The former London College of Fashion building carries 60 years of cultural significance. It was the cradle of British fashion education and a creative incubator. Its graduates contribute directly to London’s reputation as a global design capital.

Architecturally, it is one of the finest examples of post-war mid-century modernism, with only a few remaining in the West End.

Together with its legacy, this makes it a prominent cultural asset. Its demolition is neither justified nor compelling.

This is the genesis of the campaign launched by Manufacturing Taste and The Twenty Fifth Hour. This also showcases how Manufacturing Taste does architecture. To save a building, we reached out to the fashion world, and to give a building a second chance, we built a value proposition that would give the developer a far better return on investment than going for a generic new-build.

From the outset, Anisa Topan and I framed the campaign as collaborative rather than adversarial, but also commercial as well as cultural: shaped with the fashion world, a reimagined LCF building could act as a catalyst for transforming the wider 33 Cavendish Square redevelopment into a trophy asset — a culturally anchored destination that epitomises London’s creative identity while generating early leasing interest, PR attention, brand halo, and strong market distinction.

The campaign has galvanised a broad spectrum of voices across the creative industries — spanning fashion, architecture, media, and beyond — and has prompted engagement from many who may not previously have realised how strongly they felt about architecture and place.

• In just one week, our Instagram video has been viewed nearly 55,000 times.
• In just a couple of weeks, our petition has gathered over 500 verified signatures.
• In just a few days, the campaign had been covered or mentioned by Londonist Ltd, Architects’ Journal, Fashion United, Time Out Group plc. Design Week - to name a few.