There has been a growing conversation, it started as a murmur, whispered between industry people that’s growing and growing, it's becoming a chant, what has happened to London's fashion weeks?
London is the home of the most creative and diverse fashion weeks for men and women but in the last few years that's been under pressure. The events are beginning to be discussed as slipping in importance and relevance, they've become a conversation about are they serving the industry they are meant to support or are they damaging the industry?
Why do you think that you may ask, well let me explain. There are a few key pointers, where are the buyers, what is the return for designers and labels that choose to show and pivotal to those, is awareness really creating revenue? At its heart London Fashion Week whether the male or female version is meant to be a commercial operation, deals are struck, coverage is gained, and all focused to making its shows and presentations create sales, but is it doing that?
First off, where are the buyers, I talk to a lot of designers, a journalist is only as good as their contact book, and as a writer and fashion editor I've entered into conversations that started occasional and have become frequent, all based around designers telling me off the record that they rarely meet a buyer at the various weeks now. Evidence of this can be found in the amount of labels that show at London but have started also appearing across the globe at other weeks in the hope of the elusive purchasing deals. In fact sitting and writing this I can already think of many labels that have abandoned London altogether in search of fresh chances to meet with buyers.
Yes, the world of e-commerce has changed the game, but getting product into stores is still key, online shop fronts connected to a labels website aren't enough to significantly move the profit needle. The first challenge is how does the BFC and the wider industry get the buyers back, I don't have that answer, but I know where it can be found, ask the buyers why they aren't coming, it'll be painful to hear why they aren't but you can't fix a problem you don't understand. Only by listening can the solutions be found. Unless we get those prestigious order books back into showrooms the game may well be up.