History of London Fashion Week, Pharell Williams at Louis Vuitton + what to study to become a fashion editor
Thanks for reading Inside Fashion! Subscribe to receive it each week in your inbox.
For the full experience, why not consider becoming a paid subscriber for just 1,97€/ week?
When you upgrade you’ll start receiving:
Once a week a list of the latest fashion jobs and internships in New York, London, Milan and Paris, straight to your inbox so you’ll always be up to date with who is hiring
365 days of fashion, our special quick-to-read daily emails that will teach you fashion industry fundamentals (history of designers and fashion houses, fashion terms, how the fashion industry works, fabrics, and much more).
Want an example of topics we sent to our paid subscribers? This week we talked about: Mary Quant’s famous creations, what are tech packs, what’s a tuck and what happens in a showroom.
Access to the community to network with other fashion enthusiasts
Join our fashion book club
Get access to the full archive of all our previous posts
And yes, it’s a way to support our work as well :)
With NYFW officially over, it’s time for London Fashion Week which began today and will run until Feb.21. Among the brands who will present their collections are Christopher Kane, Simone Roca, Erdem, Nensi Dojaka, Roksanda, Ahluwalia, 16Arlington, David Koma, among others.
But perhaps a major fashion show everyone is waiting for is Burberry’s one, as Daniel Lee will unveil his first collection on Feb. 20 since his appointment as creative director last September.
Jonathan Anderson has also a big show scheduled for Sunday, which will be bigger than his usually intimate runways. The creative director shared with WWD that the fall collection is one of his favorites and represents an inflection point for the JW Anderson label.
For the occasion, let’s look briefly at the history of London Fashion Week.
London was the last fashion capital among “The Big Four” to host its first fashion show, preceded by New York where the first fashion show ever was held in 1943, then Milan in 1958, and Paris in 1973.
Various people claim to have launched London Fashion Week – one of whom is fashion PR Percy Savage, who staged his first London show, “The New Wave”, at The Ritz, which he soon followed with the “London Collections”, featuring designers such as Zandra Rhodes and Bruce Oldfield.
However, the official first London Fashion Week is considered to have been organized by the British Fashion Council in 1983, which also introduced a Designer of the Year Award in 1984. The first winner was Katharine Hamnett.
The show was held in a car park in West London, with tents placed outside Kensington’s Commonwealth Institute. Some of the young designers to debut there were Betty Jackson, David Fielden, and John Galliano.
The event was so successful that the UK government officially announced it would provide funding so that it could continue. Even the royals developed an interest in fashion shows. Princess Diana, for example, held a reception for various designers at Lancaster House in 1985. In addition, to the surprise of every attendant in 1986, Margaret Thatcher attended the show and stayed there for the whole week despite being a busy person.
Despite a successful start, the 1990s resulted to be hard times for London’s burgeoning design scene. The excess of the 80s gave way to a recession in the 90s. And, with lower interest and less money to invest in shows, by 1992 London Fashion Week was reduced to just a small handful of designers showing at The Ritz. However, for fashion history, it was an important period, as 1993 marked the first time that the late Alexander McQueen showed at London Fashion Week, followed by Stella McCartney in 1995.
The BFC then came to the aid of young designers by establishing the NEWGEN scheme, which supports young designers with both financial aid and mentorship to help their businesses take off.
Are you excited about London Fashion Week? Which show are you waiting for the most?
What's happening in the industry this week?💚
Pharell Williams is the new Louis Vuitton’s Men’s Creative Director
The announcement has been made this Tuesday, Feb 14, and Williams’ appointment is effective immediately. He will present his first collection for Louis Vuitton during Paris Fashion Week in June. This is the first time the French luxury house appoints a men’s artistic director since the passing of Virgil Abloh in November 2021.
The new creative director is actually not a stranger to the fashion industry. Best known for his work in music, Williams has also worked in fashion, beauty, and other industries — and his relationship with Louis Vuitton is long-standing. He is the co-owner of streetwear brand Human Made (with Kenzo creative director Nigo); founder of the Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream streetwear brands; co-owner of G-Star Raw denim.
Let’s go briefly through his career in the fashion industry.
In 2004, when Marc Jacobs was at Louis Vuitton, Williams collaborated with Louis Vuitton and Nigo (who is now the creative director of Kenzo) for a sunglass collection under the name “Millionaire”.
In 2008, Williams collaborated with the brand again on jewelry, working with Louis Vuitton’s then-jewelry consultant Camille Miceli (today she is the creative director of Emilio Pucci) for the Blason collection, which included diamond rings and a diamond bracelet.
In 2013, Moncler launched its eyewear line, Moncler Lunettes, guest designed by Pharrell Williams.
In 2014 Pharell collaborated with Adidas (in 2018 they did it again).
In 2019, Chanel and Pharrell released a unisex capsule collection. Williams has forged a singular relationship with Chanel as one of the few male ambassadors for the brand. He was a friend of Karl Lagerfeld. Over the years, Williams has starred in history-making Chanel campaigns, visited the Paris atelier, walked its runway, and even wrote a song for the fashion house. It was also Pharrell who announced this year’s Met Gala theme dedicate to Karl Lagerfeld.
