As the City welcomes London Fashion Week once more, it is a great opportunity to introduce you to a selection of our member venues who embrace fashion, be it through the ability to host a fashion show, help stylize a photoshoot or purely by telling the story behind a famous piece of clothing that would delight any fashionista! The venues offer a variety of inspiring and unusual backdrops to display or enjoy fashion. Choose from iconic tube carriages, striking brutalist architecture buildings, historic classrooms, neoclassical courtyards, historical crypts, 1930s Art Deco halls, even a time tunnel of brands which offers an incredible overview of how fashion has changed.
Image credit - The London Sock Exchange - @thelondonsockexchange
London Transport Museum is based in Covent Garden, but did you know that they also have a Depot that is a treasure trove of tube carriages that are just perfect for a fashion shoot?
The carriages cover a wide time frame from 1927 to modern times and are suitable for both period or contemporary styles. The Depot provides a fully controlled environment to shoot a whole host of fashion looks and hire includes access to Green Rooms. Recent clients include Mallet London (founder by Tommy Mallet of TOWIE fame), The London Sock Exchange, George by ASDA and Reiss.
For further information please contact: venuehire@ltmuseum.co.uk
Image credit - Philip Vile
Did you know the National Theatre can host your fashion shows and shoots?
With its striking brutalist architecture, the National Theatre is the perfect backdrop for any fashion feature. Whether you are presenting streetwear, activewear or something more avant garde, the National Theatre's concrete structure offers a neutral yet quirky canvas to work with.
If you are interested in hiring the National Theatre for your next shoot or show, please contact the Business Development team at filming@nationaltheatre.org.uk
Image credits: Nike and Next
Having provided the backdrop to many fashion photoshoots over the past 20 years, Harrow School’s venues can be seen featured in publications including Tatler, GQ, Vogue, Ralph Lauren and Burberry, as well as providing the locations for Suzanne Neville’s Bridal collection, a Nike and Next sports collaboration and Ayrela, an Indian occasion-wear brand.
Whether you’re looking for somewhere steeped in history, or you envision beautiful, outdoor spaces with picturesque landscapes, Harrow School has many locations and buildings, dating between 1615 to 2011, spread across 300 acres of countryside in North West London, which can comfortably accommodate a range of photography requirements. Alongside historic locations, Harrow has many classrooms that work suitably as green rooms and dressing rooms for hair and makeup.
Contact the team at events@harrowschool.org.uk for further details.
Royal Museums Greenwich is comprised of five iconic venues: National Maritime Museum, Cutty Sark, the Queen’s House, Royal Observatory, and Peter Harrison Planetarium. Whilst these venues may not be the first to come to mind when we consider the theme of fashion, they have each have their own links to the world of fashion.
Whether you’re interested in the personal fashion items held in the museum’s collection; the architecture of our venues; or the events and editorial shoots that we host for fashion brands, there’s something at Royal Museums Greenwich for the ‘fashionistas’. RMG is the proud home to Lord Nelson’s pristine Naval Jackets; and the iconic Queen’s House, which was once the leading example of ‘en-vogue’ architecture, as the first building in Britain built entirely in the classical-Palladian style.
Our venues host events for luxury brands from Rolex to Levi’s and everything in between. The splendour of these venues recommends them as the perfect setting to make a statement and celebrate fashion.
For further details please contact events@rmg.co.uk
Once the home of London Fashion Week, Somerset House still plays host to countless fashion brands each year from high-end couture to high street staples. Their relationship with fashion is growing stronger than ever, in September they will be launching our next major exhibition, Missing Thread. Exploring how the cultural, political, and socio-economic backdrop of the 20th and 21st century shaped the identity of Black style and in turn mainstream fashion culture. It celebrates the unique impact of a largely unseen generation of Black creatives who've often been excluded or misrepresented in the traditional story of British fashion.
Whether it’s the pristine white walls, wooden floors, and natural light of the Portico Rooms, the gallery style East Wing with view of our stunning neoclassical Courtyard, the catwalk ready Embankment Galleries, or the dramatic, raw aesthetic of the Lancaster Rooms – Somerset House pride themselves on providing exciting, blank canvas event spaces to suit any fashion event.
Contact events@somersethouse.org.uk for further details.
Image credit – Matt Chung Photography
Fashion – some say it changes quickly, but others seem to suggest it comes in cycles? It is safe to say, however, that the fashion of today is very different to the fashion in 1411 when Guildhall’s Great Hall was built!
Once a platform for showcasing the latest trends in doublets, duckbill shoes, glistening jewels, cloaks and tunics at sumptuous events, the Great Hall has more recently provided a runway for more modern showcases of fashion whether it be at banquets, dinners, receptions or fashion week shows.
