Designers hit town for fashion week

The British Prime Minister’s wife Samantha Cameron proved herself to be the First Lady of style as she helped launch London Fashion Week.

Mrs Cameron, who has been made an ambassador for British fashion, highlighted her “passion” for clothes as she spoke at Somerset House at the first day of the biannual event.

She kept her outfit British with a Burberry dress and Sykes jacket, but was not wearing her wedding ring.

Mrs Cameron said: “I am passionate about fashion and it’s a real honour to be here as an ambassador for the British Fashion Council (BFC).

“That passion isn’t just about how fashion makes people feel. It’s about what it can do for our country.”

The 39-year-old labelled the fashion business “one of the most important industries” in the UK, which sends out a “powerful message about British creativity”.

She was introduced by BFC chairman Harold Tillman, who said: “She supports our designers and the high street, and looks great in them both.”

Addressing the fashion pack, Mr Tillman said the year would be “difficult” for the BFC and other organisations as a result of government cuts, but paid tribute to the “extraordinary talent London has in abundance”.

The event kicked off with a show by Paul Costelloe, which featured a host of colourful tweeds and metallic fabrics. Keeping to a strict palette of pink, red and green with some metallic mixed in, he sent his models down the catwalk with frizzed red hair, towering platform courts and always a pair of opaque tights. He continued with the looser silhouette seen during his spring/summer 2011 collection via swing coats and tunic tops as well as ice-skater skirts and dropped-waist dresses bunched into place with beribboned belts.

A soundtrack of 1960s music played as models took to the catwalk in tailored swing jackets and flirty skirts.

Outspoken American model Janice Dickinson watched from the front row, as did caustic Dancing On Ice judge Jason Gardiner.

Around 200 UK and international designers will show their ready-to-wear and accessories collections for autumn/winter 2011 over the next five days, attracting an estimated 5,000 visitors.

And royal bride Kate Middleton’s status as a fashion role model is tipped to bring a new level of interest to the British catwalk.

One of the week’s most sought-after tickets is for the autumn/winter 2011 show from Issa London today, after Miss Middleton wore one of the British-based label’s gowns to announce her engagement to Prince William.

She has worn Issa’s signature “draped” dresses to many events and chose a £385 (€459) gown for the televised announcement. American Tom Ford is another designer making a high-profile appearance after announcing he will show his womenswear collection for the first time in London.

He has opted out of staging a full catwalk show and will instead hold a series of private appointments with fashion editors.

While the bulk of the shows will take place at Somerset House, a number of designers have chosen to show their collections at other locations, including the Royal Opera House and a freemasons’ hall.

Other high-profile shows include Burberry, Mulberry, Julien Macdonald and Vivienne Westwood.

LFW: The Facts

Designs which will influence the way we dress in autumn and winter are currently being shown on the London Fashion Week catwalks.

• The event features around 200 UK and international designers showing their ready-to-wear and accessories collections for autumn/winter 2011.
• This season will see American designer Tom Ford showing his womenswear collection for the first time in London.
• Other high-profile shows include Issa London – a favoured label of royal bride-to-be Kate Middleton, Burberry, Mulberry and Vivienne Westwood.
• Fashion Week is expected to attract more than 5,000 visitors, including buyers from Britain and abroad, photographers, broadcasters and journalists.
• Around £30 million is contributed annually to the London economy by Fashion Week, which generates orders in the region of £100 million according to the British Fashion Council.
• The event produces media coverage worth more than £50 million, according to media intelligence company Cision.
• The British clothing industry produces an estimated £3.8 billion-worth of goods every year.
• Clothing accounts for five per cent of all expenditure on consumer items in the UK.