Party organisers, financial wizards, nurses to emerging designers…

Caroline Rush and Simon Ward have many feathers in their caps 

 

Caroline Rush and Simon Ward are just six months into a new job, one that sees them responsible for delivering London Fashion Week and developing a strategy for its future – and that is just part of their new roles: joint chief executives of the newly restructured British Fashion Council. 

 

Facing the pair this week is delivery of the much anticipated international British festival of fashion, a six-day-long 25th birthday party to end all birthday parties, a jam-packed schedule (including the biggest British brands to show in the capital, ever), the appeasing and impressing of an audience of buyers and journalists (in heavily increased numbers) and a brand-new, hitherto almost unexplored venue at Somerset House. 

It’s a sleepless-night-inducing task, but neither is particularly daunted. In fact, such a thought is met with utter incredulity. “But it’s our job to deal with the pressure – if you can’t, you probably don’t want a job in the fashion industry!”

says Rush. Pragmatism, it transpires, is an inherent component of the Ward-Rush partnership. 

 

Both have taken much from their inspirational predecessor and former CEO, Hilary Riva. If she put the cogs in motion to create an invigorated fashion week, then Ward and Rush have cranked that process up a gear or two, with the aid of a supportive chairman, Harold Tillman, and a cohesive management team. “Simon and Caroline have been at the very heart of the renaissance of London Fashion Week,” says Riva. “I could not have completed my role without them and believe that with their ongoing leadership of the BFC and its supporters from the fashion community, LFW is in safe hands.”

 

Together, Ward and Rush bring 34 years of combined experience to the table. While Ward’s remit is finance and operations and Rush’s is the BFC’

s sponsorship, marketing and communications, they often cross over in a partnership set strategy and deliver projects on time. Yet both manage to juggle a busy family life. Rush is married to a teacher and has one daughter, Lana, 12, who last month won the junior national tennis championships. Ward is married to a special-needs teaching assistant and has two grown-up children. 

 

In spite of busy professional and private lives, in only six months of top job tenure Ward and Rush have managed to (take a deep breath…): coerce Burberry, Matthew Williamson, Jonathan Saunders, Pringle, Clements Ribeiro, Antonio Berardi and Sass & Bide to the London catwalk; move the office and LFW venue to the palatial setting of Somerset House; create a second hub next door at 180 The Strand; appoint Sarah Mower as Ambassador for Emerging Talent; launch New Gen Men; and organise myriad celebrations, awards and general pomp and circumstance to celebrate 25 years of London Fashion Week, including last night’

s party hosted by Sarah Brown and Maggie Darling at Number 10 and 11 Downing Street.

 

Not that you’re going to find them resting on their laurels. The pair are only too aware that there is a need to maintain momentum and look to the future and beyond September. “This is mid-point of a several-year strategy to bring established talent back to the capital,” says Ward, of the current fashion week. “This season will demonstrate the breadth of talent that is on offer. Future seasons will see us develop the content of the week, to bring in new experiences that make London an essential for fashion media and buyers,” says Rush. This includes a refocus on the exhibition – a key component of their ongoing strategy –

providing an increasingly multifaceted platform, including six Multibrand Showrooms (representing over 30 mens and womenswear designers), video installations (including a film commissioned by Topshop and made with the New Gen designers), and a collaboration with cult East End eaterie Bistrotheque. 

 

Sustaining London’s designers on a commercial level lies at the epicentre of Ward and Rush’s plans. “Promoting British fashion design talent internationally, and supporting emerging talent to build their businesses, is at the heart of our future strategy,” says Rush. The BFC has an entire team dedicated to international relations, one that has the financial support of the London Development Agency and the UK Trade & Investment. It also recently appointed PRs in Paris and New York dedicated to spreading the London word. “Since so many of our designers don’t have international offices, this has been a great benefit for those designers wishing to target a global audience,” says Ward, citing International PR, a strategy piloted a year ago to increase attendance of French media and buyers. “It was incredibly successful, it delivered strong features on our emerging talent and increased orders. We have now rolled this out to the US and aim to achieve similar results.” By doing so, the BFC intends to encourage Britain’

s talent to stay. 

 

“The new Designer Fund, announced by Tillman last year, will form a key part of supporting designer businesses as they grow. This will allow designers to develop their businesses in London,” says Ward. “We always get asked why businesses leave London. This is a global industry, and for commercial reasons – store openings, conquering new markets, acquisitions by international organisations – designers will sometimes show in other places. We aim to help develop commercial benefits for designers to stay in London, and provide opportunities for international talent to showcase here when it makes sense for them.”

 

 

Business support is an area Rush and Ward would like to see more of. The BFC has a Small Business Unit which calls on consultants to advise developing businesses. It is also considering global propositions, following on from the success of the international London Showroom in Paris (which sees the capital’

s emerging talent travelling to Paris to sell their collections alongside the international fashion houses).

 

Says Rush: “We are looking at creating events, showcases and opportunities for British designers in other fashion capitals throughout the year: mid-season pre-collections, for instance, building the reputation of London as an innovative fashion capital.”

To develop these opportunities, the BFC requires funding, an area that is fixed on its agenda and is in the process of exploring, but first Ward and Rush are focusing on ensuring the success and future successes of LFW.

 

As Burberry’s current return has demonstrated, London is a city that can present internationally powerful brands as well as emerging designers. “Diversity of talent on the catwalk is key. It demonstrates that we are much more than an incubator for new talent. We are very proud of that mantle, but we also build international businesses here,” says Rush, maintaining that the BFC is keen to continue to embrace non-London-based designers with a London sensibility. “We are also open to showcasing international designers if they provide a point of interest on London’s schedule,” says Ward, continuing Rush’s thought process. “An example of that this season is the New York designer Jeremy Scott, who is showing
on Tuesday.”

 

 

And the order book is still open for those who wish to show in the capital – home-grown or international. “There is a real wealth of talent here in London. Showcasing designer collections in new ways, such as through the presentation schedule, will allow London to increase its offering,” explains Rush. “We want media and buyers to see the backbone of British talent here in London, such as Paul Smith, Betty Jackson, Nicole Farhi, alongside those businesses who started their careers on London’s catwalks and are now developing international businesses, such as Temperley and Matthew Williamson, as well as our creative, emerging young talent. September will demonstrate the breadth of talent here, it is a platform to set the tone for the future!”

smiles Rush. 

 

Here’

s to the next 25 years.

Nicola Copping, Deputy Fashion and Beauty Editor, Financial Times 

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