Rosie Wrighting

I beg to move, That this House has considered the cultural contribution of London Fashion Week. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I am honoured to have secured this debate on the cultural contribution of London Fashion Week, which begins on Thursday. This is an industry and a week with a buzz that is almost indescribable, but in this speech I will do my best to put it into words. About now, across our country and capital, designers and creative directors are reviewing their collections for the final time. Stylists are curating every detail. Make-up artists are checking and rechecking their kits. Streetwear creators are planning their content grids. Production teams are transforming venues across this city into extraordinary stages. For many of us, fashion is a career driven not just by ambition but by a deep love of the industry and a passion for creativity. When I was 16 fashion was, as it is for many young people, a form of self-expression while I was still trying to figure out who I was, so I was thrilled when I got my first insight into the industry when I was offered a part-time job at Topshop on Kettering’s High Street. I am sure I need not remind colleagues that in 2013 Topshop was quite the brand. It represented a connection to global trends, creativity and culture that felt far away from my day-to-day life in Kettering. I loved watching trends trickle down from the catwalk to the high street and spotting that one piece of the season finally landing in Kettering after seeing it online weeks before. It was in those moments that I realised I did not want to be just on the shop floor, looking at the clothes; I wanted to be part of the world that created them.