Cultural contribution of London Fashion Week
There will be a Westminster Hall debate on the cultural contribution of London Fashion Week at 2:30pm on 16 September 2025. The debate will be opened by Rosie Wrighting MP.
Launched in 1984 by a group of designers and producers, with the support of the British Fashion Council (BFC), the first London Fashion Week (LFW) featured catwalk shows presented in the Commonwealth Institute's car park in Kensington. The inaugural event featured designers such as Vivienne Westwood, David Fielden, Ghost and Betty Jackson, and John Galliano who presented his graduate collection, “Les Incroyables”. LFW subsequently gained traction and was attended by Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher in 1987. It is generally regarded as one of the “big four” fashion weeks, alongside the New York, Paris, and Milan fashion weeks.
Cultural contribution Amplifying the British fashion community
According to the BFC’s 2024 LFW Production Brief (PDF), the LFW is a “global cultural platform which amplifies the British fashion community and global brands”. Attracting visitors from all around the world, the LFW has been described as putting “London and British Fashion firmly on the international stage”.
The LFW aims to celebrate London “as a world leading cultural capital”(PDF) and “embed LFW in the hearts and minds of people in the UK”.
Diversity and cultural exchange
LFW has been described as celebrating multiculturality and “the diversity of cultures brought by immigrants”. According to the 2024 AFP report which covered the 40th anniversary edition of the event:
There were as many tones of color -- from royal blue to black, orange, brown, yellow and green -- as there were "inspiring stories" from immigrants.
Some models wore suitcases as headgear, a reference to people fleeing conflict taking their belongings with them.
People move for different reasons, and when they move, they move their culture with them. And we wanted to celebrate that tonight," Dumbuya told AFP.
The 2024 “London Fashion Week June” also featured an “insider-only” cultural event that focused on what the organisers described as “three distinct cultural influences that have significantly shaped the British fashion industry: Black culture, South Asian culture and queer culture.”
Cultural values on sustainability and ethics
In 2018, LFW was announced as the first fur-free major fashion week following a survey of designers by the BFC. The BFC stated:
The BFC survey results reflect a cultural change based on ideals and choices made by designer businesses, international brands as well as consumer sentiment but also encouraged by the stance of multi-brand stores who are moving away from selling fur.
In 2024 it was announced that the use of exotic skins such as crocodile and snake in show collections would be banned at LFW. The ban was reportedly criticised by members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature on the ground that it would undermine economic incentives for communities to conserve species.
Supporting emerging ideas
LFW offers a forum for young and emerging designers to showcase their designs. Through the BFC’s NEWGEN programme, emerging designers are offered showcasing support reportedly totalling “an average value-in-kind of approximately £80,000 each” during two LFW seasons per initiative year. In September 2023, the then government announced a £2 million funding support for the BFC's NEWGEN scheme.
Further resources Parliamentary questions and statements
- Clothing: Overseas Trade, 5 February 2021 | UIN 150780
- Creative Industries Update, 14 June 2023 | UIN HLWS837
- Clothing: Manufacturing Industries, 1 September 2023 | UIN 196499
- Clothing: Cultural Heritage, 21 March 2024 | UIN 19827