London Fashion Week – My Experience & What I Learnt!

We are more than half way through this Autumn’s London Fashion Week already – can you believe it?!

I was there on Friday and was lucky enough to make it along to the “Daks” show and the “Fyodor Golan” show (see my post about the Fyodor Golan show here) as well as taking in the whole environment properly for the first time.

As I’d never been to London Fashion Week before, I picked up on a few things that I want to remember for  next year, or the next time I get invited to something similar.

I thought I’d put the few things I learnt into a post, along with my experience on Friday, firstly for anyone who may be heading along today and tomorrow, but also for myself in the future as a little reminder. (Future Rosie, remember this list and the things on it!)

1. Shoes – If you are wearing heels, bring flats.
   There is a lot of walking, a lot of standing, and the new BFC Show Space at Brewer Street has a serious slope to get to it. If nothing else, put your flats on for going down the slope after the shows, then pop them back on at the bottom and keep your glam instead of nearly stacking it in your heels and ending up genuinely considering styling out a drop-and-roll to the bottom (myself and the Ashleigh & Burwood girls actually joked about doing this after the Fyodor Golan show!)
2. Take a big enough bag.
   I have no idea what I ended up carrying by the end of the day but my one bag became 4 and I seriously struggled getting myself and all my stuff to the train! I SERIOUSLY needed a bigger bag (and the one I had already wasn’t small!), or maybe even a cheeky spare!!
3. Food/Coffee
   There are so many shows and you end up rushing across central london from one show to another with no time to eat. Take an apple or a cereal bar in your bag – you won’t regret it!
   Also….coffee is necessary. It’s an amazing environment but the days are long and it is tiring – if you have 15 mins between having to be places, get a coffee and have a wee – it might be 4 hours before your next chance!
4. Phone charger/battery
   I have an amazing “Anker” portable phone battery thing that holds several iPhone charges worth of battery and I would not have got through more than a few hours without it! Instagram, texting, whatsapp-ing, calling people to work out where to meet them at each venue and using my ever trusty google maps to get around without getting lost takes up so much valuable battery!
5. Camera stuff – Take spares
   Memory Cards, Batteries, the lot – you never know when your tech is going to let you down! Luckily none of mine did, but I am a bit rubbish at bringing spares, and also having them in a sensible place in my bag…..so a bit of a ‘Note to self’!
6. Umbrella
   Frankly, it’s London. It will rain. Normally, I’m ok with getting a little bit soggy to save carrying more stuff around. But this is Fashion Week – just pop one of those fold away umbrellas in your bag – you can’t turn up to a high fashion show with your hair plastered to your face and mascara dripping off your chin….!
7. Layers
   It’s Autumn. It’s gonna be chilly. But you’re rushing around like a mad thing. Trust me, layers are your friend….just make sure you’ve got the bag space to carry them when you pull them off on the tube or whilst running along brewer street!

Overall my whole experience on Friday was amazing – I was rushing around like a mad thing, saw some incredible pieces and really saw a whole spectrum of what London Fashion Week is about. The individual creativity that goes into every outfit both on and off the catwalk, the street style, the cameras, the paparazzi, the art – it’s all such a bubble!

The Daks show was brilliant too. As a contrast to the Fyodor Golan show, which was very high fashion and more like art than something you would wear yourself, the Daks show was just beautiful pieces that you could see yourself wearing – there were several pieces I desperately wanted to try on myself. I particularly loved the theme of the whole show – the catwalk was all marble and a lot of the fabrics has a marble effect on them, which I LOVED! Definitely lusting after the gorgeous marble look full-length skirt that came out last – absolutely stunning!

Overall, when I got home that night, kicked me shoes off and brewed myself a cup of tea to warm myself up after the day of very autumnal, slightly soggy, central london, I was in such a good mood! I’d had such a brilliant day, met some amazing people and seen a whole side to the fashion industry that I’d never been involved in before. It was intriguing and amazing in equal proportions. Here’s hoping I’m back next year!