London Collections: Men begins Monday 7th January 2013, celebrating the creative and commercial importance of British menswear, from the heritage brands through to the world’s leading emerging talent. With over 60 of London’s brightest and biggest menswear names on schedule; 30 designers in a curated exhibition at The Hospital Club and a jam-packed events programme, London Collections: Men establishes London’s reputation as a key menswear capital and kickstarts the international men’s fashion calendar for AW13.
“London is the home of menswear, so it's only natural that it has its own dedicated fashion week. London invented tailoring in Savile Row, it invented youth culture, and it continues to produce the best young designers in the world. Why would a menswear designer choose to show anywhere else?” - Dylan Jones, Chair of London Collections: Men and Editor of British GQ
New to show this season are some of London’s most exciting international brands
Alexander McQueen and
Tom Ford, who both present their mainline menswear collections in London. Joining them as a new addition to the schedule is British heritage brand Hardy Amies, showing their ready-to-wear collection in London this January, moving their show from Milan. For January, The BFC introduces a second show venue, the BFC Show Space at the Old Sorting Office, where designers including James Long, Oliver Spencer and
Fashion Forward, sponsored by
eBay fashion and supported by the Mayor of London, designers Christopher Shannon, E.Tautz and J.W. Anderson will show over Tuesday 8th – Wednesday 9th January. To see the full line up of shows and events, visit
www.londoncollections.co.uk/lineup
To celebrate London Collections: Men and British menswear, David Cameron will be hosting an event at 10 Downing Street on Monday 7th January. From dinners to digital presentations, events not to miss over the three days include a drinks reception hosted by Tommy Hilfiger and Esquire; ‘The Fashion & Art Party’ hosted by Anna Dello Russo, Jo Levin, Matt Hobbs & Nicky Carter; The GQ Dinner, co-hosted by Sir Paul Smith, Tinie Tempah and Chair of London Collections: Men, Dylan Jones, and a party by Tom Ford.
Some of London’s most established retailers will also host events supporting and celebrating London’s menswear industry: Harvey Nichols will present an exclusive preview of contemporary tailoring brand 1205’s AW13 collection; Harrods and Vivienne Westwood MAN collaborate on a unique presentation featuring an exclusive preview of the full AW13 collection and Selfridges host a private dinner for Jonathan Saunders and Fantastic Man at the Old Selfridges Hotel. Online retail destination for Men’s Style, Mr Porter, has collaborated with four of the capital’s most exciting menswear designers. Katie Eary, Matthew Miller, Richard Nicoll and SIBLING have created capsule collections, which launch with a static presentation.
The Hospital Club forms the central hub for London Collections: Men, home to the Hospital Club: Show Space, LC:M Cinema and over 30 exhibitors. The Designer Galleries showcase an edited selection of London’s most innovative and diverse menswear brands, encompassing both ready-to-wear and accessories collections. Based over two floors, the showrooms are a key opportunity for press and buyers to meet the designers and make wholesale appointments. The Designer Galleries include collections from
NEWGEN MEN, sponsored by
TOPMAN, talents alongside private showrooms, where Nicholas Kirkwood will debut his menswear footwear line. The Woolmark Company have curated an engaging installation on the Ground Floor of The Hospital Club. The ‘Merino Gallery’ will feature custom pieces selected for the exhibition, by London Collections: Men designers E.Tautz, Jonathan Saunders, Richard Nicoll and Richard James.
Fashion East’s Menswear Installations return to London Collections: Men for AW13 to host an exciting line-up of emerging designer presentations and, for the second season, Meadham Kirchhoff’s menswear presentation. The seedbed of London’s brightest menswear talent, Fashion East have curated an edit of ones to watch including new talents Bobby Abley and Joseph Turvey who join Kit Neale, Nasir Mazhar and Maarten van der Horst.
The bespoke tailors of Savile Row, along with London’s best shirt makers and hatters, will be presenting the modern face of British elegance to an international audience made up of buyers and journalists. Named ‘The English Gentleman’, the showcase will take the form of a presentation featuring a mix of models and real men, dressed by Savile Row’s famous tailors. 40 different outfits will be shown, spread through seven rooms inside Spencer House and the presentation will be styled by Jo Levin, creative fashion director of British GQ. For more information and the full designer listing, visit
www.thegentlemanatspencerhouse.com
The British Fashion Council will be using digital innovation to bring all the highlights of the showcase to a global audience, encouraging engagement through live streaming, social media and digital presentation. All the shows from The Hospital Club: Show Space will be live streamed, as well as the TOPMAN Design show and Hackett. Highlights on social media include Tinie Tempah in a Twitter takeover, 12pm on Wednesday 9th January, answering questions from members of the public; starlet of British menswear and Fashion Forward recipient Lou Dalton curating a Pinboard of her LC:M experience on
Pinterest, and the BFC ‘Instagram Insiders’, offering a behind the scenes take on the showcase through the official Instagram account. Members of the public can get involved and join the conversation on Twitter using the official hashtag
#LondonCollections and follow
@BFC for the latest updates.
New sponsors for London Collections: Men this season include Britain’s most successful men’s magazine, GQ, professional cult hair brand, Fudge, and menswear underwear brand, Hom. As the official hair partner, Fudge will play host to ‘The Fudge Fix’ on the third floor at The Hospital Club, a dedicated salon and lounge where a team of stylists will be on hand to provide cutting and styling services for guests. HOM will be providing shows and stylists with all their underwear needs from fittings and castings to the catwalk. London Collections: Men is sponsored by American Express; European Regional Development Fund; Fudge; GQ; HOM; The Hospital Club; Lavazza Coffee; The Mayor of London; Mercedes-Benz UK;
MRPORTER.COM; Nyetimber; Radisson Blu Edwardian Mercer Street Hotel; TOPMAN; UK Trade & Investment, The Woolmark Company and Vodafone.
London Collections: Men will take place 7th – 9th January 2013 at The Hospital Club, 24 Endell Street, WC2H 9HQ. The Designer Galleries will be open from 10am – 7pm daily.
For more information, daily highlights and the full schedule of shows presentations and events, please visit
www.londoncollections.co.uk/men
For press enquiries please contact:
Will Rowley, British Fashion Council,
+44 (0) 20 7759 1968,
will.rowley@britishfashioncouncil.com
Follow us on Twitter
@BFC and join the conversation
#LondonCollections
‘Like’ British Fashion Council on Facebook for exclusive content
www.facebook.com/britishfashioncouncil
See the best of backstage, latest catwalk looks,
#ManAboutTown street style and visual diairies curated by Charlie Porter and Lou Dalton on the official BFC Pinterest account,
www.pinterest.com/britishfashion
Image: James Long SS13 at London Collections: Men, June 2012