Laura Weir Lays Out Her Dreams for British Fashion as CEO of the BFC

LONDON — Laura Weir isn’t one for nostalgia, and won’t dwell on the glory days of London Fashion Week, when the schedule was brimming with talent and the British capital was an essential stop — even for a day or two — on the seasonal circuit.

At the same time, the new chief executive officer of the British Fashion Council, a former fashion editor who was most recently executive creative director of Selfridges, isn’t frustrated or angry about the myriad challenges London fashion is facing right now.

Instead she’s trying to meet the immediate needs of the London fashion community, and position it for success in the longer-term. In an interview, Weir said she wants people to realize just how important London — and Britain — are to the European fashion ecosystem.

“We have a task on our hands to rebuild the clarity of purpose of the BFC, tell the story about why fashion matters and make clear that in the act of getting dressed, you are quite literally shaping culture. That is a real opportunity,” said Weir in an interview.

“For so long we’ve been stuck in the doldrums of post-Brexit, post-COVID, and there’s no diminishing that as the painful time it’s been. But now it’s about the next era, rebuilding British fashion and the ecosystem that exists here to a point where it garners the respect it deserves,” Weir added.

Although her big strategy reveal won’t be until early November, Weir has already made a few changes, including canceling the listing fee that designers had to pay in order to be part of the official LFW calendar.

She’s also looking at fashion as a nationwide asset rather than a London one. Fashion, Weir believes, “is a nationwide endeavor, with 68 billion pounds in GDP contribution and the millions of jobs it creates nationwide. It is a confluence of creativity, art, retail, and the high street, and it’s about bringing back a sense of pride to all of it,” she said.

To wit, the BFC has started a creative education program called Fashion Assembly that will see designers return to their old schools across the country and speak to young people about the industry’s relevance, and how they can get involved at all different levels.

Having begun her career at the U.K. trade title Draper’s Record, Weir said she’s tuned into the critical role that retail plays in the bigger fashion picture. She’s also aware of the decline of wholesale, the rise of direct-to-consumer sales, and declining consumption at the high end, where many of the London designers play. 

“I understand the importance of those retail relationships, the shifting sales landscape, and I want to use my background to support the designers,” she said.

The BFC will increase scholarship funding, and has secured a three-year commitment from the British government Department for Culture, Media and Sport for the Newgen program, which offers money and mentoring to emerging talent.

In January, the same department committed an additional 1 million pounds in funding for the BFC for the current year. As a result, the budget allocated to the “international guest” program has been doubled for the fall season, allowing the BFC to invite social media platforms, critics, editors and buyers who might not otherwise come to the shows in September and February.

This week, writers, stylists and content creators from publications in the U.S., Europe and Asia and buyers from stores including David Jones, Holt Renfrew, Joyce, Dover Street Market Paris, Galeries Lafayette, Le Bon Marché, Printemps, Antonia, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue will touch down in London for the shows, which run from Thursday through Monday.

Weir has also been working on medium- and long-term projects, including The Fashion Awards, which will take place this year on Dec. 1 at Royal Albert Hall. She also wants them to have a broader reach.

Weir said the awards will be “a real exploration of fashion’s role in wider culture, film, screen, sport, the stage and music. I have some exciting plans.” The annual event will continue to raise money for the BFC Foundation, which focuses on education, grant-giving, and business mentoring.

As reported, homegrown talents Jonathan Anderson and Martine Rose will be competing against Miuccia Prada, Glenn Martens, Rick Owens and Willy Chavarria for Designer of the Year, the top honor.

Weir is seeding the ground for the return of British designers and brands to London Fashion Week. The biggest names often decamp to Paris, where most of the buying and deal-making is done, but she’s hoping to woo some of those Brits back.

Weir said she’s already been engaging with the designers and brands who are showing in Paris, including Victoria Beckham, Stella McCartney and McQueen, “trying to open up conversations about ‘What does a homecoming look like for you?’” Weir said.

She’s only interested in brands returning to the U.K. “if it makes sense for their businesses.”

She added: “I want to show how returning to the city where you started your career can be really positive because you’d be welcomed home with open arms. We do all have a collective responsibility to keep the European fashion ecosystem thriving, and that only works if London is thriving.

“I hope that, moving forward, we can start to have even more positive conversations about bringing some brands home. In the meantime, it’s on us to celebrate the brands that are here, Burberry — and the fantastic work that Daniel Lee is doing — and, of course, Erdem, Roksanda and Simone Rocha,” said Weir.

She added that Jonathan Anderson, who has transformed JW Anderson into a lifestyle brand and is no longer staging regular runway shows, remains committed to doing events at London Fashion Week every season. Later this week he’ll be hosting a dinner to mark the relaunch and the transformation of the brand’s Soho store, while the team will be doing appointments with members of the industry.

There is no doubt Weir has taken on a challenging role, but she’s determined to re-energize London Fashion Week and fight for British fashion at home, and abroad.

Over the past months she’s been forging relationships with other countries and regions “to drive the creative ambitions of our designers and retailers overseas. We’re asking ourselves, ‘What do trade missions look like in 2025 and beyond,’ and ‘Which countries are celebrating culture generally, and recognizing the creative asset that it is?’” Weir said.

She’s interested in brokering deals with India, South Asia, North America, Australia and the Middle East and helping British designers grow their networks and find new commercial opportunities.

“Energy begets energy and when you have the right people in the room and the right conversations are happening, the buzz comes, the hype comes, and the orders flow. It’s all about the ecosystem,” she said.