John Lewis seeks model catwalk stars for first ever digital London Fashion Week

Personal stylists at the John Lewis branches in Leeds and Sheffield are stepping up to spread the word about the #LFWCatwalkChallenge which see the department store team up with the British Fashion Council to celebrate fashion and self expression by asking the nation to dress up in an outfit that brings them joy, and share their videos of creating their very own catwalk moment in their home.

Highlights will be made into a film and shared on the London Fashion Week (LFW) digital schedule this Sunday, June 14 - the first time a fashion show created with content generated by the public has been part of LFW.

The LFW Catwalk Challenge can be found on Instagram now and will countdown to the first ever digital-only and gender-neutral London Fashion Week, which opens on Friday and runs until Sunday (June 12-14). The LFW Catwalk Challenge hopes to celebrate and harness the transformative power of clothes, encouraging joy and self expression in hallways, gardens, living rooms and balconies up and down the country, to honour creativity and the humorous spirit for which British fashion is known.

How to take part: Anyone can enter by posting a video using both the hashtag #LFWCatwalkChallenge and tagging @johnlewisandpartners on either their Instagram grid or stories. The LFW film will be put together with video entries submitted between before midday on Friday, June 12. The LFW Catwalk Challenge and John Lewis donations will continue through LFW until midnight on June 14.

Christine Kasoulis, fashion director at John Lewis, said: “At John Lewis we have always valued the incredible work, expertise and creativity of our renowned British designers and have celebrated this in many forms; from our current collaborations with Mother of Pearl and Alice Temperley to our projects with palmer//harding and Eudon Choi, to actively supporting fashion design education for many years, working with a multitude of universities to mentor students and support graduate placement schemes.

“The #LFWCatwalkChallenge hopes to harness the transformative power of clothes, be an inclusive and joyful celebration of fashion and self expression, allowing us to indulge in dressing up. We know fashion may not be highest on everyone’s agenda but we hope to lift spirits and raise some money. This is also your opportunity to be a star of LFW, so please be as creative as you wish, let your hallways become your runways - join me in catwalking for a great cause.”

Caroline Rush, Chief Executive, British Fashion Council “John Lewis is a long-standing Patron of British Fashion Council and we are delighted to be working with them on such an exciting project that will allow everyone to be part of the first ever digital London Fashion Week while raising money to support the British fashion industry.”

London Fashion Week (LFW) takes a new form with a digital-only platform launching on Friday merging womenswear and menswear at www.londonfashionweek.co.uk.

This new digital experience will work as a global meet-up point, offering interviews, podcasts, designer diaries, webinars and digital showrooms.

Fashion graduate students from Leeds Arts University, the University of Leeds and Sheffield Hallam University will take part in The Class of 2020, through which the BFC asked 13 colleges and their students, along with BFC graduating scholars, to create content to tell their stories.

The LFW Schedule is a number of specific timed moments, which will take place from Friday to Sunday. Those can be added to calendars in order to tune in at specific times and join the conversations, collection launches and events. Once the content has been published, it will be available to watch at any point.

Highlights include:

Ahluwalia is creating an interactive and virtual gallery space to showcase the brand’s new book, Jalebi.

BIANCA SAUNDERS will be launching a new Zine and host a panel discussion with Joshua Woods, Jess Cole and Matt Holmes.

CHALAYAN – renowned designer Hussein Chalayan will be doing a live ‘In Conversation’ with Elise By Olsen.

Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY – To celebrate the launch of a new capsule, acclaimed designer Charles Jeffrey will live-stream a LOVERBOY party 2.0.

DANIEL w. FLETCHER – Netflix’s Next in Fashion, Daniel w. Fletcher is launching a new collection available to buy immediately through his e-commerce and is discussing the collection with British Vogue’s Naomi Pike.

Hill & Friends – luxury accessories label Hill & Friends will present new content of their A/W20 Campaign, with Founders Emma Hill and Georgia Fendley giving an insight into the brand’s luxurious and subversive world.

JORDANLUCA – Jordan Bowen and Luca Marchetto will tease their SS21 collection through film.

Marques ' Almeida – acclaimed designer duo Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida will launch a detailed documentary showcasing their new capsule collection including the making-of their new collection under a sustainable sub-brand.

Matthew Miller – menswear designer Matthew Miller will present a video presentation and campaign, exploring ‘The New Normal’ with exclusive product drops that are not produced until sold.

Mulberry – British heritage brand Mulberry will host an exclusive performance as part of their virtual ‘My Local Series’ to celebrate LFW. Artist to be announced shortly.

Natasha Zinko x DUOltd will launch the SS21 Creatives presenting their new collection with models through film and is working with American luxury multi-brand boutique The Webster to create 3D renderings of the collection to be showcased within a three dimensional space inspired by the aesthetic and architecture of their Miami and Los Angeles boutiques.

palmer//harding – Levi Palmer and Matthew Harding will host an Instagram Conversation, talking the audience through their inspiration and design process for their AW20 collection.

Per Götesson will show a stop-motion film by Patrick Waugh on key looks from the Per Götesson archive, the backdrop is created by Tony Hornecker and styled by Gary Armstrong.

Preen by Thornton Bregazzi will present a pause in time, a refresh, a season-less campaign.

RÆBURN – RÆBURN Connects: RÆSTART acclaimed designer Christopher Raeburn will be in conversation with Editor-in-Chief of British GQ Dylan Jones.

RIXO will present a behind-the-scenes film of their Resort 21 lookbook shoot on-schedule.

Stephen Jones – world-renowned milliner Stephen Jones will release a film the making-of his SS21 collection.

Teatum Jones – British brand Teatum Jones will release four films highlighting the story of their brand.

TONI&GUY are London Fashion Week’s Official Haircare Partner. TONI&GUY and LFW celebrate their 15 years of partnership with a retrospective film of the brand’s involvement at London Fashion Week, styling the hair for some of London’s most iconic shows.

Mount Street celebrates British fashion featuring Erdem, Roksanda, Roland Mouret.

Tomfoolery, a London based writer, performance artist and filmmaker will present What Are You Drawing, a new piece commissioned for VOGUE Italia June Edition that dedicates itself to children around the world, their purity and rebirth into a new society. His latest work includes The Great Realisation, a bedtime story of hope and optimism for the future, which has now been viewed over 60 million times around the world.

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