London Fashion Week has kicked off, but why is the catwalk showcase becoming increasingly important for retailers?

London Fashion Week has kicked off, with designers showcasing their autumn/winter 2015 ranges, but why is the catwalk becoming increasingly important for retailers?

Fashion plays a big role in consumer publications and the frequent appearance of style edits in both high-end magazines and online media means there is a growing cultural obsession with making catwalk fashion available on the high street.

With London Fashion Week now galvanising the fashion scene, ‘Get The Look’ features are prolific, but also instrumental in pointing consumers in the direction of retailers that successfully capture trends.

On the high street, most fashion retailers are fashion-led, not fashion driven. That is to say, they follow the trends rather than set them.

That acute awareness is critical to successful fashion retailing in the UK, as consumers here are heavily influenced by social media, as well as spoiled by the exhaustive options when it comes to price.

That means that even retailers such as Primark, which has always promised to be on point when it comes to value, now needs to be on trend too. Over the past five years, Primark has been credited with a transformation that has seen perceptions of its ranges convert from notions of disposable clothing to a well-received proposition that offers style as well as value.

Taking risks


The need to satisfy consumer demand for high fashion at high street prices is putting increasing pressure on retailers to step up their game.

It is one reason why Marks & Spencer has struggled in recent years, because while competitors have made bold moves when it comes to fashionability, M&S has often had a belated response to trends – something that it is now working hard to remedy.

“Next has already stepped up its buying cycles, moving from two seasonal ranges a year to four”

Anusha Couttigane, Conlumino

Yet even its outperforming rival Next has made a commitment to “taking more risks” and the retailer has already stepped up its buying cycles, moving from two seasonal ranges a year to four, in order to keep up with rapidly changing trends. 

Other fashion players have taken a more direct approach, with Topshop having launched its Topshop Unique platform in 2001. Now in its 23rd season, the Unique schedule showcases Topshop’s own design talent on the catwalk during London Fashion Week.

It is, in some ways, very similar to the strategy Asos pursues by employing the use of catwalk clips to promote products on its site.

Yet the advantage of the Topshop Unique approach is that these high street collections are recognised on an international stage. Followed by print and social media around the world, this is a brilliant tool for brand communication that gives Topshop the opportunity to market itself as a fashion leader. In short, it’s great advertising.

Importance of price

Topshop, despite its youth-oriented proposition, is arguably a middle market retailer with price points to match. Yet in a dampened economy, price is still key, which makes the movement of value label George at Asda into the fashion limelight a fascinating case study.

The brand’s sponsorship of Graduate Fashion Week has been incredibly successful, putting value fashion on an unprecedented pedestal. It has opened up a dialogue that continues to develop. It is not a retailer funding a capsule range by a well-known designer, neither is it a diffusion line proffered by a fashion house.

What George has tapped into is the appetite for innovation. This is a world where the ‘new’ matters most, and nothing says ‘new’ like fresh talent. Fresh talent designing ranges that can be pocketed at George for the price of a scarf at Topshop.

With catwalks helping to communicate both price and product for an increasing number of high street brands, it is clear that no retailer can afford to rest on its laurels when it comes to showcasing its style credentials.

  • Anusha Couttigane, fashion consultant, Conlumino