Steeped in history the Great Hall is a beautiful backdrop to showcasing modern styles and collections. Marrying the heritage and stories of the space with cutting edge fashion and design provides a wonderful juxtaposition for designers wishing to showcase their latest pieces. Glamourous activities in the Great Hall are also wonderfully supported by other event spaces at the venue such as the Crypts, Old Library, Livery Hall, all providing plenty of space for fashion show preparations!
For further information please contact Guildhall.events@cityoflondon.gov.uk
The Museum of London Docklands is opening a new fashion inspired exhibition in October 2023, with clients able to add a private viewing of ‘Fashion City: How Jewish Londoners Shaped Global Style’ to their events.
Celebrating the Jewish designers who dressed everyone from Bowie to Bond, the museum is re-creating a swinging Sixties Carnaby street boutique, alongside a more humble workshop from the height of the rag trade in east London. The exhibition will focus on how Jewish Londoners became trendsetters in the fashion business.
As well as clothes from the museum’s own collection, the curators are looking for garments made by names including Michael Fish who designed the dress worn by David Bowie on the cover of The Man Who Sold the World and shirts worn by Sean Connery in his first 007 films. Curators are also asking fashion conscious Londoners for menswear items by Cecil Gee and womenswear from designers from Rahvis and Neymar to dressmaker Madame Isobel, as well as hats by Otto Lucas who dressed names including Greta Garbo.
‘Fashion City: How Jewish Londoners Shaped Global Style’ opens in October and will run until April 2024.
Contact the events team for more information or to enquire about hosting an event at the museum: venuehire@museumoflondon.org.uk / 020 7814 5789
Image credit: Ana Lečić, @photonartik
Sadler’s Wells is a world-renowned contemporary, vibrant and inspiring venue which provides spectacular backgrounds for creative events.
Throughout the years Sadler’s Wells Theatre has hosted many fashion shows and events.
Theatre has a range of contemporary and versatile spaces that make it an ideal fashion show venue in central London. Our Sadler’s Wells Theatre auditorium and Lilian Baylis Studio can be transformed into striking catwalks.
Additional spaces available at the venue provide convenient areas for welcoming guests, drinks receptions and make-up and dressing rooms.
Please contact our experienced events team (events@sadlerswells.com) to discuss your next project.
When you choose to host your event with us, you’re supporting Sadler’s Wells Trust and its projects.
At the Museum of Brands, our collection showcases collection objects that surround itself with fashion in order to reflect consumer history and culture.
From the Victorian era, through to the 50s and 70s, all the way up to the modern day, we have clothing pieces and toys on display in our Time Tunnel which offer an incredible overview of how fashion has changed and how designs influence decisions on branding and the reflection of the buyer in Britain. Come visit our beautiful Museum and Venue in order to gain a close insight into dresses, shoes, and doll's clothes over the past 200 years.
Find out more about the Museum here.
Image credit: The Quilted Sari from the HUEMN Fall 17 Collection, HUEMN, 2017; photo Pankaj Dahalia; model Rachi Chitakara
The Design Museum has a major new exhibition coming up that will celebrate the contemporary sari. From 19 May until 17 September 2023, The Offbeat Sari will bring together dozens of the finest saris of our time from designers, wearers and craftspeople in India.
You can find out more about what to expect and book tickets here https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/the-offbeat-sari
The exhibition can be hired as an add on to any event, with exclusive access and guided tour options for guests. Please contact our Commercial Hire & Events Team at venuehire@designmuseum.org for more information.
Having retained many of its original 1930s features, the Art Deco inspired RIBA at 66 Portland Place is a popular setting for fashion shows and shoots. The grand Florence Hall lends itself perfectly for this type of event with its high ceilings, carved walls, etched glass windows and beautiful Art Deco detailing.
66 Portland Place has been host to numerous fashion shows and shoots over the last few years including Jasper Conran, Victoria Beckham, Hobbs London and Toga, all of which utilised various spaces across the venue for hair and make-up, the models’ changing room, a runway show, a photoshoot and after-show drinks.
Whether it’s a fashion shoot set against the backdrop of the building’s Art Deco features and incredible architecture or a more elaborate runway show which requires a specialised build, the Florence Hall can accommodate it all with ease!
To enquire about using 66 Portland Place for a shoot or fashion show, email venues@riba.org or call 020 7307 3888
The popular London Ellipse Hall is once again available for events as part of our venue portfolio at the Museum of London.
This fantastic space in the centre of the museum has hosted some incredible events over the years, and for the first time it is available for daytime and full day hire. Featuring London’s only fully commissionable circular LED ellipse with integrated plasma screen, the London Ellipse Hall is able to host fashion shows, photoshoots and many other fabulous events.
Contact the events team for more information or to enquire about hosting an event at the museum: venuehire@museumoflondon.org.uk / 020 7814 5789