It's f'row time: from new shows on the schedule to the new boss at Vogue - London Fashion Week welcomes a fresh new crew

With Edward Enninful preparing for his first London Fashion Week as Vogue boss there’s a new King to impress. Hannah Rochell reports on the talking points
Gigi Hadid will be bringing her Tommy Hilfiger collection to London Fashion Week for the first time
Getty Images for Tommy Hilfiger
Hannah Rochell15 September 2017

1. Diverse city

London has always been streets ahead of Milan and Paris where diversity is concerned.

February’s fashion week demonstrated a 4.9 per cent improvement in racial diversity from the previous season, and there were more models over 50 on the catwalk than at any other city showcase - seven to be precise, including 72-year-old Jan de Villeneuve, who walked at both Simone Rocha and Osman.

This time around we expect to see models of more varied ages, shapes, ethnicities and sizes than ever before.

Jan de Villeneuve walking for Simone Rocha

New York, which always scores well on the diversity front, has set the tone already by showing numerous plus-sized models on its runways last week, as well as the 16-year-old trans model Ariel Nicholson appearing at Calvin Klein.

Ariel Nicholson walking for Calvin Klein
Slaven Vlasic/Getty

2. The American invasion

Tommy Hilfiger has abandoned NYC in favour of our fair city this autumn, and will be bringing some stars-and-stripes fare to Tuesday evening, no doubt with the face of the brand, Gigi Hadid, also featuring prominently.

Tommyland: Tommy Hilfiger Spring 2017 in LA

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In true showman style, the designer has chartered a jet to ferry top fashion editors to Milan Fashion Week the following morning. It doesn’t get more glamorous than that.

3. The Enninful has landed

Alexandra Shulman’s 25-year reign at British Vogue is over. After leaving her post in June, this week she announced that from November she will be taking over as a vice-president of The London Library.

The new man in the top job is Londoner Edward Enninful - the first male editor in the magazine’s history.

Edward Enninful - in pictures

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To say the industry is excited about his appointment is an understatement, and he has already made a number of high- profile hires, including naming his BFF Naomi Campbell as a contributing editor.

This will be his first LFW in the role. Notably, the former fashion and style director of W magazine was pictured sitting next to David and Brooklyn Beckham - US Vogue editor Anna Wintour’s usual seat - at Victoria’s New York Fashion Week show on Sunday. Believe the hype.

Reuters

4. Mr Armani will see you now

Another big name to hit our shores this fashion week is Emporio Armani, though the house will still show its Giorgio Armani line in Milan next week.

In addition, and in collaboration with the British Fashion Council, Mr Armani has selected three British students to design a bag, a bomber jacket and a shoe, all of which will be available to buy on Monday from Emporio Armani on New Bond Street.

Each student will also have the opportunity to take up a three-month internship in Milan as part of their prize.

5. New model army

The name on everyone’s lips post-NYFW was Kaia Gerber, the 16-year-old daughter of Cindy Crawford.

Kaia Gerber - Style File

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She walked in the Calvin Klein show last Thursday, a mere four days after turning old enough to do so, and then appeared at both Alexander Wang and Fenty Puma by Rihanna, so we have our fingers crossed that mother and daughter will be crossing The Pond for a few shows here.

Other ones to watch include coolest-model-in-the-world-right-now Slick Woods and Britain’s very own Adwoa Aboah.

6. Capital couture

Britain’s only couture label, Ralph & Russo, which shows its luxury collections at Paris Haute Couture Week, brings its first ready-to-wear collection to the catwalk this evening.

Expect plenty of glitz and glamour; the design duo, made up of the label’s namesakes Tamara Ralph and Michael Russo, is fond of showy sparkles and embellishment. Or at least, its customers are.

7. Girls on film

Discarding the traditional catwalk set-up in favour of something altogether more radical, Gareth Pugh will be showcasing his spring/summer 2017 collection via the medium of film.

The mini-movie, which will be screened at the BFI IMAX Waterloo, is directed by Nick Knight and promises to be, in Pugh’s words, "an opportunity to provide a visceral, high-impact experience that communicates the feeling of the collection with no holds barred".

We’re not going to lie, we’re hoping for 3D specs, too.

8. New friends on the block

Brit bag ladies Emma Hill and Georgia Fendley, whose Hill & Friends label counts Sienna Miller and Kendall Jenner as fans, is branching into bricks and mortar with its first store to celebrate its second birthday, and the fashion pack will get a sneak preview on Monday before the official launch on September 22.

The Georgian townhouse on South Molton Street will ooze the vibrant personality of the brand, with features including an all-pink interior and life-sized ostriches, and will also house events beyond fashion week such as floristry workshops and meditation.

9. Burberry goes east

After years of showing in an über-marquee in Hyde Park, Burberry has upped sticks and will be displaying its collection in Clerkenwell this season.

It has also moved from its usual Monday afternoon slot to the flashier time of Saturday night, and the collection - named September 2017 rather than the expected spring/summer 2018 - will be available to buy immediately.

A preview of the Here We Are exhibition, which celebrates British photography, follows the catwalk presentation and is curated by Lucy Moore, Alasdair McLellan and the brand’s CEO, Christopher Bailey.

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