London Fashion Week has established itself as one of the most creative and innovative fashion showcases in the world, with its home, London, being one of the most multicultural, vibrant and diverse cities on the planet.
London Fashion Week Festival brings a city-wide celebration throughout the month of September 2018 merging creative institutions, designer businesses and global brands, offering consumer activation in London as a backdrop to London Fashion Week. London Fashion Week Festival opens up the city and celebrates the intersection of the creative industries, from music, art, tech and design and there are many ways the public can get involved; from digital engagement, to exhibitions, in-store activation and events throughout the month of September. All the below activities and events are open to the public.
London Fashion Week Festival
From 20th September to 23rd September
The Store X, 180 Strand, London, WC2R 1EA
Londonfashionweekfestival.com
London Fashion Week Festival welcomes 14,000 people across four-days offering the ultimate fashion experience to visitors; with curated shopping galleries from over 150 international and British brands, catwalk shows, industry talks and style presentations. The event invites visitors to experience the atmosphere of London Fashion Week in its official venue and gain an insight into the fashion industry. It also gives designer brands the opportunity to meet and build direct relationships with new customers.
This season the designer runway will host Bobby Abley, Georgia Hardinge, Katharine Hamnett and Mother of Pearl to show their AW18 collections while Senior Fashion Director of LOVE Magazine, Steve Morriss will be the stylist for the Designer Trend shows. In addition, the London Fashion Week Festival Talks Gallery returns with a diverse range of subject matters and industry experts. Alice Black, co-director of the Design Museum joins to discuss co-curating the Azzedine Alaïa: The Couturier exhibition with the late designer and telling the story of his life through the garments he so masterfully created from the early 1980s to his most recent collection in 2017. Model, activist and body positive ambassador, Charli Howard will discuss body positivity and image in the fashion industry and self-care in the digital age. The Careers in Fashion Talk returns chaired by Glamour’s Fashion Director at large, Alexandra Fullerton, who explores opportunities in visual roles in fashion, from set design to art direction with a panel of industry insiders including creative director, Andre Bato, photographer Florian Joahn and his creative partner Jean Paul Paula and set designer Suzanne Beirne. Influencer and author of ‘Eat Smart’, Niomi Smart, discusses the power of digital influence and using your platform and message responsibly. Women in Fashion will be joining the schedule to discuss representation and accountability in fashion, exploring topics such as the importance of visual diversity and diversity behind the scenes. One-stop style resource, Who What Wear and their beauty sister site Byrdie will be joined by industry friends and familiar social media faces to delve into how we should be using Instagram, beyond the likes.
This season’s limited-edition London Fashion Week Festival tote bag was designed by BFC/Vogue Fashion Fund 2018 winner, Molly Goddard.
Another Space
Wednesday 19th September
Multiple locations
London’s fitness boutique, Another Space is hosting a London Fashion Week themed spin class with a special London Fashion Week playlist. Book online.
Anya Hindmarch ‘Chubby Cloud’ Installation
Friday 14th to Sunday 16th September
Banqueting House, Whitehall, Westminster, London SW1A 2ER
To celebrate London Fashion Week, accessories designer Anya Hindmarch will create ‘Chubby Cloud’, an experiential installation inspired by the cloud motif in her AW18 Chubby Collection. Located in Banqueting House London, visitors will be able to climb on and sink into the world’s largest bean bag under the only in-situ Rubens painted ceiling in the world. The three-day event will include a series of talks, meditations, music and bedtime stories that the public can book into, all taking place on the Chubby Cloud. Visitors will also be able to enjoy Chubby Cloud inspired cakes in the Chubby Cloud pop-up café and visit the Chubby Cloud pop-up shop which will offer the Designers latest Chubby Collection – released globally to coincide with the event – alongside products created exclusively for the event including Chubby Cloud cushions, Chubby Cloud eye masks and Chubby Cloud marshmallows.
Azzedine Alaia: The Couturier
Until 7th October 2018
Design Museum, 224 – 238 Kensington High Street, London, W8 6AG
Celebrate ‘couture’s rebellious outsider’ in the first UK solo exhibition of his work. Conceived and co-curated with Monsieur Alaia before his death in November 2017, the exhibition charts his incredible journey from sculptor to couturier, his nonconformist nature and his infectious energy for fashion, friendship and the female body.
Behind Every Great City
Unveiling of Department Store windows 13th September
Fortnum & Mason, Harrods and Harvey Nichols
London’s iconic department stores are marking 100 years since the first women in the UK won the right to vote, by unveiling window displays dedicated to commemorating the suffrage movement.
Fortnum & Mason, Harrods and Harvey Nichols are uniting behind the Mayor’s #behindeverygreatcity campaign to mark the historic centenary with prominent window displays which celebrate the progress of women over the last 100 years and highlight the history of the campaigning that took place on the streets of the capital for the right to vote.
