Need to know menswear facts & figures for LC:M

As the UK gears up for this season’s kick off of men’s fashion weeks with London Collections: Men, FashionUnited takes a moment to examine the current state of the menswear market in the UK to see how it has grown and evolved over the years. Below we have compiled a list with the main facts and figures on menswear in the UK as well as LC:M.

London Collections: Men continues to evolve with the industry rapid pace

This season of LC:M follows on from its growth in June 2015, when the fashion week was expanded from three to four days. Running from June 10 to 13, LC:M will see 32 catwalk shows and 25 presentations take places on schedule. 55 designers will show their work in the Designer Showrooms, together with 5 digital presentations and 21 brand hosting events. New additions to the Designer showroom include INSTRMNT, Leathersmith of London, LU+MEI, Orange Culture, Sørensen and Taylor Morris.

However, unlike previous seasons, LC:M will be housed under a single roof at 180 Strand. The venue will house the main BFC Catwalk Show Space on the ground floor for the second season and the BFC Presentation Space and Designer Showrooms on the first floor. 26 central London venues will also play host to catwalk shows and presentations around the central hub at 180 Strand.

Highlights from the LC:M schedule are set to include the debut showing of MCM, Maison Mihara Yasuhiro, Song Zio and Ximon Lee, who will be presented by GQ China. Actor Throup is also set to return to show on schedule at LC:M following a four year absence after the initial menswear fashion week. LC:M, together with its organiser the British Fashion Council is also set to honour the 40th anniversary of Punk in the UK, through a series of events, gigs, talks and exhibitions.

LC:M will also see designers rethink their current catwalk showcase format and stage new shows which aim to fit their strategy, whilst breaking away from traditional fashion show concepts. This season at LC:M Sibling will become one of the first UK labels to present womenswear alongside of menswear at London Collections: Men. The British fashion label will showcase its Spring/Summer 2017 menswear and womenswear together, and miss out on hosting a separate womenswear show during fashion week in September.

The UK menswear market continues to soar - growing faster than its female counterpart

Although numerous brands and designers have been announcing new fashion week formats and brand concepts, it has done little to affect the growing appetite for menswear. The global menswear market has been growing over the years, spurred by a new generation of men with a deep understanding and appreciation of fashion. In 2014, menswear accounted for 298 billion pounds worth of sales globally. The global menswear market is predicted to grow another 9 percent over the next few year and generated an additional 27 billion pounds worth of sales, hitting 325 billion pounds in 2019, according to Euromonitor.

Over the past five years the menswear markets in the UK has grown 20.5 percent, up from 11.7 billion pounds in 2011 to 14.1 billion pounds in 2015, based on information from Mintel. The menswear market grew by 4.1 percent in 2015 alone, which is more than its female counterpart, womenswear, which only grew 3.7 percent in the same period. However, in spite of this rapid growth, the menswear market only accounts for 26 percent of the total fashion market, which is estimated to be worth some 54.2 billion pounds in 2015.

The UK menswear market is predicted to grow by 22.5 percent between 2015 and 2020 to hit 17.3 billion pounds. In 2014, the direct value of the UK fashion industry to the UK economy was 26 billion pounds. However, the fashion industry’s wider contribution to the economy in influencing spending in other industries is estimated to sit at over 46 billion pounds according to the Oxford Economics 2014.

As consumers shopping habits around the world shift towards multichannel retailing, it comes as little surprise that a 17.4 percent growth in online sales of menswear was recorded between 2010 and 2015. This growth outpaced all other categories, as IbisWorld predicts online menswear will grow with an annual average of 14.2 percent between 2015 and 2020.

59 percent of all men have purchased clothing online over the past 12 months according to Mintel, which also reported a 65 percent in the proportion of men shopping for fashion online in 2014. However, 27 percent of male shoppers have also shown a preference for purchasing British clothing, shoes and accessories, which highlights the ongoing appeal of the UK menswear market and of London Collections:Men.

Photos: British Fashion Council, London Collection: Men, Facebook