LONDON — British designers who abandoned their homeland for the
bright lights of New York, Milan and Paris are returning in droves this
season in what promises to be the most exciting London Fashion Week for
years.

Matthew Williamson, Burberry Prorsum, Pringle of Scotland,
Jonathan Saunders and Antonio Berardi are all showing at this year's
event starting Friday, alongside the up-and-coming talent for which
London is famous.

In the current economic climate, the return of
the big names is a boost for the event. Because it has less economic
clout than its rivals, London Fashion Week faced the risk of being
bypassed by buyers and journalists intent on cutting costs.

Burberry was the first to announce its return home to honour Fashion Week's 25th birthday this year.

The
iconic brand will show its main collection, Prorsum, to celebrate the
house's Britishness -- something creative director Christopher Bailey
said he was "incredibly proud of".

Matthew Williamson announced shortly after that he too would be abandoning New York after seven years.

"London
is my favourite city to show in. Logistically it's easier for us as
we're based here but, consistently, London is a hotbed of new talent
and it's exciting to be part of that," he told the Daily Telegraph
newspaper.

Pringle, Jonathan Saunders and Antonio Berardi followed hot on their heels in a clear sign that London is the place to be.

The
prodigal sons will show their wares alongside other classic British
names such as Vivienne Westwood's Red Label, Betty Jackson and Paul
Smith, and newer talent such as Richard Nicoll, Marios Schwab,
Christopher Kane and Mark Fast.

The originality of the designers
coming out of London is seen as the reason the British capital has
managed to keep its slot in the fashion calendar, despite being a
poorer cousin to the New York, Milan and Paris shows.

"The reason
why an awful lot of focus is put on centres like Paris is based on
economics," said fashion historian Robert O'Byrne, author of a newly
released book, "Style City: How London Became a Fashion Capital".

"The
alternative way to see these cities is not in terms of how much revenue
they necessarily generate but how much creativity -- and in that
instance you could put London at the top, rather than the bottom."

He
said aspiring designers still want to study and live in London more
than anywhere else, a testament to the creative energy of the city.

"Among young designers, London is the place they want to go to -- it is their grail," O'Byrne told AFP.

The
British Fashion Council (BFC) and other sponsors have provided funding
and financial advice over the past decade to many young designers,
including Kane and Schwab, to help them turn ideas into viable business.

O'Byrne
argued that London also benefits from a culture of entrepreneurship
dating back to the 1980s and then prime minister Margaret Thatcher,
which made it easier to set up your own business.

"They began a
culture of young people having the nerve to leave college and set
themselves up, to show their clothes and start their own business,
which is unique to London," he said.

The BFC's efforts to promote
new talent continue this season with the extension of the
long-established NewGen scheme to menswear designers. The first
recipients, Carolyn Massey and James Long, will show on Wednesday.

This
season also brings a change in venue, with the event moving from a tent
outside the Natural History Museum to the grandiose confines of the
neo-classical Somerset House in central London.