Boutique 1
Throughout September 2018
127-128 Sloane St, Chelsea, London SW1X 9AS
As part of London Fashion Week, luxury retailer Boutique 1 will be working with an up and coming artist & illustrator to take over both the window spaces across the London Sloane Street and Dubai Mall of Emirates stores throughout September. Selecting a new generation artist to design the Fashion Week windows shows a continuation of Boutique 1’s aim to support new, fresh talent – initially starting with their Summer Series bringing in new designers to showcase within a Middle Eastern and Beach Pop-up space in the London, Sloane Street store.
Design – The Expanded Field
Thu 06 Sep 2018, 18.30
Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA
This talk brings together three designers who are pushing the boundaries of their discipline into new territories and challenging established notions of what it means to be a designer. Nassia Inglessis of Studio INI has created a spectacular installation that engages and disrupts viewers perceptions of space and structure. Mariam Majid has designed an installation celebrating the creative work of female artisans in Pakistan’s cotton textile industry. Nathalie Harb’s designs for urban environments, including The Silent Room, are intended to counter social segregation in cities like her native Beirut, and respond to growing levels of noise pollution. The panel, chaired by Charlotte Fiell, co-author of the book Women in Design, also considers the issue of diversity in the design sector worldwide.
Diana: Her Fashion Story at Kensington Palace
Until November 2018
Kensington Palace State Apartments, Kensington Gardens, London, W8 4PX
Follow Princess Diana’s iconic style and discover how she used her image to inspire people and champion causes close to her heart through her outfits. Take a closer detailed look at the glamorous gowns from the 1980s to the chic working outfits of 1990s and how she established herself as a trendsetter, princess and patron. To celebrate the success of the exhibition this far, outfits from some of Diana’s most iconic moments have been added to the display for 2018.
The flak vest, denim shirt and Armani chinos selected for her high-profile visit to the landmine fields of Angola in 1997 will form the centrepiece of the exhibition until November 2018. Other items joining the exhibition are the pink Bellville Sassoon suit worn by the Princess to board the train for her honeymoon and never-before displayed outfits including a sumptuous Victor Edelstein evening gown worn for an official portrait by Terence Donovan.
Dover Street Market: Stan Smith in-store signing
Monday 17th September, 4:00pm – 6:00pm
Dover Street Market, 18-22 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4DG
Former world No1 tennis player, Stan Smith will be in-store to sign copies of his new coffee table book Stan Smith: Some People Think I’m a Shoe (Rizzoli, £40), as well as limited numbers of his iconic Adidas: Stan Smith sneaker.
Emilia Wickstead Window Installations at The May Fair
From 12th September to 23rd September 2018
The May Fair, Stratton St, Mayfair, London W1J 8LT
To mark The May Fair’s tenth year anniversary as the Official London Fashion Week Hotel, renowned fashion designer and The May Fair’s Designer in Residence, Emilia Wickstead has curated bespoke window installations which will be visible from 12th – 23rd September 2018.
Alongside the windows, Wickstead, has curated ‘The Emilia Collection,’ an exclusive range of cocktails that have been inspired by Emilia Wickstead’s most celebrated dresses and will be available at May Fair Bar from the 8th – 23rd September 2018. Limited edition Emilia Wickstead key cards will also be in use throughout the hotel during London Fashion Week.
Fashion Design, Storytelling and Performing Arts: An Evening with Matty Bovan
Friday 21st Sep 2018, 18.30
Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA
Acclaimed fashion designer Matty Bovan will present the site-specific installation created with artists Rory Mullen and Adam Leach in a conversation with curator Alison Moloney (London College of Fashion) and project manager Zara Worth. The talk will explore the creative process behind the Leeds Pavilion, inspired by religious symbolism in reference to Elizabethan interior design, and the relationship between fashion and performance art emerging from this creative partnership between Bovan, Mullen and Leach.
Fashioned From Nature
Until 27th January 2019
Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL
A seminal exhibition exploring the complex relationship between fashion and nature from 1600 to the present day. 300 beautiful, intriguing and unsettling objects highlight fashion’s dependence on the riches of nature for inspiration, energy and raw materials. It celebrates fashion’s creativity and innovation and asks how the industry and we, as consumers, can harness these qualities to design a vibrant but more responsible fashion system that respects, protects and celebrates the natural world. London Fashion Week designers, Christopher Kane, Erdem, JW Anderson and Margaret Howell are all featured in this exhibition.
Fashion in Focus Tours
From 1st September 2018 – 30th September 2018
Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL
Join our Guides in these special tours and explore the V&A’s outstanding collection through a fashion focus. In celebration of the month of fashion, each tour highlights a unique selection of garments, textiles and accessories from the museum’s renowned fashion collection and galleries beyond. The one-hour tours take place on all Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 3pm and Saturdays at 1pm throughout September.
Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up
Until 4th November 2018
Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL
This exhibition will present an extraordinary collection of personal artefacts and clothing belonging to the iconic Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. The collection was locked away for 50 years after her death and has never before been exhibited outside Mexico.
Garance Doré and Gauthier Borsarello in Conversation; MatchesFashion.com
20th September, 7:00pm – 8:00pm
5 Carlos Place, London W1K 3AP
Join celebrated writer, creative director and founder of Atelier Doré, Garance Doré and vintage curator and style director of Holiday Boileau Gauthier Borsarello for an in-conversation on lifestyle and vintage. Also available to watch live online.
Holiday Boileau Bespoke Masterclass; MatchesFashion.com
20th September, 4:00pm – 8:00pm
5 Carlos Place, London W1K 3AP
Customise one-off vintage Levi’s with vintage experts Super Stitch, plus create personalised lettering for your trainers with graphic designer Alaric Garnier.
Holiday Café; MatchesFashion.com
From 20th September – 29th September
5 Carlos Place, London W1K 3AP
Creative director Franck Durand’s Holiday Boileau brand hosts a pop-up café as an exclusive collection launches. Plus, don’t miss renowned music producer Frédéric Sanchez’s stunning visual and music installation.
Holly Nichols
Throughout September
Harvey Nichols online and in-store throughout the UK
The global fashion retailer has re-branded to Holly Nichols for the month of September to launch its newly refurbished First Floor and September campaign celebrating women, ‘Let’s Hear it for the Girls’. The retailer has unveiled a new illuminated ‘Holly Nichols’ sign on the front of its Knightsbridge store, as well as introduced rebranded shopping bags, signage and other collateral across the flagship and regional stores. The brand has also introduced www.hollynichols.com and all social media channels have undergone the rebrand.
Further activity is planned throughout September including trunk shows, new launches, brand parties as well as inspirational talks from admirable women.
Innovators & Slow Fashion with Eco-Age; MatchesFashion.com
6th September 2018
5 Carlos Place, London W1K 3AP
The first in a series of eco-focused conversations: a dynamic exchange of ideas championing the environment with Livia Firth, founder of sustainability brand consultancy Eco-Age, Natalie Kingham, Fashion & Buying Director at MATCHESFASHION.COM, and Kevin Germanier, Swiss designer and innovator of sustainable-led fashion.
Liberty – Q&A with Alexa Chung & Raven Smith
Monday 17th September on the 2nd floor from 6:00 – 9:00pm
Regent St, Carnaby, London W1B 5AH
To celebrate their AW18 collection titled Hotel Motel, Alexa Chung and Raven Smith will sit down to discuss the collection and the brands debut at LFW along with a range of topics in and outside of the fashion industry. The collection will be available to shop in store throughout the month of September and Lou Hayter will DJ a party in the same space following the Q&A on Monday 17th.
London Design Biennale 2018
From 04 September 2018 to 23 September 2018
Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA
The 2018 London Design Biennale is devoted to the theme, Emotional States. Taking over the entirety of Somerset House, including The Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court and River Terrace, it will explore big questions and ideas about sustainability, migration, pollution, energy, cities, and social equality. Visitors will enjoy engaging and interactive installations, innovations, artworks and proposed design solutions – all in an immersive, inspiring and entertaining tour of the world.
London Design Festival
From 15 September 2018 to 23 September 2018
Various locations all over London
The annual festival has been showcasing the work of designers, architects, artists and retailers since 2003. During the festival, hundreds of large-scale installations, exhibitions and events pop up in many unique spaces across London, from world-famous museums to small local studios. The V&A is the hub of the London Design Festival, hosting a wide range of activities.
London Fashion Week x Vip.com
13th September 2018
Online
Chinese e-commerce powerhouse and London Fashion Week partner Vip.com will host an exclusive show on Thursday 13th September to showcase unique collections from 4 Chinese designers, presenting at London Fashion Week for the first time: Mukzin, Bailuyu, A Life On The Left and Kisscat. The catwalk show will be live streamed on the VIP.com app, Discovery Channel and Tencent video https://v.qq.com/ giving all Vip.com customers a behind-the-scene glimpse of the event.
Mario Sorrenti Kate Book Launch & Signing; MatchesFashion.com
15th September, 5:00pm – 6:00pm
5 Carlos Place, London W1K 3AP
The world-renowned fashion photographer hosts cocktails and an exclusive signing of his book of never-before-shown photographs of Kate Moss, published by Phaidon this September.
Marques’ Almeida Pop-up
Friday 14th (10am – 8pm) and Saturday (10am – 6pm) 15th of September
6 Babmaes Street, London SW1Y 6HD
Designer duo Marques’ Almeida will be hosting an exclusive pop-up store during London Fashion Week in London and online. Exclusive Marques’ Almeida product will be available to shop, alongside re-editions of some of their most loved classic styles and current AW18 product.
