London Fashion Week: Fun or folly?

London is living up to its reputation as a centre for daring but wearable design, often bordering on the bizarre at the start of its fashion week.

With around 30 designers set to make their debut at the event, alongside established names such as Nicole Farhi, John Rocha and Betty Jackson.

But some complain that London Fashion Week isn't just about designers pushing the boundaries of creativity, but rather a crude marketing ploy in order in grab headlines and publicity.

Is designer fashion just too outrageous for the British public? Or should fashion be fun and frivolous?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

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Your reaction

I don't see the "wowness" in any fashion show as the clothes tend to be so stupid. Like that dress with the balloons and any hat that looks like a fencing mask. Secondly, if there is any more practical clothing, then it's 2 grand for a pair of shoes.
Helen, UK

Fashion show designs are not wearable by 99.9% of the population - nor should they try to be. They should be about showing off the designers' creativity, being tongue in cheek and not taken seriously!
Karen, UK

A fashion show is like an art show

Paul, Wales

What most people don't seem to understand is that a fashion show is like an art show. Of course some of the creations are meant to be sold in the high street, but many of the more outrageous, completely impractical costumes are nothing more than attempts to push the boundaries of what is possible both visually and technically with fabric. There's nothing worse than dismissing something just because you don't like it, and that's one of the worst traits of a large majority of the British public. Ask yourself when was the last time you did something creative before picking holes in the creations of others.
Paul, Wales

These shows stretch our imagination and enhance our aesthetic sense. They must continue.
Agha Ata, USA

Could not provide less interest for me if it tried. Everyone trying to out shock each other until it all becomes about as unshocking as a bowls match in slow motion. I would however, fall off my chair if I ever saw a "human-shaped" woman walk down the catwalk wearing something resembling a piece of clothing that could be worn. Fashion "experts" will say I have missed the point of what the fashion show is all about - but if designers believe the rags we have to endure being dragged down the catwalk are the result of some "higher" art that the masses are not privy to then it is they who have missed the point.
Sara, Newcastle, UK

Designers, stop patting each other on the back and start doing some real work

Peter, UK

As nauseating as modern art and as blandly predictable. Anyone can design the bizarre monstrosities that come onto the catwalk - creating clothes that people like and really want to wear would be a lot more challenging. Designers, stop patting each other on the back and start doing some real work.
Peter, UK

They say that foxhunting is the unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable. Surely London Fashion week is the unstable in pursuit of wearing the unbelievable?
Alex Peel, UK

There is definitely a carnival atmosphere at the London Fashion Week

Hazel, UK

There is definitely a carnival atmosphere at the London Fashion Week. It is a shame that these so-called designers do not have the guts to design clothing for the more normal and realistically shaped person.
Hazel, UK

The models on the catwalks look to be seriously depressed, and no wonder. They work in a kind of parallel universe which has little relevance to the real world. Sadly, the designers seem to have to resort to ever more outrageous 'creations' in order to be noticed. Just like attention-seeking adolescents.
John, UK

'Fashion' in its catwalk style is a total irrelevance to just about everybody. 'Fashion' in the high-street sense is a cynical ploy by label owners to hike up prices and make teenagers and other thought-free sections of society part with their cash. I'd do if I could get away with it!
Richard Godivala, UK

To paraphrase comments about foxhunting: "The unthinkable displaying the unwearable".
Tanya Smithson, England

The society is moving towards a very serious trend. For a man, he needs to be successful, clever and so on. This way he can get much of what he wants. For the woman, she has to be 'perfect' physically. Can the clothing shown be worn by the average woman? I guess not. First of all the clothes or the lack there of are to revealing!
Fahad, Canada

Fashion Week is simply a back-slapping exercise

Gareth, UK

Fashion Week is simply a back-slapping exercise that pays financial dividends for the elite who muscle in on all the action. Let's face it, who is interested in watching stick insects strutting around semi-nude and walking as if they have a bladder infection! It is so dissimilar to real life - it is untrue. I simply switch over whenever I see it.
Gareth, UK

