Oxford Fashion Week was an annual independent fashion showcase in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was founded in 2009 by

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

graduates Carl Anglim and Victoria Watson. The event was organised by Carl Anglim and Tiff Saunders. Anglim was the director and Saunders was the assistant director. Oxford Fashion Week showcased the talent of designers such as

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen CBE (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992, and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His achievements in fashion ...

Matthew Williamson Matthew Williamson (born 23 October 1971) is an interior designer known for his use of bold, colourful and carefully constructed designs. Early years Matthew Williamson was born in Manchester and studied in Loreto College until he was 17 years ...

and

Valentin Yudashkin Valentin Abramovich Yudashkin (russian: Валентин Абрамович Юдашкин; born October 14, 1963) is a Russian fashion designer. Career Born in Moscow Oblast, Yudashkin came to prominence during the 1980s, dressing Raisa Gor ...

. The last event appears to have taken place in 2016.

History

Oxford Fashion Week was established in 2009. The event was an annual fashion feature and took place primarily over the course of one week in the year, with satellite events at other times. In 2009 and 2010, Oxford Fashion Week took place in May. In 2011, it took place in March. In 2012, it took place in November. From 2013 to 2016, the Oxford fashion week took place biannually displaying summer collections in March and autumn collections in September. Oxford Fashion Week was mostly produced by volunteers from across the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, although in 2012 it was produced by events production company BMLY Ltd. The event took place in a range of notable venues across the city of Oxford. Venues included the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...

Oxford Town Hall Oxford Town Hall is a public building in St Aldate's Street in central Oxford, England. It is both the seat of Oxford City Council and a venue for public meetings, entertainment and other events. It also includes the Museum of Oxford. Although ...

, Malmaison hotel, the Randolph hotel, Oxford University Examination Schools, and the

Sheldonian theatre Sheldonian Theatre, located in Oxford, England, was built from 1664 to 1669 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford. The building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, chancellor of the University at the time and the project's ...

Designers and shows

Oxford Fashion Week featured a wide variety of designers, from established international brands such as

and

, to up-and-coming talent such as Ara Jo and Yvonne Lau (both of whose designs have been sported by

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

). The shows were arranged by clothing category, rather than by individual designer. Most years featured a concept fashion show, a ready to wear show, and an

haute couture ''Haute couture'' (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design that is constructed by hand from start-to-finish. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Paris became th ...

show, among others. The catwalk shows featured a mix of professional models and new faces, and some models first discovered at Oxford Fashion Week have since gone on to have successful modelling careers.{{Cite web , last=Alexander , first=Ella , date=2011-02-27 , title=Oxford Calling , url=https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/oxford-fashion-week-begins , access-date=2024-06-13 , website=British Vogue , language=en-GB

References

Fashion events in England Events in Oxford 2009 establishments in England Recurring events established in 2009 Annual events in England Fashion weeks