Muted London Fashion Week Wraps up with Burberry Show

 A model prepares backstage for the Conner Ives catwalk show at the Savoy Hotel during London Fashion Week in London, Britain, February 23, 2025. (Reuters)
A model prepares backstage for the Conner Ives catwalk show at the Savoy Hotel during London Fashion Week in London, Britain, February 23, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
20

Muted London Fashion Week Wraps up with Burberry Show

 A model prepares backstage for the Conner Ives catwalk show at the Savoy Hotel during London Fashion Week in London, Britain, February 23, 2025. (Reuters)
A model prepares backstage for the Conner Ives catwalk show at the Savoy Hotel during London Fashion Week in London, Britain, February 23, 2025. (Reuters)

London Fashion Week wraps up with Burberry sending its Autumn/Winter collection down the catwalk on Monday, capping off a relatively muted event in the rainy British capital.

Brands are grappling with a reduced appetite for luxury products worldwide, while a slimmed-down schedule with several absentees have raised concerns about London Fashion Week's future.

Still, there was room for spectacle -- from striking silhouettes in designer Harris Reed's opening show and hats made of glass by master milliner Stephen Jones.

On the catwalks, the bubble skirt from the 1980s in several forms was one of the trends spotted.

Meanwhile, Irish designer Sinead O'Dwyer set out to show all women can be sexy, no matter age and body type.

- Burberry -

Hopeful fashionistas have been holding out for the biggest name of the week -- British megahouse Burberry -- which showcases its collection at 1900 GMT at the Tate Britain museum.

The fashion giant famed for its trench coats and signature tartan print is going through a difficult period, and is the subject of rumors about the departure of its creative director.

Daniel Lee arrived a little over two years ago and has tried to give the British mega-house a facelift.

Lee could be replaced by English designer Kim Jones, who left Dior Men at the end of January after seven years, according to media reports.

Burberry, which has been experiencing months of financial difficulty, began an "emergency" refocusing on its iconic products such as the famous trench coat late last year in a bid to stave off falling sales.

Last month it announced a further decline in sales, hit by weak demand in China, but the troubled group was showing signs of recovery under new leadership and the decline was less severe than forecast.

- Slipping behind -

Despite the presence of renowned designers such as Simone Rocha and Richard Quinn, and promising stylists such as S.S. Daley and Harris Reed, several fashion experts said London Fashion Week was falling further behind Paris and New York every year.

"There is a bit of a damp spirit, an empty feeling, to the London schedule at the moment," Daley told The Guardian newspaper before his show.

Caroline Rush, the director of the British Fashion Council which organizes London Fashion Week, acknowledged it was "a particularly challenging time" for British brands.

Brands have been dealt several blows following the pandemic, such as Brexit and last year's closure of the global luxury online platform Matches Fashion.

This year's event is almost a day shorter than the previous Autumn-Winter 2024 fashion week, with several designers opting for a dinner or presentation instead of a pricier runway show.

Buyers and influencers such as Beka Gvishiani of Style Not Com, an Instagram account that charts fashion news, did not make the trip, while Northern Irish designer Jonathan Anderson was also absent with his brand JW Anderson.

Rush, who is organizing her last London Fashion Week, said London Fashion Week remains "so relevant because ... we have so many small independent businesses, they need a platform to be able to show to reach global audiences."



Italy's Cucinelli Maintains Sales Growth Forecasts for this Year and Next

FILE PHOTO: A logo of Brunello Cucinelli is seen on a door at their company headquarters in Solomeo village, near Perugia, Italy, September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A logo of Brunello Cucinelli is seen on a door at their company headquarters in Solomeo village, near Perugia, Italy, September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo
TT
20

Italy's Cucinelli Maintains Sales Growth Forecasts for this Year and Next

FILE PHOTO: A logo of Brunello Cucinelli is seen on a door at their company headquarters in Solomeo village, near Perugia, Italy, September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A logo of Brunello Cucinelli is seen on a door at their company headquarters in Solomeo village, near Perugia, Italy, September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo

Italian luxury fashion group Brunello Cucinelli on Wednesday confirmed its expectations for sales growth of around 10% in both 2025 and 2026 despite looming US tariffs.
Starting from its Fall-Winter 2025 collections, the company will work on a new price list in the US in response to the possible impact of tariffs but it does not expect this to have much impact on its business, Reuters reported.
"We do not believe that this measure will result in a significant change in purchases by American clients," it said in a statement, noting the strength of its brand.
The group said sales had risen 10.5% at constant exchange rates in the first quarter, boosted by a solid performance in retail and wholesale channels.
Best known for its cashmere garments, the Italian company sold 37% of its products in the Americas region last year.
First quarter sales came in at 341.5 million euros ($388.2 million), broadly in line with an analysts' forecast of 343 million euros, according to LSEG data.
Amid a slowdown in luxury demand, the group has so far outperformed the industry thanks to its high-end positioning.