Pixie Geldof (right), daughter of musician Bob Geldof, laughs with a friend before the presentation of the House of Holland 2012 Spring/Summer collection during London Fashion Week yesterday. In a year when British designers have taken centre stage with the weddings of Kate Middleton and Kate Moss, London is determined to capitalise on the mood and prove it can compete on a global platform. Opening the event at Somerset House in central London, London Mayor Boris Johnson highlighted the accolade recently bestowed on the city by a leading US consultancy as “the fashion capital of the world”. “That verdict is great news for our city and for our economy,” he said, adding that the industry contributes 80,000 jobs to London and £21bn ($33bn) to the British economy. “If London’s fashion business is helping young Londoners in this difficult time by taking them on... then together we can not only reduce youth unemployment... we can also be untapping untold riches of talent, and we would be lengthening London’s lead as the fashion capital of the world.”