The controversy pitting the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), organizer of New York Fashion Week, against the British Fashion Council (BFC), organizer of London Fashion Week, has been resolved thankfully. The controversy erupted late last week when the CFDA announced its intention to start their shows one week later than their current slots thereby reducing London's show schedule to a mere four days. A meeting which took place on Tuesday between organizers of London, New York, Paris and Milan fashion weeks resulted in a comprise whereby New York will get to start its shows one week later and London will have five days to showcase its designers. All is not well however.
Left to right: BFC president Hilary Riva, Sarah Brown and BFC chairman Harold Tillman; CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg and CFDA executive director Steven Kolb.
While the controversy erupted over scheduling, the root of the conflict goes deeper than mere calendars and catwalk logistics. The fear sparked by the prospect of a shorter show schedule tightly wedged between New York and Milan is that the better-known designers would decamp to New York or Paris to show their collections and international buyers and press would simply skip London altogether. The fears are well-founded but to be fair, the problems plaguing London's fashion scene are hardly new. Talented British designers have been decamping for New York and Paris for some time now and this unfortunate state of affairs has little to do with scheduling conflicts. Talented young designers with fledgling fashion labels have long been plagued by lack of a proper infrastructure and want of assistance in developing commercial viability for what seems like ages. Many feel compelled to decamp for friendlier business environments including New York and Paris (even while they continue to live and design in London). Further, London's fashion industry has long been plagued by chronic discord prompting Harold Tillman to cite this as a particular point of concern upon assuming the title of chairman of the BFC in March 2007. Yet, to hear some members of the fashion press this past week, all the woes to befall London Fashion Week are attributable to rapacious New York.
Much of the commentary I heard and read as this controversy played out over the past few days wreaked of sour grapes and was frequently tinged with an unpleasant anti-New York edge. Some of London's best designers (Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney) show their main collections in Paris and have done so for years yet I haven't heard anyone describe the French fashion establishment as "rapacious". Nor is anyone accusing the Italian fashion establishment of a "deliberate attempt to drain the lifeblood from London fashion week". Last I heard, Milan organizers weren't willing to do London organizers any favors either. This kind of commentary coming from esteemed members of the fashion press makes London seem weaker than it is in actual fact and more importantly, it is entirely unproductive. Rather than directing their ire at New York, wouldn't it be more productive to turn the industry's considerable passion and energy towards fixing what's wrong with the British fashion industry? One would think that an industry that accounts for a reported £40 billion of revenue per year and constitutes the United Kingdom's second largest source of employment would be immune from this kind of threat. After all, virtually everywhere else in the world, money talks. As the events of the past week reveal, this is sadly not so in the U.K., at least where fashion is concerned.
The closest to an honest assessment of the root of the problem comes from the Evening Standard's fashion columnist Laura Craik who points out the peculiarly British ambivalence towards its fashion industry. By contrast, the French and Italians are openly proud and supportive of their respective fashion industries. They view fashion not only as an important source of employment and revenue but also as an important part of their cultural identity. The French routinely use the term patrimoine when discussing French fashion meaning they view the industry as part of their national heritage. More importantly, the Italians and especially the French have always viewed fashion as a business, an important one, and therefore have been willing to protect and defend it tooth and nail when necessary and not just when a crises erupts. It's no coincidence that LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault who owns controlling interests in countless fashion labels also happens to be France's richest man. By contrast, in Britain, fashion is seen as a frivolous pursuit and therefore undeserving of the kind of respect that say the banking or insurance industries are afforded. It would seem that Brits would rather be known as a world financial center than as a world fashion capital. Until Britons are as proud and respectful of their catwalk designers as they are of their City professionals, London Fashion Week and the industry it is designed to showcase will always be in a precarious state.
Sincerely,
The Luxe Chronicles
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