For the brand’s 70th anniversary, Moncler launches the Maya 70 collaborations. Among the designers reinterpreting the classic jacket is Pharrell Williams.
In 2022 Pharrell Williams announced a collaboration with Tiffany & Co. by wearing a pair of diamonds sunglasses.
Jonathan Anderson will receive a Neiman Marcus award
The Neiman Marcus Award, which aims to recognize fashion leaders and innovators for their distinguished service in the fashion industry, is opening the award season in March. Among fashion professionals to receive an award is Jonathan Anderson, creative director at Loewe, (who also dressed up Rihanna for the Super Bowl) for his creative impact in the field o fashion; accessories designer Amina Muaddi - for innovation in the field of fashion; and Brunello Cucinelli who will receive the Distinguished Service Award for his “profound influence on luxury lifestyle fashion and commitment to humanistic capitalism,” according to WWD.
LVMH and Fendi are launching an inaugural prize dedicated to Italian craftsmanship
The two companies are launching the “Maestri d’Eccellenza” project dedicated to Italian master artisans in partnership with the Camera della Moda and the Confartigianato association. With the goal to “raise awareness around the importance of Italian craftsmanship and its preservation; develop media attention to the cause, and offer financial aid to some of its exponents”, the project is aimed at Italian artisans and companies that have been operating for at least 12 months in the sectors such as textiles, clothing, footwear, tailoring, eyewear, jewelry, and fashion product components. Applications are now open and can be submitted until May 14. The final 3 winners will receive a monetary prize of 10,000 euros, media coverage, and mentoring sessions with Fendi professionals.
Drake and 21 Savage settle a lawsuit by Condé Nast over a fake Vogue cover
The two rappers have settled a lawsuit by Condé Nast, as the publisher accused them of infringing Vogue’s trademark while creating a fake Vogue magazine cover to promote their recent first album “Her Loss”. For compensation, Condé Nast demanded at least $4 million last November.
Gucci is opening private, high-end stores for its very wealthy clients
The brand is planning to open high-end “salons” (some will be part of the existing stores and some will be new), offering high-end clothing, furniture, and jewelry for its ultra-wealthy clientele. Kering CEO François-Henri Pinault said: “Nothing will cost less than $40,000, and it will go up to as much as $3 million for high jewelry”.
A new major fashion exhibition in London is coming in September
The Design Museum in London will host a fashion exhibition called “Rebel: 30 Years of London Fashion” from Sept.15 to Feb.11, 2022. Sponsored by Alexander McQueen, it’s meant to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the British Fashion Council’s Newgen program, which has helped many talents like Christopher Kane, Erdem, Kim Jones, JW Anderson, Mary Katrantzou, Simone Rocha, Priya Ahluwalia, Grace Wales Bonner, Bianca Saunders and many more.
Fashion Career Tip of the Week
Last week, we shared an article about how to become a fashion editor and which skills you need. This week, we wanted to follow up on this topic and talk about what to study to become a fashion editor.
We talked about it in our recent article on glamobserver.com where you will learn:
The different studies where you can gain the relevant skills to become a fashion editor (without the need to attend a fashion school!)
Where you can learn about fashion editing and the fashion industry in general to get the necessary knowledge required for your job
Read the article here and get ready to apply for an internship at a magazine and move your way up to the role of a fashion editor.
Nice things 💖
Yet another gorgeous cover of The British Vogue ✨
Thom Browne closed his show at NYFW with a gift for his Valentine 💖
What to listen and what to watch this week 🎙️📺
This week, we released a podcast episode with Sara Moschini, Head of Fashion at Grazia.IT.
We talked about her career, how she started in the fashion industry, and what she likes most about her job, as well as what it is like to attend a fashion show in her personal experience. She also shared some advice for freelance editors who want to attend fashion shows, and for all those who dream of breaking into the fashion industry today.
You can listen to this interview on the Glam Observer Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Here is another interesting what-to-watch this week: a day with Schiaparelli’s creative director.
Fashion Profiles to follow this week
Sara Moschini, Head of Fashion at Grazia.IT
LFW, the official account of London Fashion Week that began today
Your Fashion Jobs Date 🔍
Your fashion jobs date is now part of our paid subscription.
If you want to receive the latest fashion jobs and internships every week straight to your inbox and more content from us to learn more about the fashion industry, upgrade to our paid newsletter for just 1,97€/week to receive for the full experience.
That’s all for this week.
Forward this email to your fashion friends :)
Giada Graziano, Inside Fashion Editor in Chief and Glam Observer Founder
Margarita Skacenko, Fashion Editorial Assistant
Follow us on Instagram @glamobserver
Read our website: glamobserver.com
Interested in advertising in Inside Fashion or posting a job offer to reach 40,000 fashion enthusiasts? Email us at newsletter@glamobserver.com