London Show Rooms attracts Anna Wintour

“This was a very successful sales campaign. Lots of buyers and just as importantly lots of great press. Sarah Mower did a stellar job organising the brunch on the Friday, which saw a fantastic turn-out of some of the world’s most important press. The showroom was very well attended throughout the duration by many of the most important buyers working today. This showroom proves that British based companies can provide a great product and can compete on an equal footing with all other international design companies in the world”, commented designer Todd Lynn.

500 buyers and press from over 41 countries were welcomed by the British Fashion Council at ‘London Show Rooms over 7 days. This showroom in Paris provides an opportunity for emerging British designers to promote themselves outside London. This pop-up showroom is a strategic element of the British Fashion Council’s support and mentoring scheme. It aims to promote London design internationally and secure new export business.

Now in its second season, London Show Rooms was attended by fashion directors from international department stores including Hong Kong’s Lane Crawford; New York’s Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdales and Saks; Paris’ Galleries Lafayette, Printemps and Le Bon Marché, Milan’s La Rinascente and Japan’s Isetan group. Also independent boutique owners and opinion formers attended including from Italy: 10 Corso Como Penelope, Degli Effetti, Luisa Via Roma, Tessabit, Bernardelli, Tiziana Fausti; from France: Maria Luisa, L’Eclaireur, Colette, Gago, Zenta; from USA: Ikram, Blakes, H Lorenzo,

The exhibiting designers have all received sponsorship, for either present or previous seasons, through one of the BFC’s talent support schemes NewGen, Fashion Forward or independent showcase Fashion East. They included Fashion Forward’s Erdem, NewGen’s House of Holland, Osman Yousefzada, Todd Lynn to name just a few.

Image: Louise Gray AW09