A brief history of London Fashion Week

Next month marks the return of London Fashion Week, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. The Independent Onine has taken a look through the archives to bring you the fashion event's highs and the lows.

The event was born in 1984 in a West London car park, with vibrant catwalk shows, exhibitions combining the strong industry focus that it has maintained to this day.

It saw the debut of fashion icons such as Betty Jackson, Ghost, David Fielden and the unforgettable John Galliano. The event continued to prosper until the nineties, when the recession meant that only a handful of designers were chosen to show off their collections in a few rooms at the Ritz, in 1992.

But in 1993, LFW regained its trademark vigour when Naomi Campbell strutted topless down the catwalk for the Philip Treacy collection. Later on in the decade student designer Stella McCartney hit success with her entire collection selling out after the 1995 Spring/Summer show.

The late nineties saw debate over the fashion industry and anorexia, when a size 14 Sophie Dahl proudly walked down the runway and sparked controversy. It has taken until August 2010 for a fashion house to act upon the issue, Marc Jacobs is now in the early stages of producing a plus-size range, marking a step in the right direction towards fashion for 'real women'.

Here we take a look at the back catalogue of London's biggest celebration of fashion; exploring some of the timeless trends and unforgettable personalities.

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