Clothes Show cancelled for 2018 after SME London takeover

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Feb 15, 2018

Haymarket Media Group has sold the rights to the Clothes Show brand to SME London, the company which works with the British Fashion Council to organise London Fashion Week. This year's show won't happen but it will be back next year, albeit in an evolved form.

The sale follows a major rebrand and relocation of the consumer fashion event last year, with the Clothes Show leaving its Birmingham home for Liverpool and becoming a three-day citywide festival called the ‘British Style Collective’.

Haymarket CEO Kevin Costello said: “The Clothes Show brand is an incredibly powerful one in the UK. It is, however, no longer core to Haymarket’s strategy as we focus on multi-platform brands and data-led solutions in our specialist market sectors. I’m delighted that we have found the perfect home for the brand with SME, who are ideally placed to develop the Clothes Show experience for 2019 and beyond.”

SME London has worked with the British Fashion Council for over 25 years, developing many aspects of London Fashion Week including the creation of London Fashion Weekend. Its portfolio also includes events such as the Fashion Awards,and  London Fashion Week Festival.

SME Managing Director Tim Etchells said in a press release: “Today’s passionate fashion-hungry consumers crave an experience that is relevant to them. With our fashion-forward experience, matched to a property as unique and well-loved as the Clothes Show, I’m certain we will over time create a new experience making the brand more relevant than ever for consumers and retailers alike.”

SME said it will be reviewing its strategic options for the event, which has been cancelled for this year.

The Clothes Show launched in 1989 and has evolved over the years to reflect the changes in the fashion industry. Most recently, it became a fashion take-over event hosted in a variety of famous locations, including shopping centres, across Liverpool’s city centre in July 2017.