What saves London is that their schools have a lot of talents.
Showing in London works if it’s your first market or if you have an international clientele that has London as it first destination. But the international clientele is not necessarily looking for the edgiest stuff.
When I think about Erdem and Richard Quinn, I know they have some following in the Middle East. They are maybe the longstanding faces of LFW but not the face of British fashion per say.
All the brands that wants to speak to the world always end up having a Parisian showroom. It’s the same thing in NYFW.
And I think the pandemic made things worse as it has strengthened Paris as a creative and business hub. Milan and Italy thanks to their production infrastructures are always there. And NYFW in terms of culture is unbeatable.
Nobody talks about the clothes in NY. It’s about the first row and the after parties. Only Paris can command that level of attention.
Also, I’m not sure that Fashion is as promoted there by the authorities as it is in Paris.
Paris is a difficult calendar to get in but because fashion is taken seriously, it’s somehow always worth it even in terms of access to press, to spaces…etc.