By Patricia Reaney
NEW YORK, Sept 6 (Reuters) - London topped New York as the
global fashion capital for the second consecutive year,
according to a new ranking released on Thursday, the start of
New York Fashion Week.
As designers, buyers, models, stylists and fashionistas
converged on the Big Apple for the semi-annual event that
attracts 116,000 people, New York placed second on the annual
list the tracks interest on the Internet and in the media,
followed by Barcelona, Paris and Madrid.
Paul Payack, the president of the Global Language Monitor
(GLM), which compiles the annual results, said Kate Middleton
and the 2012 Summer Olympics helped London retain the title for
the second consecutive year.
"Kate Middleton has proved to be incredibly impactful on the
British fashion brand," said Payack, adding that a recent survey
showed her influence has contributed to millions of pounds
(dollars) in sales this year. "The second thing is the Olympics
being in the UK."
Middleton has not put a foot wrong fashionwise since her
engagement and marriage to Prince William, and a nod to British
fashion was even included in the closing ceremony of the
Olympics. Both cemented London's position this year in the
global fashion scene.
The British capital has been in a tug of war with New York
since the Austin-based analytics and media tracking company
started compiling the ranking nine years ago.
Paris placed third overall but was No. 1 in haute couture,
while Spain proved its fashion prowess with two cities in the
top five.
"For high fashion Paris is number one but it not the media
machine these other places are. Barcelona has made a really
strong attempt to move forward and those efforts are paying
off," Payack explained.
Sao Paulo in Brazil was the queen of Latin fashion and came
in seventh globally, while Hong Kong, which dropped six places
from last year to No. 12 this year, was the fashion capital of
Asia.
Johannesburg, in 18th position, was the only African city to
break into the top 20 and Dubai, at 28, was the strongest
fashion city in the Middle East.
Vancouver, a newcomer to the list and the top Canadian city,
debuted at No. 31, along with Seoul, which ranked 34, and St
Petersburg at 51.
Milan, a perennially favorite, dropped to eighth place from
fourth last year, which Payack said was not bad because the
competition is so intense. Just a few years ago it captured the
top spot.
The Global Monitoring Company analyzed the Internet,
blogosphere, and the top 175,000 print and electronic global
media and other sources to compile the ranking.
"We search everything you can on the web. We try to be as
inclusive as possible," he explained.
New York Fashion Week, which is based at Lincoln Center but
includes hundreds of shows around the city, kicks off the global
fashion season and is followed by designer shows in London,
Paris and Milan.
(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; Editing by Sofina Mirza-Reid)
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