How the UK Modified the Fashion Industry

One of the most esteemed occasions in the fashion calendar is London Fashion Week in September 2012. London has recently been named the world's most fashionable city by the Global Language Monitor, so it's obvious that this year all eyes are on the English metropolis. As renowned designers display their creations on the London catwalks, we examine the numerous ways the UK has transformed the fashion industry.

Unquestionably, making black the "it" colour is one of Britain's greatest achievements to the fashion industry. Even though Coco Gabrielle made the colour popular in the 1920s, Queen Victoria is generally credited with being the first to introduce the enduringly fashionable hue to the general public. When Queen Victoria's husband, Albert, passed away in 1861, she also wore the traditional mourning colour of black as she grieved for him. Black was previously a colour that was frequently linked with sadness. While most people only wore black for a brief period of time, Victoria did so all the way up to her death, which brought the colour back into the spotlight.

On the other end of the scale, Britain, the origin of synthetic dye, is also responsible for adding a little colour to fashion. Undoubtedly, dyes have been used to colour clothing for ages, but they all originated in the natural world. However, a young London chemist named William Henry Perkin was developing a synthetic malaria remedy in 1848 when he instead produced a synthetic dye known as Mauveine. He went on to mass produce the dye with great success and gave the shade the name "mauve."

These days, bright clothing is in style because to pop musicians like Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj, whose outlandish ensembles draw attention. Although they may draw attention with their outfit choices, they are not the first to question the way fashion is done. Lady Lucy Duff-Gordon of London, better known by her stage name Lucile, stunned the world with her avant-garde creations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Lucile made striking designs that she designed for people, not the masses, rather than following the latest trends. She was also one of the first designers to display their goods on catwalk shows, shocking the public with her provocative underwear.  Camilla Blois, Lucile's great, great, grand-daughter, has lately recreated The House of Lucile, which was a phenomenal success and one of the first really international fashion labels.

Therefore, even if London Fashion Week will showcase many of the best modern designs from the UK, keep in mind that the country has made significant contributions to the fashion industry for a very long time.