The 64th edition of the London Fashion Week (LFW), to be held from September 16-20, will welcome over 5,000 guests from 58 countries. The organizers believe this shows London and the UK is a major player on the global stage. Figures, released in June this year, show that the British Fashion Industry’s worth to the British economy has increased 8 per cent from £26 billion to £28 billion. This growth is greater than that of the UK GDP which grew by only 5 per cent in the same period. On the other hand, employment has increased from 790,000 to 880,000, double the national average with growth in retail, manufacturing and wholesale.

This edition of LFW will feature 83 designers showcasing S/S ’17 collections and over 150 in the designer showrooms at Brewer Street Car Park. This season, LFW welcomes back international brands MM6 and Versus. Sharon Wauchob will be joining the schedule for the first time while Huishan Zhang, Molly Goddard and Teatum Jones will all be showing catwalks for the first time. Designers showcasing their designs with presentations for the first time include: Aquascutum, Globe-Trotter, Malone Souliers, Paula Knorr, Piers Atkinson and Roberts|Wood.

For years, LFW has embraced the changes in the fashion industry. This season, Burberry will be presenting its menswear and women’s wear collections together for the first time and will be immediately available to buy. Oliver Spencer will be showing a menswear consumer event at LFW and Kent & Curwen will be doing menswear appointments.