Today, the British Fashion Council (BFC) is delighted to announce the launch of London Fashion Week Presented by Clearpay (LFW). Running from Friday 19th to Tuesday 23rd February 2021 on www.londonfashionweek.co.uk, the event brings together 92 womenswear and menswear brands into one schedule. Known for its exceptional creative talent, London Fashion Week celebrates excellence in design and creativity while enabling growth for participating designers. The digital platform, launched in June 2020, is the Official LFW Hub, hosting evergreen multimedia designer content accessible to both industry professionals and global fashion consumers alike.

This season LFW runs completely digitally, in response to UK Government lockdown measures. The BFC is in constant communication with the government, directly addressing the challenges that the fashion industry faces today and the future of the fashion industry and its reset in order to create responsible, innovative, and sustainable businesses. Today, the Prime Minister shares his support for London Fashion Week:

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “London Fashion Week showcases the very best designers and brands and helps cement the UK’s reputation as a global leader for fashion. I welcome the creativity shown by the industry in continuing to produce world-class designs in spite of the challenges facing businesses this year, and the positive impact it continues to have on the UK economy. We continue to work closely with the British Fashion Council and the industry to understand the challenges they continue to face. I’d like to wish designers the best of luck, and we look forward to welcoming guests digitally this year, and in person as soon as possible.”

Oliver Dowden, Culture Secretary said: “The talent in design and creativity showcased at London Fashion Week every year is testament to why the UK is internationally recognized as a leader in the sector. I am hugely grateful to the British Fashion Council for its hard work in collaboration with the Government to ensure this important event can continue to have its profound creative and economic influence felt this year.”

Caroline Rush, BFC Chief Executive commented: “London Fashion Week is the home of creativity and innovation and we are delighted to host so many designers on the digital platform this season. It has been a difficult year for so many businesses and being able to give them a platform to showcase their collections is of paramount importance. We look forward to the next five days and to seeing the extraordinary breadth of talent the UK has to offer.”

The digital five-day event kicked-off this morning with the official opening. The BFC commissioned Poet, Activist and 2020 NEW WAVE: Creative Kai Isaiah-Jamal to perform We Applaud Here, a spoken word piece exploring the implications and impact of the pandemic with a positive lens, highlighting how we have expanded our realms of thinking, creating, and partaking in the fashion industry and celebrating those who are pushing new narratives. The full performance is available here.

Highlights this season include collection launches and digital events from established brands and international luxury houses Burberry, dunhill, Emilia Wickstead, Edward Crutchley, Marques’ Almeida, Molly Goddard, MY WARDROBE HQ x Belstaff, OSMAN, palmer//harding, Preen by Thornton Bregazzi, QASIMI, ROKSANDA, Simone Rocha, Temperley London, Tiger of Sweden, Tod’s and Central Saint Martins MA Fashion. Further schedule highlights include digital events and collection launches from creative talent Ahluwalia, ART SCHOOL, Bethany Williams, Bianca Saunders, EFTYCHIA, ISOSCELES, Kaushik Velendra, Matty Bovan, Nicholas Daley, Per Götesson, and ROKER.

New to the official schedule this season are APUJAN, av vattev, BMUET(TE), Completedworks, EIRINN HAYHOW, GEO, IA London, JENN LEE, Labrum London, MAXXIJ, Mithridate, Olubiyi Thomas, PUBLISHED BY, RAY CHU and Tokyo James. The TOKYO FASHION AWARD will also bring their 2020 award recipients to the schedule this season for the first time, introducing them to a global fashion audience. These are FUMIE TANAKA, IHNN, meanswhile, RequaL≡, SHOOP & YUKI HASHIMOTO.

The recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design will be unveiled on Tuesday 23rd February at 3pm GMT. The Award was initiated in recognition of the role the fashion industry plays in society and diplomacy. It recognises young designers that are both talented and make a difference through either sustainable practices or community engagement. Each year’s winner is selected by the British Fashion Council in collaboration with the Royal Household. With a continued focus on clean growth, innovation, and R&D through its Institute of Positive Fashion, the BFC is hosting a panel discussion on Tuesday 23rd February at 4.30pm GMT, in line with the start of the research phase of the Circular Fashion EcoSystem Project (CFE) to raise awareness of the programme which aims to focus on the creation of a circular fashion economy in the UK. Hosted by Caroline Rush, the panel will discuss the project to enable a call to action, to welcome collaborators, including NGO’s, brands, big business, government agencies and innovators.

The generosity and commitment of our partners, suppliers and government supporters is more vital than ever. Please help us by acknowledging their support for LFW February 2021. Principal Partner: Clearpay. Official Partners: British GQ, Evening Standard, FASHION ZOO, IBM, JD.COM, INC, TONI&GUY and Vanish. Official Suppliers: Fashion & Beauty Monitor, Fora, Getty Images, JOOR, Launchmetrics, The May Fair Hotel. Official Supporters: The Department for International Trade, The European Regional Development Fund, The Mayor of London.

#LFW #LFWReset #POSITIVEFASHION #LFWClearpay

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ABOUT BRITISH FASHION COUNCIL
The British Fashion Council (BFC) was set up in 1983 to promote British fashion internationally and co-ordinate this promotion through fashion weeks, exhibitions and showcasing events. BFC now supports designers beginning at college level and extending to talent identification, business support and showcasing schemes. The BFC promotes British fashion and its influential role at home and abroad, helping British designer businesses develop their profiles and business globally. BFC Foundation (Registered Charity Number: 11852152) was created for charitable purposes and grant giving; attracting, developing and retaining talent through education and business mentoring. BFC Colleges Council offers support to students through BA and MA scholarships and links with industry through design competitions and Graduate Preview Day. Through grant-giving and business mentoring the BFC support designers through four talent identification and business support schemes: BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund, NEWGEN which includes womenswear, menswear and accessories, and the BFC Fashion Trust, a charity supporting UK based designers. The BFC showcasing initiatives and events include London Fashion Week, London Fashion Week Men’s, LONDON show ROOMs and the annual celebration of creativity and innovation in the fashion industry: The Fashion Awards.

ABOUT CLEARPAY (Afterpay Limited)
Afterpay Limited (ASX: APT) is transforming the way we pay by allowing customers to receive products immediately and pay for their purchases over four installments, always interest-free. The service is completely free for customers who pay on time – helping people spend responsibly without incurring interest, fees or extended debt. As at September 30, 2020 Afterpay is offered by nearly 64,000 of the world’s favourite retailers, and more than 11 million customers globally have transacted in the past 12 months. Afterpay is currently available in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom, where it is known as Clearpay. Afterpay is on a mission to power an economy in which everyone wins. The partnership with the BFC represents a pivotal move for Clearpay as the business claims its stake with the global fashion industry. This follows their Australia Fashion Week title sponsorship announced in October 2020.