As London Fashion Week drew to a close on the 24 February 2025, we were once again reminded of the exciting and constantly innovative creative scene in the UK’s capital. London has established itself as a global powerhouse of fashion via its western centrality and the presence and legacy of many iconic fashion designers throughout the years; Westwood, McQueen, and Burberry, to name a few.
This, alongside numerous spaces dedicated to creative work, a wider range of artistic and humanities courses across its many universities, and most importantly, London contributing the most to the UK economy, makes it difficult for other cities to compete with London’s creative prowess. However, is London too quick to dismiss other cities as rising fashion powerhouses? Whilst it is certainly prolific, is the quantity of fashion events in London too much? Especially when the rest of the country seems to be desperate for a modicum of fashion recognition or opportunity, Manchester included.
What we have in Manchester
At the beginning of February, a grassroots fashion event called REDROOM took place in Manchester, which featured a variety of performances; dance routines, musical pieces, and live painting. An eclectic collection of art with an exciting fashion showcase though, was the primary attraction. It claimed to feature some of Manchester’s best designers, and whilst this felt like a stretch, the garments did deliver in variety and styling. It was a short showcase of around 15 looks, mostly categorised into 3 per designer (or in one case a stylist, of an existing wardrobe rather than a designer of new fashion). However, there was a lack of cohesion between each section, from rainbow colours with exaggerated silhouettes, to CD motifs tacked on flowy sheer fabrics, to sculptured trench coats: the worthwhile fashion got a little lost.
Despite criticisms on quality, cohesion, and storytelling, there were certainly glimpses of greatness with impressive runway walks and interesting fashion design unique to the Manchester scene, creating excitement for future events with a more developed and cohesive theme. The potential here was very high but was stunted by budget, venue limitations and a possible miscommunication about what the event actually was. There is though, more of a chance of having your work displayed in a Manchester show, as in London the sheer quantity of such events can blur together, uncovering a separate issue of creatives’ desires to migrate to London.
London’s Inevitability and Success
Down south though, fashion week was a roaring success. Some standout shows included those from Simone Rocha and Jawara Alleyne who played with unexpected textile combinations and delicate construction whilst still retaining the spirit of Fall/Winter. But, its isolation and frantic disorganisation drew the fun out of the event. The opportunity to attend some shows with the Fashion and Beauty section to review and interview was a once in a lifetime, but the whirlwind rush and financial commitment were too great a sacrifice. So many are ready and willing to clear their schedules and commute great distances just for the chance to attend even the smallest of shows, making LFW itself an elitist event for London natives or those who can afford to fork out a small fortune for a train ticket.
This is a level of prestige that London has acquired quite inorganically. Varying long-term factors have pushed all industry, tourism, and memorability into the city. Fashion Week can and should be respected as an event. International recognition of the art form is important above all else, but recognition of fashion and design outside of the capital may do wonders for small-time or working-class designers who have had no opportunity to expand their creative skills outside of free events held near their hometown.
LFW spanned around 20-30 events per day across the extended weekend. It also wasn’t exclusive to just designed collections, but included exhibitions, brand launches and student showcases all across the city. It is notoriously unorganised, with last-minute changes due to the sheer quantity of moving parts and high demand to attend. However, for all its negative aspects, the level of saturation doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon as profit flows during the illustrious week, concentrating even more wealth in London. Once again, LFW should not be abolished, but its exclusivity is simply another facet of the north/south divide, making it feel impossible for the rest of the country to compete when so many creative industries are situated in the most expensive, inefficient city in the country.
What we could have in Manchester
Salford University recently held a show for its fashion design course in collaboration with London Fashion Week: some long-awaited recognition of talent alive and well up north. However, instead of organising it on campus (as I initially assumed and was eager to attend), or at another famous Mancunian venue, it was in London. This came across as a display of presumptuousness and self-importance. To the organisers, it was indisputable that the event would be more popular, respected, and relevant if showcased in London, and that the industrial suburb of Salford lacked intrigue. The hardworking students at Salford are more likely to aspire to London and discredit their own local scene despite the great engagement and interest this collaboration would have gotten if it had taken place in Salford.
In any case, no one on the Mancunion team attended, instead seeing the show on Instagram. It was an impressive, cohesive collection featuring popular items reimagined for couture. Bias aside, this impressed me more than some of London’s own. Fashion courses are not limited to Salford (with proliferating arts universities popping up across the north), and design is not limited to students or academia. Creatives live in every part of the country, with the creation of garments and manipulation of textiles being one of the most authentic forms of self-expression because of how we present ourselves to others through clothing. It can be aspirational, comforting, and very brave.
There is always something new to be done with fashion; this should not be limited to the London scene. The chance to ease the suffocating grip of opportunity away from the capital and allow other big, important cities like Manchester should not be so difficult. There is still hope to be had with events like REDROOM, but it still feels like a somewhat amateur and naïve mimicry of LFW; a hodgepodge of ideas.
My harsh words are only indicative of my hope for the scene, due to the genuine glimpses of greatness that I saw. We should not doubt people’s ability to design, but instead organise impactful events in Manchester and across the UK as a whole.
