This is the reason Jenny Packham won’t show at fashion week anymore

‘Questioning the value of the traditional catwalk show’

(Image credit: Rex)

‘Questioning the value of the traditional catwalk show’

One of the Duchess of Cambridge’s favourite designers, Jenny Packham, has announced she will no longer show her collections at New York Fashion Week, six years after her first show.

But thankfully, it doesn’t mean the label is folding, rather that the brand is focusing on a more digital approach.

In a statement she said she was ‘questioning the value of the traditional catwalk show’ and that she would instead launch her SS18 collection digitally to ‘provide stronger assets to use across multi-media platforms.’

Jenny added, ‘Our commitment to New York fashion week is unflinching and our intention is to work more closely with press and buyers to support our growth strategy.’

Kate Middleton wears Jenny Packham

Kate Middleton wears Jenny Packham

This will no doubt revive the debate of whether a set Fashion Week really matters, with many designers opting for the ‘see now, buy now’ approach, and showing their collection outside of Fashion Month, like Tom Ford and Tommy Hilfiger amongst others.

Jenny Packham, who showed her first catwalk in New York in 2011, is a firm celebrity favourite with the likes of Sandra Bullock, Angelina Jolie, Kate Winslet and Blake Lively as customers.

Kate-Middleton

She is also famously known for regularly dressing Kate Middleton. The Duchess first stepped out in one of her designs, a pale pink embellished gown, at the ARK 10th Anniversary Gala in 2011.

Other famous dresses include silver sequin dress Kate wore at the Tusk Foundation Gala Dinner in 2013, and the two dresses she wore to leave hospital after giving birth to her children.

She chose a blue polka dot dress for Prince George's birth, and a yellow floral dress to present newborn Princess Charlotte to the world on the steps of the Lindo Wing at St Mary’s hospital.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.