The British Fashion Council (BFC) announces that over 150 womenswear designers will showcase SS16 collections at the Designer Showrooms in the new London Fashion Week venue at Brewer Street Car Park from 18-22 September 2015. The floor has been divided into product categories to help navigation and ease. Sub-sections include RTW, Emerging RTW, Shoes, Bags, Accessories and Multi-Label Showrooms.

For the first time John Smedley, Rejina Pyo, Self-Portrait and Zandra Rhodes will join the showroom line-up which includes ESK, Fyodor Golan, Georgia Hardinge, GYVN, Holly Fulton, Jamie Wei Huang, Jean-Pierre Braganza, MAWI and O Thongthai, images from these designers shown in this article.

NEWGEN SS16 sponsored by TOPSHOP, the BFC’s emerging talent initiative, will have a pop-up showroom within which 1205, Ashley Williams, Claire Barrow, Danielle Romeril, Faustine Steinmetz, Marta Jakubowski, Molly Goddard, Ryan Lo and Sadie Williams will present their collections to buyers and press. For the full pop-up schedule visit: londonfashionweek.com/events.

Headonism 2015, the BFC’s millinery initiative, will present Emma Yeo, Harvy Santos, Keely Hunter and Sophie Beale in a space co-curated by Stephen Jones OBE.

Rock Vault 2015, the BFC’s fine jewellery initiative, will present Beth Gilmour, COMPLETEDWORKS, Jacqueline Cullen, Lily Kamper, Ornella Iannuzzi, Rachel Boston, Ruifier, Shimell & Madden, The House of Ana de Costa and Yunus & Eliza in a space co-curated by Stephen Webster MBE.

This season, London Fashion Week will work with brand new womenswear trade show, Scoop London on a partnership that will allow buyers from each event to use their passes to access both showrooms. A complimentary bus will take buyers between both venues; the Brewer Street Car Park in Soho and the Saatchi Gallery on King’s Road where Scoop will take place. For more information please visit: www.scoop-international.com

BREWER STREET CAR PARK

David Collins Studio has provided creative direction for the new Designer Showrooms at the Brewer Street Car Park, the new home for London Fashion Week. The Studio has worked with the British Fashion Council to stage the 1,600 square metre open space layout and the design of the second floor showroom to showcase the designer collections as well as the Hix Café, the pop up restaurant of Brewer Street Car Park by Mark Hix, which will serve a unique menu designed exclusively for London Fashion Week with deli classics, healthy salads and snacks with a Hix twist, alongside LFW sponsors including Alpro soy, almond and coconut yogurts, LAVAZZA coffee and Scavi & Ray Prosecco.

The Studio, renowned for working with British brands including Alexander McQueen and Jimmy Choo, has developed a concept based on lines of symmetry, transparency and reflection to impose an architectural interior upon the showroom. The design reflects the urban nature of the building and works with the concrete structure of the Brewer Street Car Park to create a functional and contemporary space.

A 70 metre long mirrored ceiling catwalk runs the length of the space and plays with volume, light and reflection, imposing symmetry on the space. This allows for exhibitors to be visible from the central runway, encouraging movement and exploration within the space. Semi-transparent dividers allow designers to exhibit within spaces that are private and yet have a connection with the wider showroom. Floating shelves and showcase plinths bring a subtle uniformity to the space.

Lewis Taylor, Design Director, David Collins Studio said: “We have worked in the retail sector for many years and now to be able to create an open space for new and established designers to showcase their work is a real privilege. Collaborating with the British Fashion Council, we wanted to embrace the urban nature of London Fashion Week’s new home at the Brewer Street Car Park whilst playing with the rigidity and form of traditional exhibition design to create a functional show space which appears to be very simple, but in fact performs as a mini-department store. Tasked with creating a completely new concept for the face of the event and being able to support British fashion has been an exciting and rewarding journey for The Studio.”

BBH ZAG, the branding and venturing division of BBH, has been appointed by the BFC as the lead creative agency for London Fashion Week to build a long-term marketing strategy and design the seasonal campaigns. BBH has also developed a short film to celebrate London Fashion Week’s move to Soho which features poet Harry Baker and will go live on Wednesday 9th September.

Adam Arnold, Managing Partner of ZAG, BBH’s brand consultancy, said: “We are delighted with our new partner as this is a long term relationship with a great brand who has asked us to build enduring value. That’s what excites us – whether we are in the luxury sector, fashion sector or accelerating our tech start-ups – we want to use our design thinking to create real lasting value.”

The Brewer Street Car Park’s second floor will also play host to pop ups open to accredited guests of London Fashion Week. The Sunglass Hut Press & Buyers’ Lounge will offer a quiet space to work, recharge your mobile phone and watch live streamed catwalk shows. The Amex Insiders, LFW’s onsite concierge, will be offering guests tips and directions. Visit insideLFW.com for more information or Tweet the Amex Insiders at #insideLFW. The Maybelline New York Lounge will offer expert tutorials and make-up refreshes, new season product launches and exclusive backstage artistry footage, creating a hub of make-up creativity. TalkTalk Business will provide free Wi-Fi keeping designers and guests connected at all times. The TONI&GUY Fashion Fix with label.m, will be a haven for guests to relax and have a complimentary style fix, haircut and blow-dry by a top TONI&GUY stylist using the Official Haircare Product of London Fashion Week: label.m Professional Haircare.