As London Fashion Week wraps up, the news I'm most interested in isn't what creative visions paraded down the runways at Somerset House (amazing as they look). It's two other fashion stories that are trending in the city.
Both essentially involve people who go out and do: who create their own niche and pursue it wholeheartedly.
First is the latest big news in fashion blogging: the Business of Fashion's seed investment of $2.1 million, with an impressive list of investors that includes LVMH. The passion project of a former McKinsey consultant is description enough to set it apart from the countless fashion blogs out there, and it's clearly had an effect. The fact that its analytical and informative approach to fashion business has won such a massive following (reportedly 150,000 users a month) says a lot about how hungry people are for smart content that gives them the full picture of an industry, beyond the cool colours, fabrics and cuts.
Consumers are savvy and increasingly demand more with so much other information at their fingertips. We've learned this at Zaggora, where we work hard to make the reason and process behind everything we do clear to our fans. As brands, products and materials become more complex, it's important for us to communicate our message wisely.
The second event is London's first plus-size fashion show: this weekend, the Official British Plus Size Fashion Weekend was held at Shoreditch Town Hall. The Weekend represents more than a fashion counter-culture creating its own space, though.
The call for plus sizes and for shapes and styles to fit the diversity of body types is one that I hear loud and clear in my own work. It's exciting to see founder Remi Ray and her team spotlighting fashion that helps expand the definition of haute couture and the women who wear it.
The ability to find and grow a niche in fashion is something I really admire, and I'm looking forward to watching both of these enterprises flourish.