This year, New York Fashion Week has been dominated by some very British names. Topshop. Jonathan Saunders. Mulberry. Preen. Even Victoria Beckham. It would seem that despite the gloomy economic outlook and the enormous cost of shipping collections over to the US, numerous high profile British designers have defected across the Atlantic; and they’re causing quite a stir.
For some it makes solid economic sense – with New York retail down by 40% buyers just can’t afford to travel to Europe, so, in the case of Mulberry and their Anglo-centric ‘English Teens Gone Mean’ collection, Europe had to travel to them. Not only this, but appearing in the New York schedules guarantees all -important coverage in the American press as demonstrated by Preen, a label which has enjoyed lightening success in the States, and by Mulberry, who will be paying host to Anna Wintour on Tuesday.
For others designers, the passage to New York has replaced Paris as the city to build on the success of their wearable, populist fashion. Roland Mouret, Matthew Williamson and Luella Bartley are just a few of the British names deciding to show their collections in New York rather than London, seeing it as an opportunity to expand on the business interest in their brand.
Yet despite the lure of a rigidly organised fashion week, headline grabbing supermodels and big bucks; London Fashion Week still promises to showcase both the freshest and most innovative up-and-coming talent in the industry, alongside the fashion old guard of Dame Vivienne Westwood, Aquascutum and Paul Smith to name just a few. It seems that for creativity, energy and originality, London remains the fashion capital of the world.
