We’re deep into fashion week season – New York is about to wrap up, and London will be kicking off on Friday with nearly 60 catwalk shows – but if you didn’t manage to get any tickets, or you haven’t gained accreditation, then never fear because Bonjour, Blogger! is here to keep you updated.
First – what is accreditation? It’s where you’re accepted by the British Fashion Council (BFC) to enter the Designer Showrooms and be able to make use of the on-site facilities at Somerset House. You may have seen last year that the BFC were changing how they worked with bloggers – this time, there’s more consideration given to the bloggers who are accepted to go to Somerset House. There are no hard guidelines (e.g. “You must have 10,000 visitors a month”) – but it’s more considered: a blogger with a smaller audience is more likely to be accepted if it’s felt that they will make the most from London Fashion Week and can demonstrate that they support British designers.
Accreditation in one season does not guarantee that you will always be able to gain it in future. The BFC wants to work with the best bloggers, but they have a limited amount of space. London Fashion Week is a trade event, after all, so they want to make sure that the people who need to be there (the buyers, etc) will also be able to use the facilities!
You are still able to go to shows even if you do not gain accreditation. It is down to the individual designers team whether they want you there or not. Being accredited also does not guarantee that you will be given tickets. You can also visit the courtyard at Somerset House without accreditation where you can watch the shows on the big screen live or just people watch – it’s always an interesting sight for street style!
If you haven’t applied this season, or want to get prepared for next season, then the best thing to do is to head to the Bloggers Hub section on the London Fashion Week website. As previously discussed, the BFC will look at your site and see how you have covered London Fashion Week and make their judgement based on that.
The Bloggers Hub will also allow you access to the media portal, which will have images that you can use as well as daily highlight videos. Why is this important? The best way to show that you love fashion is to get involved with the daily videos – use one of the photos to show how to achieve the trends shown with your own wardrobe, talk about what you’re looking forward to with next seasons trends, think about where those trends have come from and expand on those. This type of content will show that you are interested in fashion, that you’re supporting British fashion and why your spin on things is the one that people want to read. Remember – it’s not just your readers reading the posts, but potentially PR people who have the ability to invite you to their shows next season. Show them why you deserve to go!
Some of the shows are broadcast on the London Fashion Website – you’ll get a great view of the catwalk, you won’t be distracted with trying to take photos and record your thoughts, and you can stay in your PJ’s to do it ;) Head to the Digital Schedule to find out when your favourite designers will be broadcast.
Finally, the best thing to do to make sure you don’t miss anything would be to follow LFW on Twitter or use the hashtags #lfw #britishfashion. They’ll be live streaming various catwalks and hosting Q&A’s with different guest tweeters under the hashtag #AshLFW using Vine clips to reply. Make sure to also follow their Instagram account and the hashtag #DayInTheLife to get a sneak peek behind the scenes
