The chairman of the British Fashion Council and head of the U.K. arm of Conde Nast penned a piece in yesterday's Sunday Times chastising the international fashion community for turning up their noses at the British scene.

"For as long as I have lived, it has been fashionable to knock British fashion designers," he declared. Of British fashion commentators themselves, he said, "If they watched the same collections on the catwalks of Paris or Milan, they would write rave reviews, but seeing them here, in their own back yard, they will cavil."

Which could be part of the reason that so many London designers skip their hometown shows in favor of Paris, Milan or New York. Last season, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Hussein Chalayan and Clements Ribeiro all defected to Paris.

Then, Paul Smith, Katharine Hamnett and Burberry cancelled their shows in the wake of September 11.

This season the mood will certainly be more festive, with 65 British designers - including Paul Smith, Burberry, Hamish Morrow, Jasper Conran and Julien Macdonald - showing their collections in London next week.

There have been two last-minute cancellations though. Fake London and Julian And announced last week they would not be going on with their scheduled shows, both citing commercial reasons.

Coleridge admits this is a tough economic time. To help companies that are watching their bottom lines and curtailing the teams they send to the shows, the British Fashion Council will be emailing reviews and photos to editors and buyers around the world.

"No other fashion capital does that," boasts Coleridge. But, he explains, "We have to fight hard to retain our status as one of the big four fashion capitals. At a time when New York is putting on 130 shows, Milan even more than that and Paris close to 100, plucky London has to try harder."

According to Coleridge, the city does have one major edge though: suspense. "Fashion editors returning from the New York and Milan shows last season complained how predictable most of them were. They could have filed their reviews without turning up. In London, you still sit on the edge of your seat."