Seating charts get more political than most council meetings
London Fashion Week Front Row Now Requires a Risk Assessment
Nothing in British public life is negotiated with more quiet violence than a London Fashion Week seating chart. Editors, buyers and a mysterious tier of people who appear to do nothing but attend things, all jostle for a spot that photographs well from the right angle.
This season one venue reportedly brought in a seating consultant, a job title that did not exist five years ago and now sits somewhere between diplomat and bomb disposal expert. Get it wrong and a front row becomes a public incident. Get it right and nobody notices, which is apparently the whole point.
For a look at who sat where and why it mattered, visit Roper Penberthys London Prat archive, and for the official schedule and details, London Fashion Weeks own site has the programme.