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 Delicate embroidered dresses paired with cropped jackets
highlighted Turkish designer Bora Aksu's show on Friday, in
colors of gold, dusty pinks and pale blue inspired by Irish
writer Oscar Wilde's The Nightingale and the Rose.
Earlier, Korean-born designer Eudon Choi sent models down the
runway in boxy leather jackets decorated with colorful geometric
shapes, oversized scarves and floral printed flares.
More than 5,000 buyers, journalists and bloggers have flocked to
London to see emerging talent like Aksu and Choi showcase their
designs alongside leading designers Paul Smith, Vivienne
Westwood and Burberry's Christopher Bailey.
This season sees the British Fashion Council (BFC) focus on how
designers can grow their businesses into successful brands and
boost growth in Britain's 26 billion pound ($39.98 billion)
fashion industry.
"It is fantastic that we are seeing these young businesses going
from strength to strength," Chief Executive Caroline Rush told
Reuters.
"The next stage of course is thinking about e-commerce and
online businesses and again as part of our business pillar, I’m
working closely with the tech sector looking at some quick wins
and some really strong guys to help in e-commerce," Rush added.
With online fashion sales expected to reach 19 billion pounds in
the next four years, according to research firm Mintel,
designers are turning to social media like Instagram, Facebook
and Twitter to help drive more online purchases.
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"We have been very focused on the past year or so, helping designers
to understand how they can best use social media," Rush said.
Aksu said the networks were the perfect tool to help his label grow
internationally and gain recognition.
Camille Juras, who three weeks ago launched what she called a vegan
shoe company making footwear with micro fibers rather than animal
leather, said she had already generated sales from using social
media websites.
"Social media is key. It all starts with online presence and then
you grow," said Juras. "On Instagram, it was instant. You would
launch your page, people would start to like you, like your products
and that started the sales process."
London Fashion Week, which generates more than 100 million pounds in
orders each season from buyers around the world, will run until Feb.
24.
(Reporting by Li-mei Hoang; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
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