"The mood in London is fairly somber, of course, but we are going ahead with the collections. There have been very few, if any, cancellations from U.S. press and buyers so far."

"So many designers have so much invested in the shows that they had no choice but to continue. But I do understand why 7th on Sixth was cancelled. It would have been wholly inappropriate given the circumstances," Coleridge said.

The cancellation of the New York shows was expected by the British fashion press. "How on earth could New York go ahead with fashion shows when downtown thousands of people have been killed?" Chloe Beeny, contributing fashion editor to the London Sunday Times told FWD. "Besides which, there were public safety and security implications to consider."

With the London collections due to start on Monday, there had been much speculation as to whether they would go ahead, in the light of yesterday’s events.

Several designers are still deciding whether to show, and some have suggested quietly that they may cancel their runway shows and rely on Internet transmission of their collections to buyers and press instead.

However, many within the industry are trying to maintain business as usual. Alex Barlow, of British label Ghost, who is due to show next Thursday, told FWD: "On a practical level, I think we should not be defeated by these actions. I am a bit nervous but yes, we are definitely doing the show. I can promise that we will produce the best show that we can under the circumstances."

Concerns have been raised about security issues, with the worldwide press due to arrive in London from Sunday onwards. Claudia Crow, Board Director at Ketchum Life, the organizers of London Fashion Week, reiterated to FWD, "What people may not have realized is that we have always been very tight on security for LFW. Any internationally publicized event has its attendant security risks, and we have a contingency plan for every eventuality. We will of course be working incredibly closely with the police and security services, and will take every step to ensure the safety of everyone attending."

It is not yet clear how many American press and buyers will be canceling their trips to this season’s collections in Europe. What has emerged though is that many of the top models who were expected to fly in for the shows will not now be making the trip. Whether or not anyone from the U.S. can actually get here is a moot point at the moment, as the airlines flying in and out of New York cannot confirm when transatlantic flights will resume.

Several English fashion editors and stylists are stranded in North America, currently unable to get home to London, and it is still not clear when they will be able to return.

Fashion Director of UK InStyle, Paula Reed, and influential stylist Katy England are both currently stranded in Canada, where their planes were diverted en route to New York yesterday.