London Fashion Weeks is a Mecca for fashion lovers from all over the globe. It is one of the key fashion weeks of fashion month alongside Paris, Milan, and New York. Obviously, it’s a dream to attend fashion week but just how feasible is it for the avid yet average fashion lover or just beginning blogger?
There are a few ways to get involved. Since 2019 London Fashion week has put on two public shows at the BFC. These are ticketed events that you can buy from their website at around £135 apiece. Obviously, this is quite expensive, but is it truly worth the money? The shows that are put on are not necessarily that of the current season, they may be last season’s clothes. For that reason, you can’t expect to bump into Anna Wintour or have a pre-show chat with Victoria Beckham.
How to get tickets for Fashion Week
- Email Designer Brands
So how else can you get involved? For most bloggers starting out, becoming a certified member by the British Fashion council is not realistic as it requires thousands of page views. However, this does not prevent you from emailing the PR team of the brands on the LFW schedule.
LFW publishes the schedule on its website and alongside it is a pdf with all the PR information for each brand. This is who you’d need to email to request tickets to a show. Remember to be realistic, but also there is no harm in emailing lots of people. Most ticket requests are managed by overworked interns that want to fill the audience so you may get lucky.
- Be part of the PR Team
Other such companies like Fashion Finest host emerging designers. One particularly well thought of is Fashion Scout which has hosted designers like Angel Chen (who is currently on the Netflix show Next in Fashion) and Pam Hogg. To gain access to these shows you will have to email the PR contact for tickets much like that on the main LFW schedule.
- Work Backstage
If you’d like more of an industry experience, eg working backstage, there are lots of adverts for help around fashion month. Check out the Instagram accounts of Fashion Finest, and Fashion Scout. Their Instagrams often put up ads as do their affiliated designers.
- Be Part of the Crowd
If you are unsuccessful in getting access to a show in any form you can still go to fashion week. Head on down to 180 The Strand and Somerset House. From there you can see how people are dressed, the off-duty models, and try to catch peeks at the shows. Somerset House is open to the public so do not be too intimidated.
Quick Tips:
If you are attending for the first time here are some quick tips that may seem obvious:
- The shows are for the season ahead, but you dress for the season you are in.
- Unless you are being dressed by the designer it’s not a good idea to go to a show wearing the designer’s clothes. Whilst it seems a nice idea you will be a season behind what they are showing and if they do gift outfits to people they will usually dress them in the coming season or an in-between.
- Wear comfy shoes. You will be on your feet and walking a lot, be that between shoes or on a Starbucks run. Be kind to your feet and remember blister plasters.