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Which city is the fashion capital of the world?

Style may look different all over the world, but there are some cities renowned for being more fashionable than others.

London is officially the fashion capital of the world
London may be well known for being home to incredible architecture that spans hundreds of years, but it’s also celebrated for fashion. The big smoke came top of our list, scoring 78 out of a possible 100. London is home to the most renowned fashion schools, boasts the most fashion weeks, and has the most renowned modelling agencies, such as Storm and Elite – along with Los Angeles – so is ideal for fashionistas from all over the globe. 
London also has its fair share of fashion designers either hailing from the city or having a large presence there. Vivienne Westwood is the ultimate British fashion designer. Her iconic tartan prints and unmissable orb logo are recognisable the world over. She may not come from London, but she started designing in the city, and her first four shops opened in London.
Pioneering sustainable luxury fashion, Stella McCartney was born in London and studied at Ravensbourne University London and Central Saint Martins – also in London. She launched her own fashion line in 2001, which encompasses modern British femininity and tailoring.

New York is a close second
The Big Apple may be home to the most fashion magazines – including Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Harpers Bazaar, host the Met Gala every year, have 13 fashion brands and designers with headquarters in the city, and have one of most stylish TV shows ever made set there – Sex and the City – but New York comes second on our list overall, with a score of 72.
Despite coming second on our list, New York often sets the trends that the world follows. Fashion-conscious city dwellers in layers, trench coats, ankle boots, black and tailored trousers pepper the NYC streets, taking inspiration from the refined 5th Avenue and more laid-back Brooklyn.
When it comes to fashion schools, New York is home to the world-famous Fashion Institute of Technology, and is perhaps why designers such as Donna Karen, Carolina Herrera, Michael Kors, and Calvin Klein all hail from the city that never sleeps.

Paris rounds off our top three
Ever sophisticated and indulgent, Paris has come in third spot. The French capital’s fashion often draws inspiration from its rich history and is a place often visited by creatives looking for an injection of artistry. As such, some of the most luxurious fashion houses have their foundations in the city. Chanel is arguably the most popular luxury fashion brand in the world. Founded by Coco Chanel in the early 1900s, Chanel is universally recognisable by its logo alone, and has inspired designers all over the world with its monochrome palate and understated classic cuts.
Despite being born in a flat in Paris, Chanel’s headquarters are now across the channel in London. Nevertheless, Paris has continued to produce iconic designers, including Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Christian Louboutin, Yves Saint Laurent, Hermès, Chloé, Céline, and many more. And today, Paris is still home to 18 fashion houses.
With its stunning architecture, such as the Louvre, Palace of Versailles, Arc de Triomphe, Montmartre, and of course the Eiffel Tower, there’s no wonder Paris does come on top when it comes to fashion related Instagram hashtags. Providing the perfect backdrop for fashion pics, there are 6 million posts with the hashtag #parisianstyle.

And the runners-up ...
Los Angeles and Tokyo are fourth and fifth on our list, with scores of 52 and 37, respectively. Los Angeles comes in joint first place when it comes to the most fashion magazines. 21 fashion titles call LA home, while it ties with London with seven renowned modelling agencies. When it comes to the city with the most female models, Tokyo takes the top spot. 407 female models reside in the Japanese capital. This compares to 397 in second placed Lonson, and 261 in Los Angeles.
Somewhat surprisingly, Milan, which is known for its fashion culture, misses out on the top five. Sixth on our list, it is home to just one fashion magazine and two fashion weeks. It does, however, house six fashion brands and designers.
The German city of Berlin, which is perhaps more known for its nightlife and the Italian city of Rome, which is much loved for its abundance of food, come in seventh and eighth place, while, the capital of Catalonia, Barcelona and the Spanish capital, Madrid round off the top 10.
If you fancy slipping into your most fashionable outfit and heading to any of these stylish cities, why not get your holiday started early and check into a hotel before you fly out? We have hotels handily located at airports, such as the five star London Heathrow Hotel.
Methodology
We used a range of data sources to collate the information, this was then entered into a weighted rank template and given an average score across each of the categories mentioned in the copy above.

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