LONDON FASHION WEEKEND - FRIDAY 25th SEPTEMBER 2015 (A/W15)
London Fashion Weekend Friday 25th September 2015
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On friday 25th I visited the 30th edition of the London Fashion Weekend event. The event was hosted by The British Fashion Council (BFC) at its new location, The Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea. The London Fashion Weekend gives the general public the London Fashion Week experience with catwalk shows, talks, pop-up events and designer shopping.
My tickets
The tickets I purchased for the event included;
1x Silver entry ticket for entry between 10am-3:30pm
1x Silver catwalk (Trend) at 1pm
1x Designer Tote bag
1x Elle Magazine Voucher
Total costs including 20% ticket discount
The Venue
From Sloane Square underground train station I walked approximately 5 minutes, passing designer fashion stores along the Kings road, until I reached the entrance to the Saatchi Gallery. The ticket entrance was located a short distance before the steps (as seen in the picture below). There was an area for ticket owners to sit outdoors overlooking the grounds, to have a smoking break or to grab some fresh area, as you can get rather hot inside the main building due to the amount of people in a small space.
Entrance and First Impressions
To the right of the main doors to the building, a photo area featuring the London Fashion Weekend promotional image was available for visitors to take their picture. Through the main doors, I was politely greeted by a member of staff, which presented me with a magazine called "The Weekender" which had information on the event, such as; catwalk and talk schedules, a directory for each designers concessions on each floor, and interviews with top fashion magazine editors and designers.
Directory/Map
LG Floor
Cloakroom
Restrooms
Tote Bag Collection Point
G Floor
Gallery 01
Maybelline New York
Contemporary;
Antipodium
Asudari
Blake LDN
Fleur B - American Vintage, Carven, Filippa K, See By Chloe, Vanessa Bruno
House Of Sunny
Lisa King
Marina London
Paper London
Rtister - A-Line, Finders Keepers, Francis Leon, Peridot London, Teatum Jones, Sass & Bide
Gallery 02
Ready-To-Wear;
Baukjen
Claret Showroom - Alice Mccall, C/Meo Collective, Madeleine Thompson, Sam & Lavi, Unreal Fur, White & Warren
Ducie
Helene Berman London
Little White Lies
Live Fashion Ltd - Nlst, Sass & Bide, Stand, Splendid, Zoe Karssen
Never Fully Dressed
Ukulele
Gallery 03
Scavi & Ray Prosecco Bar
Designer Cincessions;
A|X Armani Exchange
Brandoutlet.com - Elizabeth & James, Helmut Lang, Loeffler Randall, Penelope Chilvers, Rebecca Minkoff, Tibi
Friends Headphones
Gallery 04
Designer Concessions;
Winser London
Lover Designer Boutique - Gaetano Navarra, Maison Martin Margiela, Vivienne Westwood
Designer Pop Up Store - Belstaff, Blumarine, Equipment, Jimmy choo, Pyrus, Stone Island
Designer Studio - Blumarine, Cavalli, Celine, Chloe, Dolce & Gabbana, Westwood
Gallery 05
Sunglass Hut
Outerwear & Denim;
Bad Denim
Fridja Steamers
Gloverall
Muubaa
Pringle Of Scotland
Saltspin
Vintage Fur Company
01 Floor
Catwalk Show Space
Gallery 06
Shop The Catwalk;
Amanda Wakeley
Zoe Jordan
ISSA
Jean Pierre Braganza
Markus Lupfer
Osman
The LFW Pop-Up;
Ashley Williams
Charlotte Simone
Christopher Raeburn
Fyodor Golan
Georgia Hardinge
J.JS.Lee
Joanne Stoker
Keely Hunter
Kit Neale
Lou Dalton
Phoebe English
Ryan Lo
Sophia Webster
Lavazza Cafe
02 Floor
Luxe Lounge
Talks Gallery
Maybelline New York
Swatch
Tote Bag Collection
VeryExclusive.co.uk
Gallery 09
Toni&Guy Fashion Fix with label.m
Jewellery;
Astrid & Miyu
Edge Of Ember
Eshvi
Estella Bartlett
JA PR - Alice Eden, Apples & Figs, CF Concept, Jessie Harris, Kasun London, Leivankash, Maya Magal
Lovebullets
Maria Francesca Pepe
Mawi
My Flash Trash
Spanner & Wingnut
Tada & Toy
Tessa Metcalfe
Wolf & Moon
Gallery 10
Shoes & Accessories;
Alfie Douglas Finlay & Co.
