London arrived fashionably late to the world of couture as a place that inspires fresh ideas for designers’ seasonal collections. The capital city has operated mainly as a resource conduit, exporting primary or unfinished products like wool and metal, and procuring luxury items like fur and embroidery for use elsewhere.
Where it has built a great reputation is in the traditional handcrafts of clothiers: tailoring, shirt making, hat making and shoemaking, trades essential to the trappings of proper English gentlemen.
But there are exceptions. The UK is legendary for its eccentric characters and some have used fashion as a means of expression. To mention a few of the most famous: Beau Brummell invented the “Dandy”, Mary Quant invented the miniskirt, Katherine Hammett gave us the political T-Shirt, and Vivienne Westwood, the mother of punk fashion, defined an era of rock and roll. And let’s not forget Thomas Burberry, who, in 1850, experimented with waterproofing a raincoat. It was probably an effort that was more engineering than fashion, but it was bound to happen, considering London’s perpetual mists and rains. It was a true London inspiration.