MatchesFashion.com; 5 Carlos Place
From 3rd September 2018
5 Carlos Place, London W1K 3AP
5 Carlos Place, MATCHESFASHION.COM’s new retail, event and creative broadcasting space that brings together online shopping and content experience into one permanent London residence. Discover rich, cultural programme of events, podcasts and livestreams, available to you both at the house and online. #5CarlosPlace
Nivea x London Fashion Week
Until 16th September
Superdrug Croydon
Buy the limited-edition London Fashion Week Nivea Black & White Invisible deodorant, in store now! Pop by Superdrug Croydon on Saturday 15th September to take a selfie in front of the Nivea photo wall, upload to social media tagging @Nivea and #KeepingFashionFresh for your chance to win tickets to London Fashion Week Festival.
Orla Kiely: A Life in Pattern
Until 23rd September 2018
Fashion and Textile Museum, 83 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3XF
Orla Kiely is one of the UK and Ireland’s most successful designers. Her stylized graphic patterns are innovative, influential and instantly recognisable. With a global audience in thrall to the rhythms and repeats of her designs, this exhibition explores the power of decoration to transform the way we feel. Featuring over 150 patterns and products, as well as collaborations with photographers, film directors and architects, Orla Kiely: A Life in Pattern emphasises the role of ornament and colour in our everyday lives.
Prada Installation; MatchesFashion.com
From 3rd September – 12th September
5 Carlos Place, London W1K 3AP
To mark the opening of 5 Carlos Place, Matches Fashion have collaborated with Prada to launch an exclusive collection of womenswear, menswear and accessories, showcased throughout the townhouse in an installation by Robert Storey.
#SarahsList: Sarah Mower and Richard Quinn in Conversation; MatchesFashion.com
18th September, 7:00pm – 8:00pm
5 Carlos Place
International fashion industry talent spotter and nurturer of young design talent Sarah Mower talks to the wunderkind British designer Richard Quinn about his SS19 collection, how a sense of community plays a part in his work and receiving the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design.
Selfridges launches UK’s largest eyewear hall
Selfridges, 400 Oxford St, Marylebone, London W1A 1AB
Selfridges opens a new eyewear destination designed by Alex Cochrane Architects and set to be the largest of its kind in the UK. The eyewear destination sits within the Accessories Hall which overall design was conceived and executed by esteemed British architect David Chipperfield. The simultaneous opening of the eyewear destination and the Progressive Edit, a new space showcasing the most original accessories labels including exclusive Dover Street Market jewellery, marks the completion of the Accessories Hall. The completed space, spanning across 60,000 sq. ft., becomes, de facto, the world’s largest destination for luxury accessories in one single space.
Drawing on Style – Masters of Fashion Illustration
From 14th to 21st September 2018
Gallery Eight, 8 Duke Street, St James’s, London, SW1Y 6BN
To coincide with London Fashion Week, Gray M.C.A presents Drawing on Style, a new exhibition of rare original fashion illustrations, at Gallery 8 on Duke Street.
Drawing on Style will highlight the extraordinary talents of leading fashion artists of the 20th century, including rare and previously unseen original works by masters of the genre as well as work by important contemporary fashion illustrators working at the forefront of fashion interpretation today.
A free talk in the exhibition space will be held at 1.30pm daily throughout the exhibition.
The Knights of Knightsbridge by Nick Knight
Until summer 2019
Intersection of Sloane Street and Brompton Road
Highly-structured armour-like creations are the subject of an 11 metres high and 120 meters wide photographic installation by Nick Knight on the façade of the Knightsbridge estate in Central London. Entitled The Knights of Knightsbridge, the installation features 18 striking fashion images, depicting creations from fashion designers including, Gareth Pugh, Rick Owens, Iris van Herpen, Yohji Yamamoto, Moncler, Maison Margiela, alongside an important archival piece from Dior Couture by John Galliano.
Uniting the worlds of fashion and art, the installation creates a billboard-sized panoramic wrap, across the building’s façade, to conceal extensive construction work behind. It fronts Brompton Road and Sloane Street.
The generosity and commitment of our sponsors is more vital than ever. Please help us by acknowledging their support for London Fashion Week September 2018: Official Sponsors Etihad Airways, Evening Standard, Lavazza, Maybelline New York, May Fair Hotel, Mercedes-Benz, Nivea, The Store X, TONI&GUY and VIP.com; Official Suppliers Bags of Ethics, DHL, Digital Domain, evian, Fashion and Beauty Monitor, Getty Images, Gold Collagen, Jealous Sweets, Launchmetrics, PROPERCORN, Propress, Scavi&Ray, Triumph, and Verve; Official Supporters The European Regional Development Fund and The Mayor of London and The Department for International Trade.