British Fashion Council releases details of UK-wide fashion week programme

Just how big is the British Fashion Council’s (BFC) previously flagged landmark initiative ‘Fashion Britain’? Huge! Launching in September and taking in over 1,000 nationwide events (including Bristol, Dundee, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Newcastle), it marks the next phase of the body’s initiative “to decentralise British fashion”. And now the BFC has released more details about what will actually happen across the UK.

It “will celebrate the breadth of British creativity” through a series of public designer panels, cultural activations, retail experiences, exhibitions and live performances, “celebrating the wealth of talent that has emerged across the UK”.

Of course, British designers are at the heart of Fashion Britain and will lead a series of exclusive activations – from immersive Westfield experiences curated by Tolu Coker, Priya Ahluwalia and Charles Jeffrey to Saul Nash’s Masquerade in Residence, alongside further events from Rejina Pyo, JW Anderson, Simone Rocha and many more. 

Also launching in September is the BFC x ELLE UK Nationwide Designer Panel series and the BFC will bring together leading cultural institutions, galleries and creative organisations across the UK.

Exhibitions, immersive cultural experiences and collaborations will happen in multiple cities to “celebrate the intersection of fashion, art, music and culture in every host city”. 

The programme also champions emerging talent through initiatives such as the Future Heritage creative student programme and showcase. 

Highlights from the programme include:

Manchester: BFC x ELLE UK National Designer Panel at Manchester Art Gallery featuring Aitor Throup; BFC x 20 years of The Warehouse Project pub quiz and music showcase; and The House of Fashion at The Trafford Centre, with a curated week of styling tips, seasonal inspiration and behind-the-scenes exclusives.

Edinburgh & Dundee: The BFC x ELLE UK National Designer Panel at V&A Dundee featuring Nicholas Daley and Charles Jeffrey; Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show exhibition at V&A Dundee; St James Quarter (rebranded as Westfield St James Quarter this September) is partnering with Charles Jeffrey to create an immersive listening rooms experience with live music, designer talks, workshops, archive displays, and exclusive retail pop-ups

Liverpool: BFC x ELLE UK National Designer Panel at Walker Art Gallery featuring Patrick McDowell and Talia Byre; Liverpool One mall hosting in-store activations, exclusive offers, competitions and interactive experiences; Beyond the Rail by All Over the Shop, an immersive fashion experience celebrating Liverpool’s independent fashion community and the people behind it.

Newcastle: BFC x ELLE UK National Designer Panel at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art featuring Genevieve Devine and Ian Bergin, Director of Menswear, Barbour; Newcastle Future Heritage student showcase at Grainger Market in partnership with Newcastle Council, Eldon Square, Newcastle College and Fenwick.

Bristol: BFC x ELLE UK National Designer Panel at M Shed featuring J.L-A.L’s Jean-Luc Ambridge Lavelle; Martin Parr Foundation street photography competition with guest judge Niall McDiarmid (entries open until 13 September). 

London: BFC x ELLE UK National Designer Panel at the National Gallery featuring Saul Nash, Clio Peppiatt and Luke Derrick; immersive fashion and music experiences at Westfield London & Westfield Stratford City, curated by Tolu Coker and Priya Ahluwalia ; The Music Is Black Festival at East Bank, Black to the Future, Curated by FLOHIO and The Blues Project; Saul Nash’s Masquerade in Residence at The Truman Brewery; The Chelsea Arts Festival uniting culture and fashion in a shared celebration of British creative excellence; plus further events from Rejina Pyo, JW Anderson, MAX & Co x Paloma le Friant, Harris Reed x Missoma, Simone Rocha x Harvey Nichols. 

Nationwide: Celebrating Mulberry’s return to London Fashion Week and Christopher Kane’s debut, the brand will livestream the show at its Regent Street and Edinburgh stores on 20 September; The Kurt Geiger Kindness Foundation introduces Business by Design Online, a new free digital learning course designed to make fashion knowledge accessible to everyone, launching 1 September; an eBay Lives series to spotlight “the best pre-loved luxury fashion” on the platform; the return of Endless Runway on17 September followed by daily streams at 180 Strand; Toni&Guy clients spending £65 or more will receive a complimentary limited-edition gift inspired by LABEL.M’s runway heritage; and M&S will unveil its debut ‘see now, buy now’ LFW show.