Sports Calendar

“We are multicultural nomads – I’m Austro-Italian, Chris is Belgian-Peruvian, but since we both worked for Vivienne Westwood, London has been home. We’ve won New Generation sponsorship and been given two years in a rent-free studio with access to amazing machines, courtesy of the Centre for Fashion Enterprise.

“There was a lot of hype about London a few years back, but there are really good, solid designers here now. Five years ago, London designers did T-shirt collections; now they’re making proper silk-lined clothes for well-off women, not throwaway stuff for teenagers.”

Hilary Riva

Chief executive of the British Fashion Council and organiser of London Fashion Week shows and exhibitions.

Michael Kors wows 'em with American classics

Our fashion editors give their verdicts on the latest looks from Phillip Lim and Anna Sui at New York fashion week

BACKGROUND

• New York fashion week: an American evolution

• New York Fashion Week: Classic NYC designers triumph

• New York Fashion Week: How Marc Jacobs stole the show

• Victoria Beckham's debut fashion collection

• Spirit of Carrie returns, M&S-style

Multimedia

• Pictures: Anna Sui and 3.1 Phillip Lim's new ranges

“London’s fashion audiences come because they want to, not because they have to. Nowhere else raises funds to launch young talent like we do – designers come here from all over the world. They have raw innovation, as opposed to slick international style. The downside is that not all are ready commercially. So we are organising business mentoring for them, and linking them with pockets of manufacturing excellence for heritage products, such as cashmere and tweed. And the London Development Agency is supporting a showroom for the New Generation group in Paris, where so much selling is done.”

Russell Marsh

Catwalk-model casting director for top shows in every fashion capital. Best known for finding girls with a very particular look for Prada’s shows and advertising campaigns.

“Both the fashion industry and models in London are more receptive to new ideas, and more adventurous and provocative than anywhere else. It’s probably the London aesthetic that makes people want to work with me – here, everyone is more prepared to push the boundaries. It’s in our genes and our street culture – we’ve always had avant-garde tribes such as the Punks, the Blitz Kids and the New Romantics.

“British models have a character and confidence that develops as they mature, although they can still find it hard to make it with this perpetual hunger for newness – Agyness Deyn had to go to New York to really stand out.”

Adrian Joffe

Co-owner of the hip Dover Street Market, London, with his wife, Comme des Garçons designer Rei Kawakubo.

“We’ve always been inspired by London’s creative energy and thought the city deserved more than a simple Comme des Garçons shop. Then we happened across the building in Dover Street and the idea of the Market was born.

Times recommends

• What took place in 2010...
• Can you really cure a hangover?
• Video: How to do glamorous smoky eyes