(27 Sep 1998) English/Nat
As Britain’s manufacturing industries continues to warn of an impending recession, fashion is one sector which continues to boom.
In the past few years, the industry has almost doubled in size and now contributes more than three billion pounds annually to the nation’s economy.
That success has been clearly evident at the London Fashion Week – a record number of designers turned out this year to make this the largest event to date.
London Fashion Week is gaining an extraordinary reputation.
Designers come to the capital city from all over the world just to participate in the event and to create a name for themselves in the world of fashion.
It’s also a venue for young British designers to show their stuff.
Andrew Pearce and Reynold Fionda are two designers that have joined forces to create the design team Pearce Fionda.
On Sunday, they presented their Summer 1999 collection featuring linen tailored jackets, crepe trousers and stunning satin cocktail dresses.
The media and buyers have flocked to this year’s shows in their hundreds – among them stylist Vidal Sassoon, who also sponsors the event.
He says the profile that London Fashion Week gives young English designers is a vital part of their creative development.
And he happily admits he’s very impressed with this year’s collections.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
“Now the question is, how does it become more international? Naturally, the international press are interested, so they’re here. That’s important. Then I think people like McQueen are doing a great service to the country by, keeping this as their base and yet working in Paris. And I think that is going to be the parydime of the future. You will have strong designers with a base here, and yet they will be working internationally.”
SUPER CAPTION: Vidal Sassoon, Stylist
Also lining the catwalk on Sunday were the designs of Workers for Freedom.
This team, made up of Richard Knott and Graham Fraser, were named British Designers of the Year in 1989.
Their spring/summer 1999 collection contains neutral earth tones with splashes of colour.
In addition the designers are increasingly using home made accessories.
The British Fashion Council says local artists have a lot to be proud of and Fashion Week is an important part of the industry’s growth.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
“As the London Fashion Week has grown so our designer business has grown in the past several years it has almost doubled. It’s now a 600 million pound business. And we’ve got a three billion pound clothing export business in the U-K. So London Fashion week is a very important part of show casing that industry for the U-K.”
Super Caption: John Horner, Chairman British Fashion Council
The doyenne of British fashion is no doubt Vivienne Westwood – who presented her new collection on Saturday.
The show was a vaudeville spectacular with feathers, crimped hair, stained
lips and pastel checks the key pieces.
Westwood, a former primary school teacher, was named as fashion designer of the year in 1990 and 1991.
She sees herself on a mission to continually fight the uniformity of fashion and her show certainly proved her point.
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