The British Fashion Council (BFC) recently announced that all of the London Fashion Weeks that take place over the next twelve months will merge their men’s and women’s shows onto one stage to create gender-neutral fashion shows. According to organizers, this gender-neutral approach by the BFC will give fashion designers more aesthetic flexibility and tons of opportunities to design innovative and creative fashion products.
COVID-19 Changes London Fashion Week
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 London Fashion Week that will take place in June 2020 will now be held in a digital-only format on londonfashionweek.co.uk. The event will have specific platforms for both designers and consumers, both targeted at creating an online experience that offers the same sort of creative and humorous spirit the world-famous fashion show is known for.
The chief executive of the BFC, Caroline Rush, said in a recent interview that the British Fashion Council is using the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to create content and experiences that can influence culture and society positively. Rush told a reporter, “The other side of this crisis, we hope will be about sustainability, creativity, and product that you value, respect, and cherish.”
Rush believes that in the future, London Fashion Week can operate digitally to reach a global audience. This around-the-world digital audience will allow designers to share their stories, clothing, and collections with people who did not have access to them previously.
During London Fashion Week 2020, the BFC wants to promote the idea of London being a multi-ethnic city by allowing different artists, musicians, creatives, and designers that are from the city to share their stories on the London Fashion Week platform. Besides high-end video, the 2020 London Fashion Show website will also host podcasts, interviews, webinars, online showrooms, and designer vlogs.
This year’s London Fashion Week will take place with sponsorship from companies like British GQ, Mercedes-Benz, The May Fair Hotel, LetsBab, and LAVAZZA. Digital companies like Amazon Launchpad, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and JOOR are helping launch the 2020 London Fashion Week digital platform.