London to get its own Men's Fashion Week

[Pradable]

London is to get its own men's fashion long weekend.

The British Fashion Council announced tonight that LONDON COLLECTIONS: MEN (we're not sure about those capitals) will run for the first time from Friday June 15 to Sunday June 17.
Run by a committee headed by GQ Editor Dylan Jones that includes Tom Ford, Christopher Bailey, David Furnish, Mr Porter's Jeremy Langmead and Tim Blanks of Style.com, the new event will include menswear shows and presentations - as well as a 'cultural program'. Quite what that means is unclear - maybe an Elton concert? - but what's certain is that the new arrangement will be infinitely superior to things as they currently stand.
At present, London Men's day falls on the last day - the Wednesday - of London Fashion Week. Because it overlaps with with the first womenswear shows in Milan, it does not receive all the attention it should.
In Milan and Paris, the menswear designers get their own full blown fashion weeks twice a year - first in January, and then in June. This new LONDON COLLECTIONS: MEN will come immediately before this June's European collections, so should be well attended - especially if there's an Elton concert.
Gordon Richardson, design director at TOPMAN, said: "No longer shoe horned into one condensed, hectic day, the newly established London menswear collections, over three glorious days now has the space to breathe, flourish and generate the buzz that will put its talented rising men's fashion stars firmly on the international fashion map."
Alphabetically-ordered British designers confirmed to take part in the new three-day event include Aitor Throup, Aquascutum, Christopher Raeburn, E.Tautz, Fashion East, Gieves & Hawkes, J.W. Anderson, Lou Margaret Howell, Oliver Spencer, Rake, Richard James, SIBLING and - naturally - TOPMAN.
What's not yet clear is whether this new event will render rendundant the current, one day tacked at the end of womenswear arrangement.

telegraph

 

[Pradable]

London Sets Men’s Shows

PARIS — A dedicated showcase for men’s wear in London is set to launch in June, the British Fashion Council said Sunday.

Called London Collections: Men, the shows are slated to run from June 15 to 17, just ahead of the men’s collections in Milan and Paris.

The decision to launch a London season for men grew out of the men’s day that has been held at the end of London Fashion Week, which the BFC said “has grown in stature and importance despite sitting outside of the traditional men’s wear calendar.”

Shows, presentations and events will all form part of the new three-day showcase, a spokeswoman for the BFC said.

Following the debut season in June, the London men’s season will be an ongoing, twice-yearly event, with exact future dates yet to be confirmed, the spokeswoman noted.

As the program for the first season falls during London’s Olympic year, the showcase will also include special events that have a cultural bent, as part of London’s Fashion 2012 program.

Harold Tillman, chairman of the BFC stated: “London Collections: Men will not only be a showcase for brands and designers but will form a cross-cultural program creating a festival for men’s wear, in what will be a truly exciting year for the U.K.”

wwd

 

[Ives927]

This is great news. Menswear really deserves to have its own fashion week and not be overshadowed by womenswear.

 

[Deleted member 116819]

Great news! Menswear is deserving of the same atention given to womenswear!
Wonderful news indeed!

 

[Pradable]

Menswear takes centre stage in London

A three-day showcase of men's fashion will take place in London in June, building on the growing demand for luxury menswear

Cutting-edge designer names, the finest tailors of Savile Row and the best in British high street fashion will join forces in June for a three-day menswear event in London. The initiative, launched by the British Fashion Council, means the capital will open the men's fashion week calendar, showing ahead of the more established Milan and Paris menswear weeks.

As the autumn/winter 2012 men's collections came to a close on Sunday night in Paris, the editor of British GQ, Dylan Jones, hosted a dinner to outline plans for London Collections: Men. Jones is chairing a new menswear committee, which also includes designers Tom Ford and Christopher Bailey, that will develop and oversee a programme of events from catwalk shows to cultural activity, culminating in a international conference.

Labels already on board include Richard James, Margaret Howell, Aquascutum, Topman and Gieves & Hawkes. Luxury online fashion retailer Mr Porter will act as one of the event's sponsors.

With sales of luxury menswear on the rise, men's fashion is no longer considered the poor relation to womenswear. Jones told the Guardian that while menswear has never been seen on the scale of women's fashion, it is now a growing and important part of the industry. "Anything that is growing in this climate should be celebrated," he said.

"Men consume like women now. Even 20 years ago there were issues about men spending money on clothes. Ten years ago there were issues about men spending money on beauty products. But all that's changed now. It's almost like a level playing field for the first time."

The move is a serious boost for menswear in the capital, which since 2005 has had an increasing presence at London fashion week. MAN, a group fashion show featuring Topman's high-end collection alongside three up-and-coming new designers, paved the way for an entire day dedicated to menswear. This was launched in 2009 and became the closing event at London fashion week.

But Jones believes that there is more than enough enthusiasm, money and talent to hold shows over three days now. "I think you only have to be in London for five minutes to see that there is an energy here that you don't see anywhere else in the world," he said.

Gordon Richardson, the design director of Topman, says: "I never, ever imagined that within a few short years the momentum would be such that we would be hosting, or even could host, a three-day event showcasing the huge array of men's fashion talent that exists in this country."

This announcement is well timed. London's menswear day was becoming increasingly oversubscribed and faced ongoing scheduling issues. It was out of sync with the rest of the menswear schedule, and clashed with the beginning of the women's shows in Milan, making attendance by buyers and press difficult.

The new venture already has the backing of the mayor's office and key buyers. Jones said he is approaching big-name designers to be part of it, but warned that the event must grow organically. "We're not trying, in one fell swoop, to attract every designer to show in London," he said.

"If some people still choose to show abroad then that's their decision, and if some people choose to show in London to support London then that's fantastic. The most important thing is to celebrate the people who want to show here."

In the long term, however, the event will benefit from designers with international clout, such as Paul Smith, who showed his latest men's collection in Paris on Sunday, or Burberry, who showed their menswear last weekend in Milan but show their women's collection in London.

In a statement, the BFC said: "The event will have a different DNA from London fashion week and will inspire audiences to engage with designers, the fashion community and the city in different ways, with the focus being on media, buying and business growth."

Guardian

 

[Flashbang]

I can't express how happy I am right now
I hope they continue to do this in the future. It's very irritating to watch the menswear show on the last day of LFW and doesn't get any attention at all. It's about time they stand by themselves on their own.