5. The BFC approached the British brands and designers
who had distanced themselves from the UK, such as Alice
Temperley, Jonathan Saunders, Matthew Williamson and the
biggest high-end British label, Burberry.
“We said, “this is going to be a moment for strengthening
British fashion, come and join us. And if we deliver on
everything we say we can, then stay’.” …
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