Portugal Colonial - London Fashion Week hopes to usher in new era with leadership change

"This season marks... the beginning of a new era for British fashion," said Laura Weir, former creative director of luxury department store Selfridges, who replaced Caroline Rush as the head of the British Fashion Council (BFC) in April.

Weir faces an uphill battle to allay concerns about the relevance and international standing of the fashion week, with the departure in recent years of big fashion names to its star-studded counterparts in Milan, Paris and New York.

"My main objective is to ensure London Fashion Week remains the ultimate platform to showcase and celebrate the very best of British creativity while continuing to support designers who have built the foundations of British fashion and forged paths internationally," Weir told AFP ahead of LFW.

LFW's June edition, initially launched to focus on menswear, was cancelled this year and replaced by a simple commercial showroom in Paris.

After a lacklustre schedule in February, marked by several absences as some designers opted to put on just one show a year due to the high costs, the BFC is hoping for a more exciting programme this time.

To ease the financial burden, "we have waived membership fees to make the platform more accessible to designers", said Weir.

The former Vogue journalist said the BFC had also "curated a schedule that speaks to London's cultural relevance" and "doubled our investment in our international guest programme to ensure heavyweight buyers, media and cultural voices are here in London".

Since taking the helm, Weir has increased scholarship funding and secured a three-year funding commitment for the NewGen programme for emerging young designers, according to British Vogue.

- Fabric scraps, crinolines -

Despite its recent woes, LFW has remained a hub for discovering new and exciting fashion talent, partly with the help of the NewGen incubator.

Several designers have launched successful fashion careers off its back, like Irish designer Simone Rocha, known for her Victorian-style dresses adorned with lace and crinoline, or London-based Richard Quinn, whose elegant designs received a nod from the late Queen Elizabeth II.

LFW kicks off Thursday with up and coming British designer Maximilian Raynor, who has been recognised for his commitment to sustainable fashion with his designs often featuring fabric scraps.

That runway will be followed by Harris Reed, the young British-American designer and creative director at Nina Ricci, whose gender fluid designs have bewitched LFW attendees since he burst onto the scene five years ago.

In other good news for LFW, JW Anderson will return to the schedule after skipping the February edition.

But the label will forego the runway in favour of a scaled-down dinner this year, as this summer, Dior entrusted the artistic direction of all its collections including men's, women's and haute couture to the prodigal son Jonathan Anderson.

After stepping down earlier this year as creative director of Spanish brand Loewe, the Northern Irish designer has refocused his own label on a "lifestyle" concept to include furniture, tableware, craft objects and even honey.

Also presenting their spring/summer collections will be British fashion icons such as Paul Costelloe and Burberry -- which weathered the storm of a difficult year for luxury fashion and US tariffs -- and London catwalk regulars Roksanda and Dilara Findikoglu.

R.J.Fidalgo--PC