An eco London and a farewell to Christopher Bailey

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Feb 15, 2018

Cleaner, brighter, greener! The next London Fashion Week five-day season kicks off Friday morning; with a major drive to turns things ever more ecological; alongside a farewell to the country’s most successful designer this century.

Leading the eco move is the British Fashion Council Positive Fashion initiative, where the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Dame Vivienne Westwood have linked up to campaign to encourage fashion houses and brands to switch to a green energy supplier by 2020. That’s the year the Paris Agreement enters into force, to respond to global climate change and limit further temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
 
Brands as diverse as Belstaff, Christopher Raeburn, E.Tautz, Harvey Nichols, Kering, Marks & Spencer, Oliver Spencer, Selfridges, Stella McCartney and Vivienne Westwood herself are already committed.

Says Dame Vivienne: “People ask, ‘what can I do to help save the environment?’ In all my time as an activist, I’ve never had a satisfactory answer. Now we know: Switch to a Green Energy supplier.”
 
Eco-Age, supported by the BFC, are creating a series of one-of-a-kind looks from different Commonwealth countries to be showcased in Buckingham Palace. Supported by the Commonwealth Fashion Council, attendance at the launch reception has been limited by Buck House to the guests only from Commonwealth countries. And you thought Brexit was jingoistic and exclusionary?

The season will also mark the final show for Burberry of the truly great designer Christopher Bailey. The show will be staged in the Dimco Buildings, a giant 19th-century redbrick structure originally built as a shed for the London Underground’s Central Line. Latterly, the building was where they filmed Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Though this is one show where one should not expect another rabbit to be pulled out of the hat. A pity that, because, quite frankly, the single biggest reason that the UK has at least one major league fashion brand, Burberry, is thanks to Bailey’s special imagination and friendly ability to create luxurious fruit out of the bitter artistic roots of his fellow Britons. He shall be missed on the scene.
 
The BFC has also been at the forefront of ensuring models well-being during the city’s catwalk season. This month it has created the Model Zone, a private space to eat, drink and relax between shows, supported by brands like Breather, Weleda, Curaprox and Fulfil.
 
The capital will also host a number of public talks and workshops at Spencer House, organized by Mulberry, with participants who share the brand's love for craft, fashion and uniqueness. The brainchild of Mulberry’s stylish and cerebral designer Johnny Coca, these will include Mulberry craftsmen demonstrations; millinery by Noel Stewart and a masterclass on London’s current favourite tipple, gin, by artisan distiller Valentine Warner.
 
While fashionistas curious to see a good exhibition can visit Kensington Palace to see a show on Princess Diana, who, even if from the Commonwealth, was not exactly Buckingham Palace’s favourite individual. Entitled Diana: Her Fashion Story, it is a display of her most iconic outfits.