London Fashion Week

London Fashion Week is now established as one of London's premier events attracting a target audience of key fashion leaders, retailers and press who attend this bi-annual showcase of British designer fashion.

The British Fashion Council was formed in 1983 out of the Fashion Industry Action Group, an ad hoc group created in 1981. The British Fashion Council aims to showcase British designers and develop London’s position as a major player in the international fashion arena. As a result, London Fashion Week ranks alongside New York, Milan and Paris as one of the 'Big Four’.

The BFC showcase the best of British designer collections to international press and buyers at a globally recognised event, London Fashion Week

Organised by the British Fashion Council (BFC) for the London Development Agency with help from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, London Fashion Week first took place in 1984. It currently ranks alongside New York, Paris and Milan as one of the 'Big Four' fashion weeks. It presents itself to funders as a trade event that also attracts significant press attention and benefit to taxpayers. It is also able to get an official sponsorship from Mercedes-Benz, a worldwide known automobile brand and global hairdressing company Toni & Guy. It states that it is attended by over 5,000 press and buyers, and has estimated orders of £40m or £100m. A retail-focused event, London Fashion Weekend, takes place immediately afterwards at the same venue and is open to the general public.

The current venue for most of the "on-schedule" events is Somerset House in central London, where a large marquee in the central courtyard hosts a series of catwalk shows by top designers and fashion houses, while an exhibition, housed within Somerset House itself, shows over 150 designers. However, many "off-schedule" events, such as Vauxhall Fashion Scout and On|Off, are organised by other private-funded groups and take place at other venues in central London.