The 'wearability' of the clothes can be seen by the fact that none of the designers ever actually wear their own 'creations'.
S A, England

For the most part, fashion shows are a place where designers can show their products that the majority of the population wouldn't be caught dead in. They have a chance to let their imagination run wild and it should be viewed accordingly. It should be viewed along the same plain as our bathtub races in British Columbia: fun to watch, but not very practical.
James Feenstra, Canada

Lighten up people! This is not an earth-shattering issue, and if one has the sense not to take fashion seriously, one can wear what one likes or feels good in, and then either laugh at the silly outfits or admire the ones you like. As for kiddie pressure for the latest trainers, they should be taught from an early age that advertising is mostly lies and exaggeration, otherwise how will they survive in the modern world?
Stephen James, UK

People should be more open to design and less outraged at something that looks a little different

Rebecca, London, UK

What many observers do not seem to realise is that many of the clothes shown on the catwalk are not designed for popping down to the local supermarket, but are concepts which will be watered down and interpreted for the street. People should be more open to design and less outraged at something that looks a little different. If we were all narrow minded the whole of society would remain stagnant and dull.
Rebecca, London, UK

Whether fashion is outrageous or fun, I find it rather interesting that the designers themselves usually show up in a black suit and t-shirt (men) or a simple black skirt and top (women). That tells me more than a thousand pictures of their designs. If they don't wear them, why should we?
L, Canada

Not fun,not folly, just a farce. Stick insects may find it interesting though.
W . Nasser, Liverpool, UK

Fashion to me is an overpriced self-indulgence. It is beyond most of our budgets to even think of buying something that is out the following year. Classics are what most of us buy in the long run, but it adds a bit of fun and colour to our lives during the fashion week.
Marion, USA

I think fashion should be fun and frivolous, like modern art. It serves no important purpose, but is amusing to some. Question, have you ever seen anyone wear any of these clothes? Why do all the designers wear black?
J Vinsel, US

The only boundaries it is pushing are the boundaries of patience

Ralph Stevens, UK

It is not outrageous at all - it is blatantly boring and uninspired. All the attention-grabbing gimmicks have been done to death. There is nothing profoundly outrageous, bizarre, innovative, provocative or daring in the infantile pranks of the designers. It isn't even funny any more, which is a pity. The only boundaries it is pushing are the boundaries of patience.
Ralph Stevens, UK

Best visual jokes since Charlie Chaplin silent movies!
Carl, UK

Its an industry that's unfortunately filled with corruption, kudos and exploitation. Other than that though, I think its good to see a lot of creativity in an otherwise boring and lacklustre world.
Stuart, UK

I think it was Quentin Crisp who said that if you've got style you don't need fashion.
Jane, Wales, UK,

It's tempting to write off the whole fashion industry as a bit of harmless nonsense, but when designers create for figures which barely exist outside the realms of supermodels, and children exert pressure on tight family budgets for designer-label trainers at inflated prices, perhaps it's not so harmless after all.
Guy Chapman, UK

Top fashion is just as important in society as any other art form

Richard G, UK

Top fashion is just as important in society as any other art form. Whether we rate it highly or not is entirely up to us. But what I dislike is the artificial speed of evolution of mainstream fashion - a speed determined by the greed of the industry, rather than by the actual trends or mood of the nation. And now they've run out of ideas so they're having to resurrect old ones. And I know we've only just had them, but will the 90's be back in for the summer?
Richard G, UK

As the great Quentin Crisp once observed, "style" is more important than "fashion". Style is for people who know who they are; fashion is for people who have no idea who they are and must be told what to wear, eat, listen to, etc.
Peter Smith, UK

I think we should celebrate the creativity of young British designers whether we would wear the results not. It would be a bit boring if all we got was models parading up and down in M&S Cardigans or the same old tasteless Italian and French offerings. With the opening of Tate modern we are now a nation that can appreciate modern art even though we wouldn't want some of the more disturbing pieces in our own home. I think that it is time for us do the same with fashion, which can be an art form in it's own way. London fashion week is certainly not as much folly as the current trend of wearing outfits covered with logos, which shows no imagination at all.
Ben, UK

Listen to the designers and you'd think fashion were life or death. For their businesses it may be, but for most of us it's simply an irrelevance and certainly not an weathervane for how we should wear our clothes.
Andy Millward, UK

Surely it is the prerogative of any art form, such as fashion design, to push the boundaries of what is acceptable?

