The British Fashion Council (BFC) is taking its fashion agenda beyond London this September with the launch of Fashion Britain, a nationwide initiative designed to broaden participation in the UK fashion industry and strengthen regional creative economies.
The move comes against the backdrop of a wider political push to rebalance economic and cultural activity beyond the capital, following the Prime Minister's announcement earlier this summer of plans to establish a new government base in Manchester, dubbed “No10 North”. In this context, the BFC's decision to take fashion into cities and creative communities across the UK reflects a growing recognition that the country's creative and economic potential extends well beyond London.
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| UK long-standing retailer Marks & Spencer will unveil its debut London Fashion Week (LFW) collection to a global audience in September 2026, as it celebrates 100 years in the fashion industry. Image: Marks and Spencer Inc. |
The Fashion Britain programme will bring more than 1,000 cultural events and experiences to cities across the UK, including London, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Bristol, as well as Edinburgh and Dundee in Scotland. The initiative forms part of the BFC's new BFC 2030: Access, Creativity and Growth strategy and is intended to decentralise fashion by creating greater opportunities for designers, creatives, businesses, educators and audiences outside London.
Rather than positioning London and the capital's established fashion infrastructure as the sole centre of British fashion, Fashion Britain seeks to connect the country's different creative communities and highlight the contribution of regional talent to the industry's cultural and commercial landscape.
The September programme will combine public designer conversations, exhibitions, cultural collaborations, retail activations, live performances and other fashion-related experiences. More than 100 BFC designer members are involved alongside cultural institutions, retailers and other partners, underlining the Council's intention to make fashion a more accessible and geographically representative industry.
A central element will be the National Designer Panel Series, developed in partnership with ELLE UK. The series will bring designers and industry figures into direct conversation with audiences in different cities, providing insights into creative careers, regional identity and the development of fashion businesses.
Among the announced panels are a conversation between Nicholas Daley and Charles Jeffrey at V&A Dundee, an appearance by Aitor Throup at Manchester Art Gallery, and a London panel featuring Saul Nash, Clio Peppiatt and Luke Derrick at the National Gallery. In Liverpool, designers Patrick McDowell and Talia Byre will discuss their connections to the region and their creative journeys at the Walker Art Gallery.
The initiative represents a significant shift in the BFC's role. Announcing Fashion Britain in July, BFC Chief Executive Laura Weir said that participation in British fashion had for too long been concentrated in too few places. She described the initiative as a move towards recognising British creativity as a national asset and creating opportunities "wherever it exists" across the country.
Building the industry's regional infrastructure
For the fashion industry, the significance of Fashion Britain extends beyond a month of public events. The BFC says the longer-term objective is to strengthen local creative economies, develop the next generation of talent and establish pathways through which designers and creatives can build sustainable careers in their own cities.
This approach also reflects a broader effort by the Council to combine talent development with commercial resilience. Its recent programme of financial and business support has included the BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, which awarded London-based designer Bianca Saunders £150,000 in June, alongside bespoke business mentoring and professional services. Saunders' label, launched after her graduation from the Royal College of Art in 2017, is recognised for its reinterpretation of menswear through a diasporic perspective rooted in her British-Caribbean heritage.
In June, the BFC also announced the 2026 recipients of its Fashion Trust programme: Clio Peppiatt, Conner Ives, Nicholas Daley, Paolo Carzana, Patrick McDowell and Tolu Coker. The grant-giving programme is designed to support designers at pivotal stages of business growth through financial investment and tailored industry guidance. Since its launch, Fashion Trust has supported 59 designer businesses with more than £3 million in funding.
The Council is simultaneously pursuing a stronger international commercial platform for British designers. In May it announced a four-year commitment to expand LONDON show ROOMS in Paris, with the programme designed to give British designers greater access to international buyers, press and markets during the Paris fashion calendar. Confirmed dates extend through 2026 and 2027, covering both menswear and womenswear periods.
Taken together, these initiatives point to a two-track strategy: widening the domestic foundations of British fashion while strengthening its international commercial reach.
Fashion Britain therefore arrives at an important moment for the UK industry. As London Fashion Week prepares to take place from 17–21 September 2026, the BFC is simultaneously seeking to broaden the definition of where British fashion happens and who gets to participate in it.
For regional designers and creative businesses, the test will be whether the September programme can translate visibility and cultural engagement into longer-term opportunities — including education, networks, investment, retail access and sustainable business growth. If it succeeds, Fashion Britain could become more than a nationwide celebration around London Fashion Week: it could represent a structural shift in how the UK's fashion ecosystem is developed and connected.
For Fashion Britain full programme, click HERE.
