British Fashion

Looks from London Fashion Week, Fall 2008

With this open assignment I decided to research British fashion, since fashion is a primary part of my concentration and I will, after all, be studying at the London College of Fashion. After I searched online for a while it was certainly confirmed that London is one of the fashion capitals of the world, but it was hard to find information about what distinguished British fashion from that of America and other Western European countries. Interestingly enough, in the United Kingdom there are National costumes for Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, but not for England. The few informative websites I did find, however, emphasized that England (particularly London) has a unique style; the clothes themselves are pretty much the same as in the U.S., as they rely on a mix of vintage, chain store, and designer pieces, but Londoners mix these items in a rather avant-garde manner. What distinguishes the city in the fashion world is its eccentric mix of styles and its residents’ experimental, outgoing attitude toward dressing. London stands out in this sense even compared to New York, where—as described by New York Magazine—“the aesthetic [of designers] is generally more nervous and better behaved.” It also seems to me as if people in London take fashion much less seriously than other places. Not to say that Londoners don’t care any less about how they dress, only that they seem to have more fun with it and care less what other people think. There is a certain level of theatricality in their outfits that isn’t as prevalent in the style of other countries.

Besides this difference, London seems to be on par with much of New York in terms of fashion. London has its own fashion week, and this past year it celebrated its 25th anniversary. Also like the fashion scene in the United States, London is taking part in the “Green movement” and environmentally friendly clothing is very popular; the BBC has even started an online fashion magazine called “Thread” that is an overall “ethical fashion guide.” I also found on the BBC website a new television show called British Style Genius, which talks about Britain’s influence on the fashion world and gave a great rundown of the country’s style. On the show’s website they had video clips about designers, icons, and inspiration organized in five different categories that together summed up the diversity in British fashion: High Street, Tailored, Rebel, Country, and Street. To give a sense of the wide scope, Princess Diana was an icon for Country and James Bond was an “unmistakably British” icon for the Tailored style. I had frequently heard the term “high street” in reference to clothing, and finally discovered that it refers to typical chain stores like Topshop and H&M. High Street fashion therefore refers to some of the more modern, mainstream styles in the city (Kate Moss has pioneered this particular look). I also found a cool website on London street fashion that organized snapshots of fashionable residents or passersby by district, again reaffirming the importance of variation in London style. There wasn’t one major fashion icon or celebrity that people were copying, rather each person seemed to have their own set of personal influences and influencers.

Like most major cities, London has a huge influx of tourists year round, which has definitely lent a hand in shaping the diverse fashion scene that exists there now. While British fashion seemed somewhat difficult to define by only researching it online, I have a feeling that the style which characterizes London will become much more apparent once I’ve immersed myself within the city and its culture.