London Fashion Week - and Dolls !

It's always a busy time in London but especially during this month as London Fashion Week. I love that A Girl For All Time HQ is based in one of the fashion capitals of the world, as it gives lots of inspiration for doll clothing and accessories. It takes around 18-24 months to come up with the initial idea, then create the prototypes, design, tweak, test and then make it available to purchase. Just like LFW, there’s a huge amount of planning involved to get a collection off the ground!

Sam, Your 1960’s doll has a love for fashion and her ultimate ambition is to become a fashion designer. Of course, Sam grows up in Paris – another iconic fashion-obsessed city and her brief stopover in London only ignites her passion further...

How London Fashion Week Started 

London has always had a thriving fashion scene yet it has only attracted the attention of the press in the past few decades. London Fashion Week (LFW), was originally named British Fashion Week and was founded in 1971.

A man by the name of Tony Porter along with the help of the Clothing Export Council of Great Britain (CECGB) began putting the foundations in place for fashion week.

The very first LFW  cost just £1000 to launch – that’s about £15,000 in today’s money, still a tiny budget compared to what they spend now! Tony Porter had to find the first £500 himself but with the help of designers Jean Muir, Zandra Rhodes, and Bruce Oldfield that was achievable. The CECGB matched the further £500 and LFW was born.

Only 5 designers showed for the first year and for the next 5 years, Tony used to collect the fashion journalists from their hotels for the show, and then tell them all about the designers in the car ride over to the event. He’d even host LFW parties in his own home in West London!

Nowadays the LFW is a major event and a media sensation. Apparently, when Tony was asked in an interview about the beginnings of LFW, he said ‘I just had this idea that something had to be done.’ It must feel amazing knowing that you started something so influential.

Design and Dolls

It just goes to show you that everyone has to start somewhere, including me, with my desk load of ideas and never-ending to-do lists. 

You can see some of our designs here - just view our collection of doll clothing.

If you want to try your own hand at creating fabulous fashions, we have a great page on our site with patterns for our dolls, all from independent small craftspeople. Why not have a go yourself and see what fashions you can create?

Want to try making your own doll clothes and doll costume? 

View some of our featured Independent pattern makers.