The British Fashion Council Announces London Fashion Week Is Going Digital And Gender-neutral

 A digital fashion week has already been introduced to Asia a few years back and its time for Europe to follow suit under unfortunate circumstances. On the 21st of  April, the British Fashion Council confirmed that  London Fashion Week will be going ahead in June this time with both menswear and womenswear showcasing making it the first official gender-neutral London fashion week. As we are still uncertain about the future and large gatherings are prohibited the shows will also be digital with extra events for fashion fans to engage with. The digital events will be happening from the 12 to the 14th of June the dates scheduled for London’s fashion week men’s shows. 

Caroline Rush, the chief executive of the British Fashion Council, comments of the changes made to this years London fashion week: “The current pandemic is leading us all to reflect more poignantly on the society we live in […] The other side of this crisis we hope will be about sustainability, creativity and product that you value, respect, cherish.”

She continued: “By creating a cultural fashion week platform, we are adapting digital innovation to best fit our needs today and something to build on as a global showcase for the future. Designers will be able to share their stories, and for those that have them, their collections, with a wider global community; we hope that as well as personal perspectives on this difficult time, there will be inspiration in bucketloads. It is what British fashion is known for.”

 Following on from last weeks vogue global conversations, fashion week will be providing live webinars and digital showrooms. People have been turning to the internet and using platforms such as zoom, Instagram live and house party to stay connected as well as keep up with their favourite celebrities. Designers are using this time to connect with their audience in a much more personal way. For example, Alexander McQueen is using Instagram to post a series of digital tutorials, the project is called McQueen creators, encouraging followers to create art, whether that be through sketching, embroidery, sewing, pattern making and more. Brand  Chloé has also joined in on the fun, creating ‘Chloé Voices’ using Instagram live sessions to chat with singers and artists. Getting people in the home party mood the brand is also facilitating Chloé club inviting DJ’s to go live with them. Many of us within the fashion community will see this as a chance to reinvent fashion week turning it into a celebration of fashion that is both more inclusive and available for the public but also a chance to become more sustainable and conscious about how we shop, how we consume content and consider why we are constantly in need of something new.  Does fashion week running throughout the year perpetuate fast fashion and the pressure to keep up with the constant changing of trends? Fitting perfectly with Fashion Revolution week there will be discussions on how the digitalisation of fashion week is perhaps the start of something new, a time and a chance for more of us to have a say on how fashion week is going to look like moving forward.