London Fashion Week Celebrates 25th Year

London Fashion Week is coming to town on September 18 and to prepare for its 25th anniversary celebration, the city's hottest fashion designers, models, and artists are coming up with bright ideas to mark the occasion.


Elle UK has asked 25 of the most beautiful people of London to design a poster for the London Fashion Week and contributors include Naomi Campbell, Pat McGrath, Matthew Williamson, Rupert Sanderson, and Rob Ryan (pictured here). The 25 poster designs are featured on Elle UK's website and will be on display across the London Underground network.

Meanwhile, stunning waxworks of Kate Moss and Tyra Banks have been unveiled at the London Fashion Week area at Madame Tussauds London. The seated wax replica of Kate Moss looks innocent and youthful in an elegant dress of opulent gold full-length gown while the waxed Tyra Banks, on loan from Madame Tussauds in New York, is shown in all her signature fierceness in a black gown with a plunging neckline.

"We wanted to do something special to celebrate London Fashion Week's 25th anniversary and Kate is undoubtedly one of our most popular figures. We have created a totally different look moving away from understated chic to a really high glamour feel.

"Tyra's guest appearance ups the glam factor even more and visitors will be able to imagine they are working the catwalk themselves when they meet the Madame Tussauds stylist and can get up close and pose alongside two of the world's most famous models."


The London Fashion Week will open on September 18 with Paul Costelloe and offerings will feature spring/summer 2010 fashion collections from Matthew Williamson, Maria Grachvogel, Charles Anastase, Clements Ribeiro, and Christopher Kane.

Though the public is not invited to hang with the big names in fashion during the trade event in Somerset House, the London Fashion Weekend is opened from September 24 to 27. Various collections from autumn/winter 2009 to spring/summer 2010 lines will be seen during the designer shopping event (ticket price starts at £12.50).

New York Fashion Week - Backstage

Hi everyone! This is Hilary Rowland, the founder of New Faces®. I've been attending fashion week, backstage and front row (and don't forget the parties!), with my friends from IMG.

I'll be posting more photos and coverage soon, but here's a shot of a model being interviewed backstage, that I took about an hour ago! Lots of love, Hilary

Me with male models at Calvin Klein.

Tori Praver being interviewed backstage. Go girl!

Fashion Designers' Alternatives To Runway Shows And Fashion Weeks

"Many fashion designers live up to their name as they creatively look for alternatives to showcase their collections on outside splashy runway shows like fashion weeks."


Following the Fashion Designer Allegra Hicks' withdrawal of her collection from the London Fashion Week after her sponsors pull out their support from her catwalk show, we are reminded of the fact that fashion is one of the first to be affected by “economic circumstances.”

However, designers do admit that runway shows greatly promote the clothing collections of fashion designers. That is why behind the glamour and sophistication that a clothing line gets when being presented in fashion weeks, it is rather costly for fashion designers. Aside from personal money, designers have to look for sponsors to help them showcase their work on the global stage.

In New York Fashion Week for example, the venues at the Bryant Park tents which are the hub of eight days of previews for retailers, editors and stylists, cost between $25,000 and $50,000. This still do not include the costs for models, invitations, show producers, even food backstage.

The good thing is that amidst this economic crisis that affects the fashion industry, many fashion designers live up to their name as they creatively look for alternatives to showcase their collections outside the splashy runway shows like the fashion week.

There are designers who go for static presentations as alternative for the expensive runway shows. Static presentations do not need runway or seats, and some designers use mannequins instead of models.

Showrooms and trade shows are also alternatives for showcasing one's fashion collection. Trade shows usually have more buyers than press media. Without the editorial attention from the media, however, designers still need to promote their collection to the buying public to make money.

Other designers use volunteer models while still some stage runway shows outside the Bryant Park tents. If designers cannot afford the media exposure and access to taste makers that fashion week offers, the images from the runway are printed and use for advertisement.

When getting to the runway show is really the goal, other cunning designers go for unusual sponsors like faucet makers instead of fashion and beauty companies. This way, they do not have to compete with other fashion designers for sponsorship.

As for Fashion Designer Allegra Hicks' Fashion alternative to runway show in the London Fashion Week, she announced that her company will present the new spring 09 collection after the shows in a more private environment. Her company will be showing the spring 09 collection to buyers as usual from London, Paris and New York.

New Faces at NYC Fashion Week

Hilary Rowland, our founder, was at all the shows for New York Fashion Week. She went to make new contacts with designers and industry pro's, and to see all the agents and fashion insider's that she already knows. Here is a video she took at one of the shows: