London, 6th January 2017 – Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, Dylan Jones OBE, Chair of London Fashion Week Men’s (LFWM) and Caroline Rush CBE, Chief Executive British Fashion Council (BFC) host the official opening of LFWM at The Store Studios, 180 Strand.
The inaugural event of its name, London Fashion Week Men’s is the tenth edition of the London menswear showcase. Since its inception as a one day display of menswear at the end of London Fashion Week, LFWM has grown to be recognised as one of the most exciting platforms for menswear in the world. Previously known as London Collections Men, the event was renamed London Fashion Week Men’s to recognise its equal importance to womenswear and better engage with a consumer audience.
LFWM showcases the very best creative and design talent from around the world through a packed schedule of shows, presentations, installations and events from Friday 6th to Monday 9th January 2017.
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London commented: “London Fashion Week Men’s is a truly international celebration of fashion, design and creativity. As Mayor, I’m proud to be able to provide funding to support this event and the next generation of London designers. Fashion is the largest employer of all our creative industries, supporting almost 800,000 jobs and worth an astonishing £28 billion to the UK economy. From Burberry to Stella McCartney, Agi & Sam to Vivienne Westwood, London has been at the forefront of modern fashion, shaping and defining the latest styles and trends for decades. Today, press and buyers from as far away as Beijing and Seoul and Montreal will flock to London Fashion Week Men’s, showing that London is truly open to business, talent and visitors from across the globe.”
Dylan Jones OBE, London Fashion Week Men’s Chair commented: "London has always prided itself on showcasing creativity, particularly when it comes to fashion, and as the city has always been a keen exponent of the traditional and the rebellious, it’s no surprise that in the last six months, our capital has become even more renowned as a centre of excellence."
The Menswear Industry by numbers
- The men’s clothing market grew by 4.1% in 2015 to reach £14.1billion (up from £13.5billion in 2014). This is compared to 3.7% growth in womenswear – menswear now accounts for 25% of the total clothing market (Mintel’s British Lifestyles 2016)
- Menswear is predicted to grow by 22.5% between 2015 and 2020 to reach £17.3billion (Mintel’s British Lifestyles 2016)
- 59% of men have purchased clothes online in the last 12 months (Mintel’s British Lifestyles 2016)
- $440bn (£298bn) worth of sales in menswear globally in 2014. $40bn (£27bn) further sales predicted in the menswear apparel market reaching $480bn (£325bn) by 2019 (Euromonitor, 2015)
- 27% of male shoppers show a preference for purchasing British clothes, shoes and accessories (Mintel, 2015)
- 29 central London venues will play host to catwalk shows and presentations around the central hub at 180 Strand
- 17.4% growth in online sales of menswear between 2010 and 2015 outpacing all other categories. IbisWorld predicts that online menswear also stands to grow more than other selected categories with an annual average of 14.2% between 2015 and 2020 (IbisWorld, 2015)
The LFWM Schedule
This season Vivienne Westwood will return to the schedule to show their womenswear and menswear collections together in a Monday evening show. J.W.Anderson, nominated for British Menswear and British Womenswear Designer at The Fashion Awards 2016 in partnership with Swarovski, is on the main catwalk schedule alongside British Emerging Talent nominee Charles Jeffrey, who will show as part of the Fashion East MAN initiative alongside Fen Chen Wang and Per Götesson.
The BFC’s NEWGEN initiative will see London’s brightest emerging menswear designers showcase their January 2017 collections. Alex Mullins, Craig Green, Cottweiler, Liam Hodges and Wales Bonner will host catwalk shows whilst Kiko Kostadinov and Phoebe English Man will host presentations. NEWGEN graduate Bobby Abley will also present on the catwalk schedule this season.
Belstaff, Christopher RÆBURN, Nigel Cabourn and YMC are amongst the brands to show merged men’s and women’s collections this season. A number of brands will be debuting collections immediately available to buy including Barbour, Chester Barrie, John Smedley and Maharishi.
Globally acclaimed brands Maison MIHARA YASUHIRO, SONGZIO and XIMONLEE presented by GQ China will also be returning to the catwalk schedule. The wide range of talent on display in London confirms it as the global home of menswear, including E. Tautz, Kent and Curwen, Lou Dalton, Matthew Miller and Sibling.
Blood Brother, Edward Crutchley, Harrys of London, MCCVIII, Michiko Koshino and Qasimi are all new to the presentation schedule this season, with John Lawrence Sullivan joining the catwalk schedule.
The Designer Showrooms will increase its footprint at The Store Studios to occupy the central gallery as well as the East and West wings. More than 60 designers will showcase their latest collections. The East Wing will house the Accessories Showrooms as well as Multi-Label Showrooms and the Toni&Guy Salon. The Central Gallery will continue to host the Ready-to-Wear Designer Showrooms, NEWGEN Pop-Up Showroom and The Store at LFWM.
The generosity and commitment of our sponsors is more vital than ever. Please help us by acknowledging their support for London Fashion Week Men January 2017: Official Sponsors British GQ, Etihad Airways, Lavazza Coffee, Mercedes-Benz, Radisson Blu Edwardian London, TONI&GUY and The Vinyl Factory; Official Suppliers evian, Fashion and Beauty Monitor, Launchmetrics, Olympus PEN, The Store Studios and Warsteiner Lager; Official Funders The Department of International Trade, The European Regional Development Fund and The Mayor of London.