London Fashion Week kicks off with Harris Reed's date at the Tate

LONDON Fashion Week returns today with a Harris Reed show kicking off more 40th anniversary celebrations.

- Joe Bromley

The designer’s catwalk show at Tate Modern, when the Central Saint Martins graduate joins the official schedule for the first time, begins six days of events in the capital.

There will be 72 on-schedule designers and 48 physical runway shows taking place across the city until Tuesday.

It will see the culmination of 40th anniversary celebrations that began in February’s fashion week. They include a Downing Street event when PM Sir Keir Starmer will host the British Fashion Council and their guests.

The BFC hopes it will provide “an invaluable opportunity to introduce the sector’s priorities to the new government”, and aims to drum up more support for the industry.

The UK fashion industry is facing challenging times. Following the general election in July, BFC chief executive Caroline Rush said the sector had previously been “underestimated and underfunded by government”.