Phil Saum, UK

Surely it is the prerogative of any art form, such as fashion design, to push the boundaries of what is acceptable? This is hardly a new trend. Artists of all types have been courting controversy and public outrage for centuries.
Phil Saum, UK

There is a little competition going on with three of four well known stars to outdo each other on public occasions - these are the people that London Fashion Week is all about. No 'average' woman would be seen dead in some of the creations. What we need each year are the 'in' colours, and the skirt shape and length and a little originality with necklines, sleeves, fabrics etc.
June Collen, UK

Designer fashion is too outrageous for the British public and thank goodness. But the fault lies with the public not the designers. The grey drab British can moan all the way to the high street, but without these designers talents fashion would never change. And that's the point of these shows - designs may be outrageous but they bring change.
Stephen, Scotland

It's a celebration of all that is good about young, innovative and successful industry in this country right now

Joanna, UK

It's a once-a-year celebration of an industry that does a great deal for the UK economy. Not only does the fashion industry create employment and encourage young people to work in design, but the image of London as a fashionable city with exciting events contributes greatly to its reputation as a tourist attraction. Of course it is outrageous and ridiculous, that's what makes it FUN! It's a celebration of all that is good about young, innovative and successful industry in this country right now.
Joanna, UK

Clothes designers have to be allowed to display the limits of their imagination and from these designs the odd nugget of genuine daywear can arise.
Gerry, Scotland

British designers have recently been complaining that they are facing bankruptcy. Try to sell items that no-one wants at prices no-one would want to pay and you will go bankrupt - tough luck, that's business!
Helen, UK

Fashion is hot air all together...but you can make money out of it.
Pieter, Belgium

If the industry is prospering it must be because there is a demand for it, so if you are not into it, just let it be. Compare the dresses you see on a catwalk to the prototype cars that you see in a showroom and never get sold commercially. They are there for those who love them, and they occasionally come up with some new advance that then goes into the mainstream.
Alex, Gibraltar

A rather daft and overstated week of models who don't resemble the rest of the people

John B, UK

A rather daft and overstated week of models who don't resemble the rest of the people wearing outfits that nobody in their right mind would wear. I suppose it's fun for those taking part, but certainly folly for those who do put up a lot of money to wear what someone in a grey suit decides is "in" this month.
John B, UK

There seem to be two types of fashion - there's the fashion where designers come up with barmy designs that no one but catwalk models ever wear, and the everyday fashion of designer labels and keeping up with the Jones's. The first type is pointless, the second mindless.
Tony B, UK

It is given so much coverage that really important issues are pushed into the background

Gill, UK

Not only is designer fashion too outrageous, it is far too expensive. It is only relevant to a tiny percentage of the population yet it is given so much coverage that really important issues are pushed into the background.
Gill, UK

The whole of the fashion industry is a complete waste of time and space! These people need to wake up and realise that nobody cares how much of a woman's body they can get away with showing on a catwalk!
Jenni, UK

I think designer fashion is far too outrageous for anyone never mind just the British public. These days it seems de rigeur to let it all hang out with Kelly Brook and Kylie Minogue leading the way with exposed breasts, legs etc. I imagine this season will herald much of the same. But I like the old school of thought and as my mum always said "far sexier to whisper with one's outfit and not shout".
Rebecca Southwell, UK

Designers get to express themselves; we get to laugh at the results. Sounds OK to me.
Mark B, UK

Fun for those who can afford it, folly for those who can't. Ultimately a waste of time unless they come up with stuff that ordinary folk can wear, or at least provide design characteristics that can influence and enhance ordinary wear even if it can't be copied down to the last stitch.
P, UK