1664 Blanc, Principal Partner of London Fashion Week (LFW), continues its partnership with the British Fashion Council and LFW in its 40th anniversary year with a new concept that celebrates London’s creative community, culture and menswear businesses. A first of its kind collaboration, 1664 Blanc will cement its position as a trailblazer for beer brands, launching a series of curated industry panel talks at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts this June.

On Saturday 8th June, as part of LFW (running Friday 7th to Sunday 9th), 1664 Blanc will invite consumers to explore the British Fashion Council’s powerful photography exhibition centred around three cultures spotlighted this season; Black culture through the lens of beauty and self-love photographed by Stephen Akinyemi; South Asian culture with a focus on pattern, textile and craftsmanship photographed by Tami Aftab; and Queer culture, with a spotlight on young creative voices from the trans community photographed by Dani D’Ingeo, with consumers having exclusive access to the exhibition. Rooted in storytelling, the focus on British brands and designers will include personal stories from a variety of communities within these cultures and will be structured in collaboration with guest curators Kai Isaiah Jamal and Simran Randhawa.

1664 Blanc will platform these communities by inviting consumers to attend four exclusive panel talks with industry experts, designers and voices within the fashion community, to support the celebration of cultural issues impacting the industry alongside wider discussion.

A Conversation on Diversity will be hosted by Maliha Shoaib, Diversity Journalist for Vogue Business, at 12pm–12:45pm. Maliha will be joined by writer and creative Simran Randhawa and Lea Ogunlami, presenter at i-D, to discuss challenges within the industry, asking them to share their experiences and thoughts on what needs to be done to create change.

How to create, build and sustain a fashion brand in an ever-evolving environment will be led by Victoria Moss, Fashion Director at Evening Standard, speaking to fashion designers Charlie Casely-Hayford and Rejina Pyo, at 12:45pm-1:30pm. They will be looking at the importance in spotlighting young talent from all backgrounds, how their individual heritages have shaped their work and what it takes to stand the test of time in the industry.

Are we going far enough? Performative Activism In the Fashion Industry will be presented by Kemi Alemoru, Culture Journalist for BBC, Dazed and Vogue, at 1:45pm-2:30pm. She will be joined by model and activist Munroe Bergdorf and disability campaigner Victoria Jenkins to highlight the issue of performative activism in the creative industries, offering an insight into their personal experiences, talking about working inclusively and exploring equality.

Finally designer Charles Jeffrey will be speaking to Vogue columnist Raven Smith and a soon-to-be-announced special guest about their experiences within the industry as a young, Scottish creative.

1664 Blanc and the BFC is proud to curate this unmissable programme, discussing some of the most important issues affecting the industry and asking how collectively we can make a small impact to make the fashion industry more inclusive for future generations to come. In partnership with the BFC, the brand is helping to celebrate the importance of being distinctive, unique and culturally connected which reflects the uniqueness of the brand itself.

With 2024 marking 40 years of LFW, the year will celebrate London’s position as a world leading cultural capital and its creative community. The 1664 Blanc x LFW panel talks will be available to book via Eventbrite, with limited availability.