London’s Mayor Opens London Fashion Week Store

LONDON — Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, opened the British Fashion Council’s three-day pop-up store on Regent Street, which he described as “arguably the best street in Europe.”

The store, curated by retail veteran Ida Petersson and creative consultant Lewis Bloyce, stocks pieces from 22 emerging British brands that are part of the BFC’s Newgen scheme.

“We worked with the designers to ensure they could have the pieces that felt most important to them, which makes the overall store a wonderful mix of archive, never seen, and current season,” said Petersson and Bloyce.

On the ground floor, customers can shop archival and current ready-to-wear pieces from brands including KNWLS, 16Arlington, Conner Ives, Johanna Parv, Saul Nash, Ahluwalia, and Bianca Saunders.

Upstairs, there’s a selection of jewelry and footwear from labels such as Ancuta Sarca, while customizable Helen Kirkum sneakers are on offer. There are also panel discussions, workshops, and piercings by Aurum London.

“It’s an opportunity to engage all of those incredible customers who go up and down Regent Street, particularly over the weekend,” said Caroline Rush, chief executive officer of the BFC.

The pop-up is part of the City Wide Celebration program, which aims to boost the visibility of fashion experiences across the capital’s prime shopping destinations such as Regent Street, Oxford Street, Soho and Covent Garden.

The initiative is supported by 1664 Blanc, the Crown Estate, and partners, patrons and members of the BFC.

Khan, who also attended the Harris Reed show on Thursday night, said he wants to increase government support of the British fashion industry.

“We’ve got to persuade the new government of how important fashion is to our economy nationally. Fashion contributes 64 billion pounds. Half of that comes from London, but it’s also who we are,” he said.