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By Anna Wright and Emily Ardizzone

Vivienne Westwood Autumn/Winter 1993/94, photograph by Niall McInerney, Bloomsbury Fashion Photography Archive

The fascinating new collections currently on show reveal the often cyclical nature of fashion, drawing on classic designs and reinventing them for a new age. Burberry’s new metallic/fluorescent take on the traditional trench coat, for example, is the perfect fusion of traditional design with a modern twist.

Moschino’s use of tartan for their 2013 A/W collection is a particularly interesting example of this, drawing on traditional Scottish heritage fabric and design. Tartan has featured throughout many designer collections over the years, and is favoured by designers such as Vivienne Westwood, whose A/W collection shown at the fashion week of Feb 1993 included tartan garments modelled by Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss (pictured).

Whether taking inspiration from the past or present, fashion weeks always bring with them a buzz of excitement. If you are keen to read more about the history of fashion weeks, read an exclusive free article from Berg Fashion Library.

Informed by prestigious academic and library advisors, and anchored by the 10-volume Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion, the Berg Fashion Library is the first online resource to provide access to interdisciplinary and integrated text, image, and journal content on world dress and fashion. The Berg Fashion Library offers users cross-searchable access to an expanding range of essential resources in this discipline of growing importance and relevance and will be of use to anyone working in, researching, or studying fashion, anthropology, art history, history, museum studies, and cultural studies.

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The post A history of Fashion Week appeared first on OUPblog.

By Emily Ardizzone

2012 will be a momentous year for the UK capital, and the new collections presented in London in this week will no doubt add to the growing feeling of excitement in the run up to the Olympic Games.

London’s Fashion Royalty will all be present, from established design houses such as Aquascutum and Paul Smith, to new and emerging talent in the form of the Central St Martins’ Graduate show. Highlights of this year’s Fashion Week will include the first ever catwalk show for the late Alexander McQueen’s diffusion line, McQ, and of course, Dame Vivienne Westwood’s Red Label collection.

Looking back to last year’s amazing display of ‘Alice through the looking glass’ inspired designs, Westwood’s Autumn/Winter 2012/2013 Red Label catwalk show will no doubt be a fantastically theatrical event that should not be missed.

Westwood, who celebrated her 70th birthday last year, showed her first ever collection (inspired by pirates) in London in 1981 and 31 years later, the Vivienne Westwood label is still going strong. Photographer Niall McInerney has witnessed the Westwood label grow and develop over the years first hand as a top catwalk photographer. You can see one of his iconic photographs from Westwood’s autumn/winter 93-94 collection featuring a young Kate Moss.

If you are fascinated with Westwood and want to learn more, you can now see a free sample article from the Berg Fashion Library here – available for a limited time only! Emily Ardizzone is the Editorial Assistant at Berg Publishers, an Imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, with responsibility for the Berg Fashion Library and other fashion projects including the recently acquired Fashion Photography Archive.