Fashion editors, bloggers, designers and buyers alike were dismayed when LFW moved from its iconic spot at Somerset House to a car park in the heart of Soho a few seasons ago. And just as we're all acclimatising to London Fashion Week's slightly less chic new home at Brewer Street Car Park, the British Fashion Council announced this morning that the shows will be relocating to a new venue from next season.
The Store Studios at 180 The Strand, a vast space a few doors down from Somerset House, where London Collections: Men (now renamed London Fashion Week Men's) currently takes place will be the new home of LFW too, uniting all major fashion events under one roof. This will include the bi-annual consumer event London Fashion Weekend now named London Fashion Week Festival which previously took place at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea. The BFC explained that this will create "a fashion and cultural hub in the heart of London." In its new home London Fashion Week will run from February 17th – 21st next year for AW17 and the festival will follow immediately from February 23rd - 26th.
The deputy mayor for culture and creative industries, Justine Simons added: "London is a top fashion capital – we have brilliant fashion colleges, leading designers and established brands, and Londoners of course have a great sense of style. London Fashion Week and London Fashion Week Men’s have been blazing a trail on the world stage, and the brand new London Fashion Week Festival will up the game even more – cementing The Store Studios as the coolest new creative quarter in London and offering a fantastic opportunity for the public.”
Alex Eagle, Creative Director of The Store Studios, which has retail spaces at Soho House Berlin and Soho Farmhouse, while 180 Stand also includes office space, said: "With the fashion industry spearheading the shift from the direct experience of a runway show to broadcasting that experience around the world, The Store Studios is the perfect space for the London Fashion Week Festival."
We certainly won't miss navigating the ramps at Brewer Street Car park nor the narrow streets of Soho, lined with paparazzi, passers by and swarms of street style photographers and look forward to a new chapter for London Fashion Week.
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