5 things you didn’t know about London Fashion Week

Is it just us or does everyone look a little bit more stylish than usual? Colourful skirts and imposing headgear at the ready…it’s London Fashion Week. To celebrate we’ve scoured the feather-adorned depths of internet fact files to come up with five quirky things you might not have known about the capital’s most fashionable calendar date…

30,000 Lavazza espressos will be served

Think your caffeine addiction is bad? Every London Fashion Week, 200kg of Lavazza coffee beans are used to make a whopping 30,000 espressos for those working and visiting events. The Italian coffee brand has been a sponsor of the stylish soiree for 13 years now, during which time they’ve awoken a wealth of dreary-eyed fashion professionals and connoisseurs.

So committed to the task is the sponsor that, every season, they commission a new designer to craft a paper cup design fitting for the occasion. This week’s artist of choice is London-based womenswear designer Marques’Almeida and, as an extra special treat, the brand is sending representatives out across London on custom-designed Vespa scooters to deliver free coffee for lucky social media users who tweet or Instagram @LavazzaUK along with the hashtag #LFWLAVAZZA.

Now we don’t feel so bad about having that second latte this morning…

VIPS are chauffeured 32,000 miles between shows

While the majority of the action this year is taking place in Soho (away from the its previous home in Somerset House), it’s estimated that the event’s fleet of high-class Mercedes-Benz drivers (because what other brand would do) will take models, stylists, journalists and bloggers a blister-popping 32,000 miles between shows.

The new venue, Brewer Street Car Park, started life as an iconic art deco building in 1929 and has been used for a huge range of events over the last few years. Caroline Rush, Chief Executive of the British Fashion Council, said the bold move “fulfils the BFC’s goal to host London Fashion Week in the West End, providing an epicentre for a city-wide fashion celebration with close proximity to major retail spaces.” Well, now we’re even more excited!

Buyers are more important than celebrities

While your Instagram feed might be full of Kardashians, Beyonces and other recognisable beauties on the front row of designer shows, the most important VIP (and therefore FROW necessity) is actually the fearlessly working buyers who select clothing lines, brands and items for shops.

If a buyer doesn’t eye a brand’s clothing or accessories, they’re less likely to make the shelves for sale – making plenty of them near the front vital for Fashion Week success. Press and buyers alone make up around 5,000 of the attendees at each London Fashion Week – if you’re looking for a way to ease your way into top events, you’ve got more chance taking up a fashion course than an acting one (in this circumstance, at least).

It’s a huge contribution to our economy

Still in doubt as to how important that luxury buyer is? The direct value of the British fashion industry to the UK economy is thought to be around £26 billion. During London Fashion Week alone, orders in excess of £100m are placed; £65m of which is from the International Guest Programme.

Likewise, the money brought it by media coverage exceeds £280m (J.K.Rowling’s net worth circa 2003 to put it in perspective). While the majority of us think of fashion as a piece of fun, over 797,000 people are employed in the industry across the UK. Next time you splurge the cash on that new outfit, forget the guilt and remember what a great economy-boosting fashionista you are! The UK salutes you…

London Fashion Week is a social affair

Last September’s five-day sprint saw #LFW mentioned over 329,800 times on Twitter and 120,000 times on Instagram, allowing more and more of us to know what’s happening as it happens. Figures are expected to rise even higher this year, and we’re desperately following some of the best-known attendees to make sure we get our fix of the most exclusive events.

We’ll be watching the online news like a hawk, but we love it when our social-media friends share content with us. Know any more fun facts about London Fashion Week (or fashion in general)? Drop us a tweet @bathroom_mirror or post on our Facebook wall.

London Fashion Week at home

Not managed to blag yourself a backstage pass this year? While we’re unfortunately unable to wave our wand-shaped designer bags to get all our lovely readers a backstage pass, our favourite way of recreating the whole affair is to put on our favourite make up (in front of a Hollywood, naturally), dig the most eccentric items of clothing out of our wardrobe (brownie points if it’s clashing colours or designer), and watch old episodes of Britain’s Next Top Model. On repeat. Who needs a barista-crafted cappuccino when you’ve got freeze-dried instant granules, after all.