LONDON — The first London Fashion Week under the leadership of Laura Weir will have 18 percent more designers showing on schedule, the British Fashion Council said Friday as it released the provisional schedule for the spring 2026 season, slated for Sept. 18 to 22.

Hailing it as the beginning of “a bold new era,” the new BFC chief executive officer said the fall edition will signal a designer-first approach to the 41-year-old London Fashion Week that is “ambitious, purposeful and rooted in the creative energy of London.”

“My intention is to build on the foundations of London Fashion Week by focusing on cultural relevance, global competitiveness and meaningful support for designers,” added Weir, who on Monday revealed a string of major strategic updates in a bid to revitalize the fashion economy for British designers in the U.K. and globally.

Among the key changes included waiving show fees for designer members showing physically on the main schedule, and doubling the investment in the guest program.

The five-day event will see runway regulars including Burberry, Erdem, Simone Rocha, Roksanda, Richard Quinn, Emilia Wickstead, Labrum London and Harris Reed continue to hold the fort for the city’s fashion industry.

JW Anderson will host an event in partnership with the BFC on Sept. 19 to celebrate the relaunch of the brand following its founder Jonathan Anderson officially landing the top job at Dior in June after months of speculation.

Emerging brands including Chopova Lowena, Priya Ahluwalia, Marques’Almeida and Patrick McDowell, this year’s winner of the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design, will make their runway returns this season, while buzzy names like Conner Ives, Paolo Carzana and Lulu Kennedy’s emerging talent support platform Fashion East will continue to show on schedule as well.

H&M is returning to London Fashion Week this fall as well, with a coed runway show to present its in-season fall 2025 collections. The Swedish fast-fashion brand touted a full-scale fashion experience encompassing visuals and music with an atmosphere that will be aimed at highlighting self-expression and modern style.

Newcomers to the runway showcase this fall include Dreaming Eli, Kseniaschnaider, Kyle Ho, Lucia Safdie, Rory William Docherty and adaptive label Unhidden.

Designers in the BFC Newgen program will show on schedule both physically and digitally with ones to watch including Aaron Esh, Derrick, Johanna Parv, Karoine Vitto, Louther, Oscar Ouyang, Steve O Smith, Tolu Coker and Aletta, the young brand founded by Freddy Coomes and Matt Empringham.

The consumer-facing City Wide Celebration initiative will go national once again with branded experiences and activations taking places across Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and London.

Supported by London Fashion Week’s headline sponsor 1664 Blanc, City Wide Celebration will include a new series of educational talks featuring Barbour, Matty Bovan, Patrick McDowell, S.S. Daley, Talia Byre and The Winter House.