The 12th edition of London Fashion Week Men’s (LFWM) opened today as a celebration of discovery and the creative diversity that has made London an international hub for menswear.
The bi-annual showcase of the most creative and innovative names in the fashion industry takes place throughout the city from Friday 8 – Monday 11 June and features over 50 designer businesses and welcomes guests from over 45 countries. Since the inception of a dedicated Menswear fashion showcase in London in June 2012 over 430 designer brands have been part of over 750 catwalk shows, presentations, performances and events.
LFWM brings together an international audience of global media and retailers supported by industry creatives, collaborators, brands and businesses from China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, the US and UK to convene at the creative hub of The Store Studios, 180 Strand to witness catwalk shows, experiential activations, pop up shops and performances from alternative hip hop to classic tailoring and previews of collections from international design houses and award winning British designers.
London is one of the most culturally rich cities on the planet with world-class institutions and globally renowned talent and LFWM celebrates the diversity of our capital through an industry that directly contributes £29.7billion to the UK in GDP and employs 850,000 people (Oxford Economics 2017) while the city’s creative economy now employs 1 in 6 Londoners and contributes £47billion to the economy (london.gov.uk 2018).
The British Fashion Council is delighted to announce new data for the Menswear fashion industry today:
The men’s clothing market grew by an estimated 3.5% in 2017 to reach £15 billion.
Menswear now accounts for 26% of the total clothing market; menswear sales continue to outperform womenswear.
Menswear is predicted to grow by 11% between 2018 and 2022 to reach £17.1 billion.
Mintel, 2018
This season our most promising design talent including Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY, winner of the British Emerging Talent Menswear Award at The Fashion Awards 2017 in partnership with Swarovski and British Emerging Talent Menswear nominees A-COLD-WALL*, COTTWEILER and Phoebe English return to the LFWM schedule alongside London’s brightest menswear designers.
The British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN initiative offers financial support and mentoring to the most talented emerging designers to showcase their June 2018 collections at LFWM and includes A-COLD-WALL*, Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY, Kiko Kostadinov, Liam Hodges, Per Götesson, Phoebe English and Ones to Watch BIANCA SAUNDERS and paria /FARZANEH.
This season the LFWM schedule pays homage to the ever-expanding creativity of the capital through a packed schedule of shows, presentations, installations and events from Friday 8 – Monday 11 June, launching with ICEBERG who present their catwalk show on Friday evening followed on Saturday by DANIEL w. FLETCHER’s runway show.
Internationally celebrated designers Alex Mullins, Berthold, BLINDNESS, COTTWEILER, Edward Crutchley, MAN, Matthew Miller, PRONOUNCE, Sharon Wauchob, and QASIMI will once again all hold catwalk shows; Astrid Andersen, Ben Sherman, Bethany Williams, E.Tautz, JOHN LAWRENCE SULLIVAN, Michiko Koshino, Nicholas Daley, and Wood Wood will return with presentations. Global brands Barbour, CHALAYAN, Kent & Curwen, Lou Dalton, Martine Rose, Oliver Spencer, What We Wear, and Xander Zhou present their new collections, alongside new brands to the schedule PRIVATE POLICY & STAFFONLY Presented by GQ China, BLINDNESSdirect from Seoul Fashion Week, C2H4, Sharon Wauchob X Norton & Sons.
DiscoveryLAB, an experiential zone for thinkers, makers, explorers and innovators merges the landscape of technology, fashion, art and performance and includes an opening multimedia presentation from CV22 – RUGBY – ENGAND, collection showcases from 3.Paradis X PONY, JORDANLUCA and DANSHAN plus movement-based choreographed performances by KA WA KEY, live performances by Arts collective NiNE8 and a 10th anniversary celebration from Mr. Start.
In 2018 the British Fashion Council continues to focus on its Positive Fashion initiative, a platform designed to celebrate industry best practice and encourage future business decisions to create positive change. At LFWM Christopher Raeburn returns to the show schedule bringing sustainable fashion to a mainstream audience while designer Bethany Williams showcases her work with communities and charities on her collection ‘Breadline’ a 100% sustainable collection developed through an exchange programme in conjunction with the Vauxhall Food Bank and Tesco with 30% of profits going to the charity, continuing the cycle of exchange. Australian designer Alexandra Hackett of ALCH focuses on extending the lifespan of products while Ryan Hawaii creates youth-driven, punky artwork and clothing from recycled materials and VIN+OMI are working in conjunction with the BFC, London College of Fashion and Deputy Mayor for Culture, Justine Simons on a project to repurpose any single use plastic from LFWM into sustainable fashion.
The generosity and commitment of our sponsors is more vital than ever. Please help us by acknowledging their support for London Fashion Week Men’s June 2018 – Official Sponsors: British GQ, Etihad Airways, Mercedes-Benz, Radisson Blu Edwardian London, The Store, TONI&GUY, and VIP.com; Official Suppliers: Another_Space, DHL, Digital Domain, Evian, Fashion and Beauty Monitor, Getty Images, Gordon’s Premium Pink Distilled Gin, Launchmetrics, Merchant’s Heart, Propress and Warsteiner; Official Supporters: The Department for International Trade, The European Regional Development Fund and The Mayor of London.