Florian London
French Sole
Gyvn
Havva
Jane Carr
Kult Domini
Leanne Claxton
Loxley England
Lucy Choi London
PB0110
Rogues
Sarah Baily
The Cambridge Satchel Company
1pm Trend Catwalk Show
The catwalk area was located on the 1st floor in a long room, perfect for a catwalk runway. Around 400-500 people attended this trend show, which had seating on either side of the room, with photographers at the end of the catwalk. Approximately 4 large flat screen tv's were attached to one side of the wall in the room. I was seated at the very back row and it was quite hard to see the models on the catwalk, but the tv screens had a live feed with some great camera angles, so I did not miss anything. Angela Scanlon presented the show, informing and engaging with everyone in attendance. She provided further information on her own outfit, which featured many of the designers in the catwalk show.
The catwalk show was presented by Very Exclusive and focused of 4 trends for the AW15 season. It lasted around 35 minutes, and I would advise bringing water with you as the room got quite hot. It may be a good idea to view the trend catwalk show first before shopping around the concessions if you are looking to buy the featured items/looks.
Trend 01: Into the Wind
"One of fashion's favourite prints took center stage once again for AW15, as leopard, cheetah, snake and zebra prints stalk the runways. McQ Alexander McQueen, By Malene Birger and Elizabeth and James got in on the act with statement coats, bags and jackets, and a mix of textures was seen across outerwear, accessories and shoes including faux fur, pony skin and leather.
The overall look is a bold and arresting take on daywear. Dip your toe into the rend and work animal print accessories with a classic monochrome outfit or go bold and do a print clash with florals or stripes." - The Weekender
Trend 02: Punk Rocks
"Fashion's inner wild child is unleashed this season, with Vivienne Westwood, Anglomania, House of Holland and McQ Alexander McQueen all experimenting with punk styling. Safety pins, leather, bold tartan and black velvet more than nod to the look and hero pieces include zip-detailed denim and studded handbags. Take on the trend with shoes or accessories for just a hint of punk attitude in your everyday wardrobe." - The Weekender
Trend 03: Super Retro
"The '70s and all things retro is back in a big way for A/W and we can't get enough. Flower power blooms with mesmerising psychedelic prints, and mustard and powder blue shades took us right back to the stylish decade courtesy of looks from See by Chloé, Just Cavalli and DKNY.
From denim playsuits to Charlie's Angels-inspired waves and pleated midi skirts - this is the era to reference this season. Build a look around a hero piece such as a patchwork suede mini skirt or throw on a wide brimmed hat with a maxi for an effortless autumnal style statement." - The Weekender
Trend 04: Marsala Tones
"Want to know the must-have hues to be seen in this autumn? It's marsala. A host of delicious red shades were seen on the runways and designers including IRO, Joseph and Kenzo used the standout colour in their collections.
Perfect for the change in seasons; the paprika, plum and burgundy tones give timeless accessories and biker jackets an autumnal touch of cool and berry lips complement the trend. Work red tones in head-to-toe pieces for a dramatic evening look, or update your wardrobe with a key piece and make marsala the exclamation point to a colour block outfit." - The Weekender
Designer Tote Bag
The exclusive designer tote bag was free when purchasing either a Silver or Gold ticket, or bronze ticket owners could purchase them at the event for £15. The tote bag was designed by Mary Katrantzou.
The tote bag features;
1x Tote Bag by Mary Katrantzou
1x October 2015 Hello Fashion magazine.
1x Label.M - Haircare sample product (Hairspray)
1x Garnier Skin Naturals - Micellar Extra-Gentle Cleansing Wipes
1x Maybelline New York - Color Sensational Lipstick (168 Petal Pink)
1x Lavazza - Ground Coffee sample (Medium/Dark Roast strength 5)
1x Urban Fruit - (Strawberry) baked fruit sample
1x Taylors of Harrogate - 3 sample "fruit, herbal & green teas" (Lemongrass & Ginger, Green tea with Strawberry & Vanilla, and Sweet Rhubarb)
1x HelloFresh - £25 off first order voucher card
1x VeryExclusive.co.uk - 20% off voucher during London Fashion Weekend
1x V&A - Shoes; Pleasure and Pain exhibition flyer
ELLE Magazine - October 2015
Retail Price £4
London Fashion Weekend Promotional Ticket Price £1.
"ELLE UK celebrates its 30th anniversary with our boldest issue yet; covering the end of gender, fluid sexuality, and the trans revolution.
And who better to be the face of such a daring new issue than Miley Cyrus - pop star, provocateur, LGBT activist (and the sure to be controversial host of this weekend's VMAs).
In the issue Miley, 22, talks about her role as a gender activist and a politically engaged young woman, on a mission to make the world more tolerant, and gender and sexual identities less fixed.
