http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/16/fashion/london-fashion-week-day-1-the-prime-minister-kicks-things-off.html 2016-09-16 08:04:05 London Fashion Week, Day 1: The Prime Minister Kicks Things Off Despite the post-Brexit trauma, London is still open for business. To prove it, the prime minister invites the fashion crowd to 10 Downing Street. === Good morning and welcome to London, the kindest, gentlest and shortest fashion week of the Big Four. Things got underway unofficially last night (just around the time the models were stepping off the catwalk at Marc Jacobs) with a Champagne coupe or two when the great and the good of the British industry came out for a Downing Street bash hosted by Theresa May, the new prime minister. The night was unseasonably hot, but Britain’s leader looked impeccably cool as she held court in a crisp, oversize white shirt and sash by the duo Palmer Harding, the better to communicate the message: Despite Brexit, as the curtain comes up on a new season, London is open for business. Friday kicks off five packed days, including 83 catwalk collections, more than 150 presentations in designer showrooms at Brewer Street Car Park in Soho and parties galore. Each day we’ll highlight the key events. You can keep up with our coverage on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTFashion), Instagram (@NYTimesFashion) and at • The city’s reputation as a hothouse of young design talent can be attributed to its prestigious art schools, Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art. Today, some of its more offbeat up-and-comers will have a chance to shine. • On Saturday, • • Hours after the handbag doyenne • Sunday night is normally devoted to catching up on the Netflix series du jour. Not so in fashion land, where the evening holds not one but two parties hosted by Vogue editors. At LouLou’s, the hot-spot nightclub in Mayfair, the British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman, fresh from her small-screen spin in a BBC documentary about the magazine, celebrates the publication of its coffee-table book, “Vogue: Voice of a Century.” Across town, Anna Wintour hosts her annual Green Carpet Challenge with Livia Firth and Natalie Massenet. This year it celebrates fashion and cinema, as well as the official British premiere of “The First Monday in May,” Andrew Rossi’s documentary that looks behind the scenes of the 2015 Met Ball. Exhausted? Conserve that energy. Fashion week is a marathon, not a sprint. And in case you missed it: • • • ‘ Underwear • • ‘ • •