This September, fashion industry royalty once again descended on London for a celebration of style, elegance and flair as the capital welcomed London Fashion Week 2016. Some of our fabulous member venues have played a pivotal role in one of the world’s most prestigious events and the most significant date in the fashion world’s calendar. This week we offer a brief insight into the involvement of a few Unique Venues of London members, at this year’s London Fashion Week.
This year was like any other, with Unique Venues of London once again at the fore of the prestigious event. Bespoke tailor Joshua Kane regularly returns to Spitalfields Venue for London Fashion Week and the magnificent Nave was the perfect setting for a fashion show, being able to host up to 600 people in its spectacular central London location. This September the venue, which comprises a versatile event space with clerestory windows, mezzanine galleries and a central hall accented with Tuscan columns, was proud to welcome designer Mother of Pearl to the list of fantastic exhibitors!
Southwark Cathedral, which sits at the heart of Bankside, next to London Bridge hosted Simone Rocha’s SS17 runway show. Rose Harding, Development Director at the Cathedral said “We could not be more delighted to join so many of our Unique Venues of London friends during London Fashion Week. It has been a great privilege to work with Simone and her team at Karla Otto.” Lighting contractors White Light provided stunning light effects directed by internationally-renowned lighting designer Tupac Matir, who creates lighting and visual designs for productions in music, dance, fashion, theatre and opera. Rose Harding added “It was a very great pleasure to see the Cathedral space so clear and with such clean lines, heightened by the lighting scheme. The Gothic architecture set off Simone’s exquisite and beautiful creations to very great effect”.
2016 will also see the Saatchi Gallery host Fashion Trade Show SCOOP London who announced their collaboration with the British Fashion Council (BFC) this year. This month’s edition of the UK’s renowned biannual luxury fashion event will move to the esteemed Saatchi Gallery in Duke of York Square, just off London’s historic King’s Road. The King's Road has long been a street that represents the changing faces of style whilst providing a catwalk for some of the world’s most famous fashion movements. In the 1960s The King's Road became a hub for the fashion community amidst a frenzy of mini-skirts. During the ‘hippie’ and ‘punk’ eras, the area became a centre for counter-culture and style. The King's Road has historically provided a home for the fashion world making, this striking, influential and even controversial corner of London a brilliantly appropriate host for the next stage in the evolution of London Fashion Weekend.