London calling fashion
5:45pm Tuesday 12th February 2008
So you've not even had time to collect your pennies to pay for your spring wardrobe yet the fashion world is unveiling the autumn/winter 2008 collections. Fashion truly never sleeps.
Over two hundred designer labels will be showcased and famous faces from the worlds of music and fashion have been rubbing shoulders as London Fashion Week kicked off at the weekend.
The exhibition opened on Sunday at a champagne reception with British Fashion Council chairman Harold Tillman.
Singers Lily Allen and Sophie Ellis Bextor were among guests at the PPQ label's new collection launch. Television presenter Tara Palmer-Tomkinson and model Erin O'Connor watched models hit the catwalk for designer Jasper Conran's show.
Jasper Conran created his first womenswear collection 30 years ago and was among the first group of designers to show at the event. He said different shapes and silhouettes were the inspiration for his designs. "The challenge is how to take these shapes and turn them into flattering clothes," he told Fashion Week organisers.
London Fashion Week runs until Friday, with a series of designers from the UK and abroad showing off their new collections at events in the capital.
Visitors to the exhibitions will see accessories including jewellery, bags, footwear and millinery designers alongside over 110 ready-to-wear designers.
There are also unique events including New Gen which showcases the works of promising young designers new to the catwalk. Sponsored by Topshop, it's a chance to see hotly tipped talent. Since it's inception in 1993, it has grown the most internationally recognised talent, such as Alexander McQueen, Matthew Williamson and Julien Macdonald.
Whilst it's nothing new, Estethica, the British Fashion Council's acclaimed ethical fashion showcase will be exhibiting for the fourth season. In association with Monsoon Accessorize, it has firmly cemented its reputation for raising awareness and promoting the concept of eco fashion within the industry and will be producing the estethica guide to exhibitors, distributed at the exhibition.
The exhibitions are open until Wednesday, February 13 from 10am to 6pm. The catwalk shows run until Friday, February 15. But don't worry if you've not had the chance to get down to London, we will have all the gossip from the shows as and when it happens.