London Fashion Week is the only of the four fashion capitals to offer tickets for the public to gain entry to the main hub of Fashion Week,180 the Strand, attend industry talks and fashion shows. After going to a paid experience fashion show, it was evident that this gesture is utterly futile.
Firstly, on the official schedule, these paid events are labelled as “public shows”… but is it really the public who are attending? Tickets are £135 or £245 to be seated on the front row. Yes, that is disgustingly overpriced. From observing the other attendees there were interestingly a lot of older people- not as many young influencers as you would expect, most likely because of the high price point. These tickets allow you to gain access to a Temperley and De La Vali show, the Positive Fashion Exhibit and industry talks. The main reason why someone would consider buying tickets to Fashion Week is most likely to see a runway, so the tickets only including two brands seems rather underwhelming.
On arrival, after receiving a free water bottle and being seated at the De La Vali show, an introductory video played promoting London Fashion Week. Following this, a video from De La Vali played with the Ibiza based duo introducing themselves and the brand by showing promotional shoots from previous collections. It felt as if they were trying to convince the guests that they were a legitimate brand, assuming already that the majority of guests would be unaware of them. The new collection was named ‘Even Cowgirls Get The Blues’ which was very commercial and included every high-street trend: western styling, satin slip dresses, mandarin collars, frill details and corset tops. There were a few extravagant looks and accessories, such as the several outfits featuring black cowboy hats with diamante fringe around the brim, think Billy Porter at this year’s Grammys meets Lil Nas X. It didn’t particularly have a fashion show atmosphere, it was more like watching & Other Stories and Topshop customers walking around Oxford Street.
Following the fashion show, guests were directed to the Talk Space. But noticeably, the group got significantly smaller. The talk was run by the app, Culture Trip and was aptly named Culture Trip: Integration of Fashion and Culture. Panellists consisted of stylist Sascha Lilac, designer Eudon Choi and executive creative director of Culture Trip Anne Bourgeois-Vignon. The majority of the discussion was centred around inspiration from travelling and its importance in the fashion industry. The audience was asked to raise their hands if they had been to two or more countries this month, so when over a third of the audience raised their hands this is when the realisation that an eighteen-year-old student from Stoke-on-Trent isn’t the demographic of these events. It goes without saying now that conversations surrounding culture must include a cultural appropriation debate, but surprisingly when Sascha Lilac proudly admitted his opinion that he supports cultural appropriation no one challenged him. This is quite the unconventional take on the issue, considering cancel culture being so prevalent towards the fashion industry, it was curious that no one really reacted. However, it was actually rather refreshing to see someone feeling so comfortable to express opinions that oppose the mainstream. On the other hand, it appeared no one else realised or cared enough to expand that conversation further by either agreeing or debating with him, instead the talk came across more like three isolated conversations regarding the broad topic of culture.
The whole evening felt rather unsettling and removed from what Fashion Week is truly like, it was rather quiet and casual so I felt incredibly relieved I didn’t have to pay to gain entry. The fashion show didn’t show exquisite British fashion and the talk didn’t have a lot to say. Upon reflection, the most rewarding thing I gained from going to the public show was a Richard Malone tote bag.
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