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Designers cut back on catwalk shows for Fashion Week
Mark Blunden16 Feb 2009
Designers at London Fashion Week are ditching expensive catwalk shows in favour of small presentations direct to buyers and editors.
Several houses are said to have swapped runway showcases -which cost tens of thousands of pounds - at the bi-annual event which begins at the Natural History Museum on Friday.
Labels, hit by a huge drop in sponsorship deals, have hired rooms in private members' clubs, used mannequins instead of models or filmed their shows for invited audiences only.
Designers to have dropped catwalk shows include Duro Olowu, who is hosting a series of appointment-only one-to-ones.
He said: "With a catwalk show, you are looking at spending £25,000 to £40,000 minimum, often more, and given what has happened in the last few months, many designers are having to reassess their business choices."
He is joined by Louise Gray and David David, who are also choosing money-saving ways to meet buyers and fashion editors.
Gray will show her collection on mannequins at Soho House in Greek Street, while David David's head designer, David Saunders, will showcase their work by film to an invited audience.
There are fewer shows at London Fashion Week this season, 51 instead of 55 last September.
A spokeswoman said many designers are pressing ahead, but catwalk shows will be "less elaborate".
Maria Grachvogel, whose fans include Angelina Jolie and Victoria Beckham, will host a series of 30-minute presentations for her autumn collection at The Hospital in Covent Garden.
She said: "People are now much more considered about how they are spending their money on fashion and the ostentation of the past few years has gone, so they want to be able to see their investment pieces in a more intimate setting."
