London Fashion Week kicks off!

The six day event got off to a fashionable start this morning as the who's who of the fashion world gathered at the opening conference hosted by Sir Philip Green and Harold Tilman CBE

London Fashion Week got off to a stylish start this morning as the who's who of the fashion world gathered at the opening conference hosted by Sir Philip Green and Harold Tilman CBE.

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Fashion tycoon, Green announced that Topshop will continue to sponsor NEWGEN for a further ten years to showcase and promote new designers.

Unveiling a five point plan, the duo explained that the British Fashion Council has identified key areas for growth for the UK fashion industry – skills and training, retail opportunities, manufacturing, development, philanthropy and sponsorship.

'London is the premier place to visit in terms of fashion,' Green said. 'In 2012, with the Olympics and the Jubilee, the city will be more important than ever before, and in turn so will the fashion industry.'

As part of the launch, the British Fashion Council have also released a short film to promote London Fashion Week.

In it Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport explains: 'The Fashion industry is unbelieveably important. The British Fashion Council estimate that it's worth over £20 billion to the UK economy which equates to 1.7 per cent of the UK's GDP.'

Sir Harold Tillman CBE, the chairman of the BFC added: 'That's twice the size of the chemical industry and the car industry. Recognition that we are achieving these figures has proven our growth over the last 20 years.'

The video is part of a wider government movement to promote Britain. This week, Victoria Beckham was named as an international ambassador for the the scheme called 'Britain’s GREAT campaign', to highlight the UK as a place to visit, study and invest. Alexa Chung, meanwhile, was today announced as the British Fashion Council's young ambassador to promote UK fashion on a global scale.

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