London Fashion Week Goes Gender Neutral (Non-Binary) for 12 Months in June 2020

London Fashion Week Goes Gender Neutral (Non-Binary) for 12 Months in June 2020

The British Fashion Council announced that London Fashion Week will become gender neutral, abandoning binary shows for 12 months beginning June 12. The spring 2021 presentations will be digital-only, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the statement, the British Fashion Council said the combined London Fashion Week would give designers more flexibility and reflect the event's role as a platform for the city's "influence on society, identity and culture."

"The current pandemic is leading us all to reflect more poignantly on the society we live in and how we want to live our lives and build businesses when we get through this," said Caroline Rush, CEO of the British Fashion Council.

"The other side of this crisis, we hope will be about sustainability, creativity and product that you value, respect, cherish."

Britain has been a leader in citizen activism and protests focused on the fashion industry generally and London Fashion Week in particular. CNN notes that without the pandemic, going gender neutral for the shows was already a possibility, cutting in half perceived waste and damage to the environment created by endless fashion shows.