The real work starts long before Fashion Week
The same principle applies to the fashion businesses behind it.
A fashion work space might need to accommodate designing in the morning, a fitting in the afternoon and a buyer meeting the following day. There are samples to store, garments to hang, fabrics to spread out, teams to bring together and, increasingly, content to create.
That's why it’s essential that space is adaptable. High ceilings, natural light and the character of former industrial buildings lend themselves particularly well to creative businesses. Because Workspace customers control their own spaces, an office can become a design studio, showroom, sample room or a combination of all three.
For Sarah Burton at Givenchy, fittings are an intensely physical part of the design process: “Whenever I do a fitting, I put the garment on, I pin it, cut it, drape it, and take it in from all angles.” When Burton took over at Givenchy, she even had a wall removed between two rooms to create the large studio her team needed.
Fashion needs room to make
Fashion can be surprisingly physical for an industry that's increasingly digital.
Patterns, samples, rails of clothing, cutting tables, materials and packaging all have to live somewhere. Even businesses that outsource manufacturing still need room for the mechanics of the fashion trade.
That makes layout as important as square footage. No matter how beautiful the office, you still need room to get around a garment rail.
For a growing label, flexibility matters, too. Today's two-person studio might need room for a production team tomorrow, without forcing the business to uproot every time it adds another pair of hands.
British designer Craig Green's East London studio shows just how many jobs one fashion space can do. Wallpaper describes it as “a space of voracious experimentation”, where anything from mould-making to experimental shop displays might be taking place. Green even transformed the studio into the venue for his S/S 2025 runway show.
Natural light does more than make everything look nice
Good light is desirable in almost any office. In fashion, it can become part of the job.
Designers need to see colours and materials properly, fittings need good visibility. Photography and content creation need light, space and somewhere that can be turned into a set without getting in the way.
The rise of social media and ecommerce has only added to that requirement. Fashion businesses are now publishers as well as designers and retailers, producing a constant stream of photography and video alongside the clothes themselves.
It's one reason studios with generous windows, high ceilings and adaptable layouts can work so well.
For Simone Rocha, the light and atmosphere of her studio are part of the working environment itself. “I like natural light, but there’s nothing like working under a warm, low light,” she says. Her studio is also a deeply personal creative space: when she first established it, her father's desk was the first piece of furniture she brought in.
Buyers need somewhere to buy
The BFC's own show requirements include dedicated space for press and buyers, and it’s a need that extends well beyond Fashion Week.
You need somewhere for collections to be presented, buyers and partners to meet and samples to be seen properly. Sometimes, the office needs to become a showroom.
Location matters too. Fashion has long gravitated towards the creative neighbourhoods of East London, with Hoxton, Shoreditch and Hackney natural homes for designers and the businesses around them. Workspace sees that across buildings such as Brickfields in Hoxton and Mare Street Studios in Hackney.
But increasingly, fashion businesses are looking beyond the traditional central creative districts. Deptford is one example, where Fuel Tank has attracted fashion businesses including circular fashion platform Thrift+.
For buyers, location has a more practical dimension. When several showroom appointments are being squeezed into a day and rails of samples are moving across London, a well-connected studio is easier to visit and makes moving a collection around the city less of a logistical headache.
When they do, the space itself needs to say something about the brand.A well chosen former factory, warehouse or other character building can become part of the experience, and a showcase for the brand itself.
Fashion thrives on other creative businesses
Very few fashion businesses operate in isolation. An ecosystem of industry swirls around every label, of photographers, stylists, designers, marketers, ecommerce specialists, production companies and other creative businesses.
Being surrounded by that kind of activity can make all the difference. Workspace is home to around 4,000 businesses across London, many working in the creative industries. That means the people a fashion business works with, or will be working with, can sometimes be surprisingly close by.
For a growing brand, a workspace can therefore provide something the spare room never could: more space, and a business community around it.
Sometimes, you still need somewhere to put on a show
Which brings us back to London Fashion Week. The venue is part of the show. An industrial space, warehouse, courtyard or character building can provide a backdrop that enriches the entire event.
But if you're looking at a space with a show in mind, the runway is just a fraction of your consideration.
Can guests arrive easily? Is there somewhere for models to change? Enough power for hair, make-up, lighting and production? Somewhere for press and photographers? Space for front of house? Somewhere to entertain people afterwards?
Perhaps most importantly: what does the building have to say about you?
The best fashion venues become part of the show.
Fashion already happens at Workspace
London Fashion Week has always had a knack for turning unexpected corners of the capital into a stage, and Workspace has plenty of those.
From former factories and warehouses to courtyards, roof terraces, studios and communal spaces full of character, our buildings have been shaped by London's creative industries for decades.
The real connection to fashion goes beyond what happens during one week in September. It's what happens in those buildings every other week of the year: designing, making, fitting, shooting, selling and growing.
Some spaces may also be available for customer events. So whether you're looking for somewhere to build a fashion business or somewhere to bring its next collection to life, speak to your Workspace team.