Miley discusses why she decided to use her power, and popularity, to do something important by setting up her charity The Happy Hippie Foundation. ‘I was kind of embarrassed that I got paid money to shake my ass in a teddy bear costume,' she says, 'I should not be worth the amount I am while people live on the streets.’
As a provocateur she's acutely aware of how to command attention to get her voice heard, ‘If you get your tits out, and they are all looking, then you can use that space to say something and get them to listen,’ she continues later.
She then goes on to discuss her opinions on gender, and relationships saying, ‘I’m very open about it – I’m pansexual. But I’m not in a relationship. I’m 22, I’m going on dates, but I change my style every two weeks, let alone who I’m with.’
Read the fascinating interview in full in this month’s issue of ELLE Magazine.
The cover is shot by Matt Irwin and styled by Alison Edmond. Miley wears a white Emporio Armani suit and Rachel Boston earrings. " - ELLEUK.com
My Photos and Videos
The follow pictures and videos were captured by me from around the event.
Florian London - ( Gallery 10, Floor 2 )
Florian London - ( Gallery 10, Floor 2 )
Lucy Choi London - ( Gallery 10, Floor 2 )
Lucy Choi London - ( Gallery 10, Floor 2 )
Toni&Guy Fashion Fix - ( Gallery 10, Floor 2 )
The LFW pop-up - ( Gallery 6, Floor 1 )
Amanda Wakeley - ( Gallery 6, Floor 1 )
Sophia Webster - ( Gallery 6, Floor 1 )
Sophia Webster - ( Gallery 6, Floor 1 )
( Gallery 3, Floor G )
Brandoutlet.com - ( Gallery 3, Floor G )
Designer Studio - ( Gallery 4, Floor G )
Love Designer Boutique - ( Gallery 4, Floor G )
Love Designer Boutique - ( Gallery 4, Floor G )
Designer Pop-Up Store - ( Gallery 4, Floor G )
Sunglass Hut / Outwear & Denim - ( Gallery 5, Floor G )
Sunglass Hut / Outwear & Denim - ( Gallery 5, Floor G )
House of Sunny / Fleur B - ( Gallery 1, Floor G )
Maybelline New York - ( Gallery 1, Floor G )
Maybelline New York - ( Gallery 1, Floor G )
Ready-To-Wear - ( Gallery 2, Floor G )
Ready-To-Wear - ( Gallery 2, Floor G )
Angela Scanlon - ( Trend Catwalk Show, Floor 1 )
Angela Scanlon - ( Trend Catwalk Show, Floor 1 )
Into The Wild - ( Trend Catwalk Show, Floor 1 )
Into The Wild - ( Trend Catwalk Show, Floor 1 )
Into The Wild - ( Trend Catwalk Show, Floor 1 )
* Videos being processed*
Overall Thoughts
A great event to visit if you are spending a day shopping in London. The Saatchi Gallery is an impressive building and the way the boutiques/concessions were presented looked great. As you would expect certain designers were more popular than others, so some of the galleries were packed full of fashionistas, which make moving around more difficult. I think maybe having another few galleries to space out the more popular designers would really improve the shopping experience.
Another issue I found was how difficult getting from floor to floor was. The stairs would only allow two people side by side, and when you have a lot of people going up and coming down, it was a bit stop start. The lifts would only fit 2-3 people in them also, and when you have people with large shopping bags and handbags, it becomes a bit of a scrum, (be prepared to say "excuse me, can I get passed", often).
With over 150 designers on offer, there is a wide range of styles to choose from. The collections from each designer ranges in size. Lucy Choi London for instance featured many different styles from her website (approximately 50 different styles/colours of shoes) whilst Sophia Webster only had a handful of shoes available.
The catwalk experience was really enjoyable, and in my opinion the 30-40 minutes duration is the perfect length. I personally prefered the catwalk layout which was featured at the previous location (Somerset House). The catwalk layout at the Saatchi Gallery was the classic runway strip, walk up in a straight line, and back in a straight line, whilst the layout at Somerset House featured a Square/U-shape which gave more time to view the models and was more spacious.
I think this event is a great way to spend 2-3 hours of shopping in London, I visited knightsbridge (Harrods) prior to entering the venue, and once i had finished with the event I finished of my day browsing the designer shops on the Kings road in Chelsea. If you love fashion, modelling or shopping, then The London Fashion Weekend would be a great experience for you. Make sure you come prepared with a bottle of water as it can get rather hot in the galleries and catwalk areas. As the event is only on twice a year, (February and September) if you miss out, you will have to wait 6 months till the next one is available.
Overall the London Fashion Weekend provides an enjoyable day's fashion experience, even with its few downsides.
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