London Fashion Week: Left Speechless by Westwood

We awoke this morning to read in a press release that Vivienne Westwood's long-time business partner, Carlo D'Amario, was urging the British designers who show abroad to come back to London.

"I hope our example will be followed by my colleagues at other British brands who now only show abroad. I call on John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Burberry among others to show their younger distribution lines here in London and unite to make London Fashion Week and London not only a centre for creativity but also for business. There is now definitely more interest in London from international press and buyers and a union of known British brands in London would attract more, therefore making it more cost effective to come here. Vivienne Westwood is making a commitment to show in London for the foreseeable future and I hope that I can count on my colleagues at other British brands to make a similar commitment to their spiritual home for it to be not just the global capital of creativity but a commercial centre also."

Now, to put this in perspective, let me point out that this is the first time in almost a decade that Westwood has shown in London. And the collection she is showing is not her signature one, but Red, her diffusion line. Her main collection will be shown, as usual, in Paris. D'Amario acknowledges that by singling out "younger distribution brands." But it still smacks of a desperate attempt to get even more attention to the much-hyped show. (Apparently Kate Moss is going to walk the runway woo-hoo.) Let me also point out that very few buyers from America made the trip this year, due not only to the high cost of the trip but also the high cost of the collections -- the downside of the weak dollar. I won't be going to the Red show. I forgot to send them my official letter of accreditation from the British Fashion Council before New York (no one has ever asked for that before!) and now it is too late. But a giant hug for Ania, the PR, who sent me one of -- no, the only! -- honest rejections I've ever received. "Also, we were only able to accommodate press we do advertise with." And that might, might be why D'Amario decided to show Red in London. Here it's the star of the show and all the editors of all those groovy fashion that come out here will be front and center. In Paris, it would be just another slot on a very busy schedule and, if it were up against another big name, who knows who they'd send?. □

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