Sometimes it takes a crises for leadership to emerge and meaningful reform to take place. For those of you who followed the turmoil surrounding London Fashion Week a few weeks ago when the British Fashion Council (organizers of London Fashion Week) butted heads with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (organizers of New York Fashion Week) over 2009 show schedules. The controversy brought to the surface some of the issues that have plagued London’s fashion industry for some time now namely industry-wide discord tinged with a certain resentment towards New York’s fashion industry and its relative muscle.

From left to right: BFC Chairman Harold Tillman; BFC President Hilary Riva; CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg and CFDA Executive Director Steven Kolb.
I for one was dismayed by the venom spewed by certain esteemed members of the fashion press towards the CFDA and the New York fashion industry in general. It seemed to me that the sniping at New York’s CFDA (who by protecting the interests of their members were in fact fulfilling their mandate) was counterproductive and in the end, merely succeeded in making London look parochial and weaker than it is in actual fact. Luckily, the BFC headed by Harold Tillman and seconded by Hilary Riva took a more clear-eyed view of the matter. A deal was worked out to the satisfaction of both New York and London. The definitive dates were unveiled yesterday.

In a recent interview with Drapers magazine (September 27, 2008), U.K.’s leading fashion trade publication, Mr. Tillman discussed the deal which preserved London Fashion Week’s schedule slot. More importantly, Mr. Tillman laid out his plan to address some of the more fundamental issues facing the U.K. fashion industry. It should be pointed out that Mr. Tillman, who owns mid-range high street chain Jaeger as well as Allders department store, understood the challenges when he took up his current position at the head of the BFC. In an interview with Drapers shortly after his appointment, he cited the discord in the fashion industry as a chief concern and the need to bring the retail, design, manufacturing and production aspects of the industry together as a top priority.

Part of his strategy involves commissioning a report that will examine the importance of the fashion industry to the British economy.

Fashion retail is reportedly the second largest source of employment in the United Kingdom, a fact ignored by many. He also unveiled a few weeks ago the largest U.K. fund (modeled on the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund) to support emerging design talent. This move, perhaps more than any other initiative, is the most promising from the perspective of buttressing London’s fashion industry.

The transition between being a talented designer (of which there is no shortage in London thanks to its world-class design colleges) and creating a commercially successful fashion brand is a tricky one and more than one talented young designer has found that out the hard way.

Also, to retain prominence amongst international buyers and fashion journalists, London Fashion Week has to do a better job of retaining its talent on this side of the pond. Currently, it seems the minute a young designer gets any kind of critical acclaim, they decamp to show their collections in New York or Paris. This needs to stop. Given the current economic turmoil, having someone with a clear-eyed vision and deep understanding of the business of fashion (and not merely its creative aspects) is a very good start. Well done Mr. Tillman.

Source: The Luxe Chronicles