London fashion week, starting today, is shaping up to be the most eventful in recent years and it is not confined to the catwalk. On Sunday, the direct-action group Extinction Rebellion – which hit the headlines last year as they blocked five bridges over the Thames to protest against the government’s approach on climate change – intends to “swarm the streets calling on the industry to wake up to the climate and ecological crisis and use its influence to help to create a just and sustainable world”.

Its plan – for which it is encouraging attendees to “dress as though you are going to the most glamorous funeral” – is to disrupt the fashion event, rather than target specific shows. Clare Farrell, a lecturer in sustainable fashion and one of the founders of the group, told the Guardian: “The situation we are in, as a planet, is not the fault of London fashion week – but it is part of the problem”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Rebellion Extinction demonstrators on Westminster bridge in London, November 2018. Photograph: John Stillwell/PA

A spokesperson for the British Fashion Council, which is to meet with the group to discuss the action, said that it endorses any group’s “right to protest peacefully”, adding that it is “committed to support businesses to do more and to develop through green growth. Our hope is that London fashion week becomes synonymous with responsible business in the years to come.”

Already the event has a heavy focus on sustainability. Mother of Pearl designer Amy Powney has partnered with BBC Earth to launch an awareness campaign over the weekend with the view to starting “a movement similar to that of Blue Planet II”, referring to the raised awareness of micro-plastics. As well as hosting a series of talks that will bring together BBC broadcasters and fashion industry experts to discuss how positive change can be made, the designer will also unveil a film made using footage shot by the BBC Natural History Unit. The short, which is narrated by the TV presenter Liz Bonnin (who is mooted to be David Attenborough’s successor), will look at ways the industry can stop harming the planet.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Victoria Beckham takes her bow at her London show in September 2018. Photograph: Dan & Corina Lecca/PR

“The main message is simply to introduce to the nation that fashion is having an alarming impact on our planet and to promote positive solutions that we can all adopt,” says Powney, who is also launching a sustainable collection in collaboration with BBC Earth. “I am a firm believer that we can learn from everything we do and there is no point in dwelling on what’s happened but to come together now and use innovation to make changes for bettering ourselves and our industry.”

For a consecutive season, London fashion week is also fur-free. The BFC was able to confirm this after auditing the designers showing their collections on the official schedule this weekend. It currently does not prohibit the use of fur.

As far as actual fashion goes, the event has a renewed buzz thanks to Riccardo Tisci, who will be showing his second RTW collection for Burberry, and a returning Victoria Beckham, who has claimed a coveted Sunday-morning slot. The designer, who for the first decade of her brand showed her collections in New York, made her debut on home turf for her 10th anniversary show last September and says: “Right now, there’s nowhere else we’d rather be than here.”

“Returning to London to show my spring/summer 2019 collection as part of LFW for the first-time last season was incredible,” Beckham told the Guardian this week, adding that the new dynamics work well for her London-based design team, too. “The studio is based here, as is our flagship store, and I felt I wanted to continue to be a part of London fashion week.”

Other highlights on the schedule include Anya Hindmarch, who, after her Chubby Cloud immersion last season, is planning an indoor climbing frame installation called the Weave Project; the Fashion East collective, which welcomes CSM-graduate Gareth Wrighton; and sustainable pioneer Bethany Williams, who has been announced as the second recipient of the Queen’s Award, which will be given by the Duchess of Cornwall on Tuesday. Last year, the inaugural winner, Richard Quinn, was awarded by the Queen herself.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Queen and Vogue editor Anna Wintour at Richard Quinn’s show in February last year. Photograph: Yui Mok/AFP/Getty Images

The five-day showcase will be the last major UK fashion platform before the country’s post-Brexit future is decided. In January, the BFC already gave its backing to the People’s Vote, saying: “A no deal situation will result in no transition period, and with an industry that is predominantly SMEs, we would struggle to cope with the trade realities that it would bring.” This week, CEO Caroline Rush reiterated that, “it is an important business that can’t be disregarded”, and released statistics that state that the fashion industry directly contributed £32.3bn to UK GDP in 2017 and, at 890,000 jobs, employs nearly as many people as the financial sector.

“There is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding Brexit and in just over one month before our due date to leave the EU we still don’t know exactly what will happen,” said Rush. “Whatever the outcome of Brexit is, London needs to remain the global fashion capital, leading in creativity, technology and education. This is why we stand behind the mayor’s #LondonisOpen campaign and play our part to ensure that events such as LFW further highlight the importance of London remaining open to the world, to business, ideas, investment, trade and talent.”

