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Fashion pack split on London`s fashion future
London, Sept 16: Cutting edge or distressingly dull? British designers provoked a mix of reactions from top international buyers and the press on Saturday as London Fashion Week got into its stride.
London, Sept 16: Cutting edge or distressingly dull? British designers provoked a mix of reactions from top international buyers and the press on Saturday as London Fashion Week got into its stride.
"London is very cyclical. You get a run of two or three years where there are the most incredibly exciting designers then another few years where it is low-key, which is now," said Michael Roberts of the New Yorker magazine, who was among the key fashion writers in the front row of London`s shows.
"London has suffered the loss of its most visionary designers, like Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen, who had very strong identities very early in their career," he said. "There are not enough opinionated designers in London now."
Roberts said the fashion trough was a reflection of a greater cultural malaise in Britain. The country that once rocked the world with punk and Brit rock was now dominated by manufactured pop bands and an obsession with B-list celebrities.
But Hong Kong-born designer John Rocha, who has lived and worked in Ireland for almost 30 years, was among the designers who still saw the London show as a key event.
He said it was up to both established and new British and Irish designers to ensure vital, exciting new collections that can keep the rest of the world coming back for more.
"London Fashion Week is important because it is our industry. It is up to all of to support it because if we don`t our industry here will die," he told Reuters after his Spring/Summer 2003 show on Saturday.
"London has suffered the loss of its most visionary designers, like Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen, who had very strong identities very early in their career," he said. "There are not enough opinionated designers in London now."
Roberts said the fashion trough was a reflection of a greater cultural malaise in Britain. The country that once rocked the world with punk and Brit rock was now dominated by manufactured pop bands and an obsession with B-list celebrities.
But Hong Kong-born designer John Rocha, who has lived and worked in Ireland for almost 30 years, was among the designers who still saw the London show as a key event.
He said it was up to both established and new British and Irish designers to ensure vital, exciting new collections that can keep the rest of the world coming back for more.
"London Fashion Week is important because it is our industry. It is up to all of to support it because if we don`t our industry here will die," he told Reuters after his Spring/Summer 2003 show on Saturday.
Bureau Report