"British Fashion Week is going ahead," BFC chairman and Conde Nast UK managing director Nicholas Coleridge told FWD as he exited an extraordinary meeting of the council attended by 47 designers and and/or their representatives including Jasper Conran, Matthew Williamson, Ben De Lisi and Markus Lupfer.

"There was very much the spirit of Dunkirk. They feel that fashion is a business and they have an obligation not just to themselves but also to the people who work for them. Though clearly the mood was somber and low key," Coleridge said.

However, five London fashion houses have called off their catwalk shows scheduled for next week, in response to the World Trade Center attack.

Paul Smith, Nicole Farhi, Burberry, Justin Oh and Maria Grachvogel all confirmed to FWD that they would not stage catwalk shows next week. Grachvogel also cancelled an in-store party planned for Monday evening. Burberry has decided to stage an all-day presentation in Milan on Tuesday, October 2.

Spokespeople for all these houses said it was not appropriate to hold shows and parties in the wake of recent events.

These cancellations mean that 62 out of 67 official shows listed on the London calendar will take place.

Due the closure of North American airports, most American buyers and editors will be unable to reach London in time for any Monday shows. However, Coleridge said that London Fashion Week had not received any cancellations from French, Italian or German press.

However, the British Fashion Council has called off its traditional end-of-season party on Friday night. Instead, the budget for the party will be contributed to the Red Cross.

And The Face magazine/Adidas Originals party, scheduled to take place in Brick Lane next Friday in London's East End, has been postponed until further notice. No more info has been forthcoming.

Not every evening has been cancelled. Accessories designer Anya Hindmarch has decided to go ahead with the launch of her new Be-A-Bag, scheduled for Monday evening in the Irish Club in Belgravia, London.

"We've made a decision to take a proactive stance and continue with our event, using the Be-A-Bag as an opportunity to raise as much money for American disaster relief as we can. To cancel is to give into terrorism," Hindmarch told FWD.