London Fashion Week – I came, I saw and I conquered (so to speak). After attending my first fashion week outside of Toronto, I’d like to share a few observations of my experiences. They are:

Toronto vs. London: I was a little nervous going to LFW by myself. I wasn’t sure what to expect or generally how, as a blogger from Toronto, I’d be received. I was on my own, swimming in a much larger pond than normal and it reminded me of two things:

• Stepping out of your comfort zone is a good thing, it expands your horizons and gives you a different point-of-view of the fashion industry
• I appreciate Toronto’s fashion community more, no matter how much some people will complain how small it is. Our city and its fashion industry has a lot of talent  and in terms of attracting international attention and recognition it’s not exactly on par with London, but who’s to say it won’t happen in the near future?

Focusing on the business of fashion: the exhibitions at LFW really serve the purpose of connecting designers (of all talents and specialities) with potential buyers. This is where the real financial transactions are made between designers and retailers – not on the runway.

No public admittance: LFW is not open to the public which is a nice change; it separates all the riff-raff from those people who are there to work, prevents overcrowding at the venue and minimizes the seat stealers at the catwalk shows.

Street fashion photography: street fashion photography is prevalent at LFW and many people attending the fashion shows at Somerset House appear to (at times) intentionally dress to be captured on camera, or they just like to hang around the entrance of the venue.

Diversity on the runway: I was happy to see diversity on LFW’s runways, both on and offsite. Models of various ethnicities were casted by designers; however, I didn’t see any plus size models in the catwalks shows I attended.

High heels ≠ comfort: cobblestone and high heels do not mix, I have the sore feet and one blistered toe to prove it.

Long live paper invitations: paper invitations are not dead and it was nice to receive a stack of invites in the mail when I arrived in London. It makes you feel special and still carries that old school charm – needless to say my cousin, who I was staying with at the time, was very jealous that I recieved more mail than her.