Manchester Fashion Week: legal lessons for large-scale event organisers

Susan Honeyands, Partner, Head of Leisure & Hospitality

Manchester Fashion Week offers a timely reminder of the legal planning required to deliver successful large-scale events. Whether organising a fashion show, festival, exhibition, conference, brand activation or hospitality-led experience, event organisers need to manage contracts, licensing, safety, visitor terms, commercial partnerships and reputational risk from the outset.

Consumer law and visitor experience at large-scale events

Manchester Fashion Week may be centred on fashion, retail and hospitality, but the same issues apply to any large public or commercial event. Pop-up retail, ticketed experiences, exhibitions, sponsor activations, food and drink offers, VIP areas and promotional stands can all create consumer, trading, premises and safety obligations. Organisers should ensure that ticketing terms, refund information, product descriptions, visitor communications and on-site arrangements are clear, accurate and legally compliant.

Licensing, safety and venue control for major events

Large-scale events often involve multiple regulated activities, from alcohol sales and entertainment to late-night refreshment, temporary structures, crowd movement, security and amplified sound. These requirements can affect fashion events, music-led launches, corporate hospitality, food and drink festivals, exhibitions, sporting events and outdoor activations.

Event documentation should make clear who is responsible for licensing, capacity management, risk assessments, fire safety, first aid, accessibility, emergency procedures, incident reporting, contractor compliance and public liability cover. Where responsibility is split between promoters, venues, suppliers and sponsors, those obligations should be expressly allocated before the event opens to the public.

Contracts, intellectual property and commercial partnerships

Manchester Fashion Week is a useful example because it brings together many of the parties found at larger events: venues, brands, sponsors, suppliers, stylists, photographers, models, performers, influencers, media partners, security providers and food and drink operators. Each relationship should be supported by clear contractual terms covering scope of services, fees, payment timing, cancellation rights, exclusivity, brand use, indemnities, insurance, liability caps and post-event use of content.

Intellectual property issues should also be addressed early. Brand names, logos, campaign concepts, photography, video, designs, staging, signage and marketing materials may all involve trade marks, copyright, design rights, image rights and licence terms. For large-scale events, it is particularly important to confirm who owns event content, who can use it afterwards, and whether sponsors, exhibitors or partners have approval rights.

Visitor-facing terms should cover ticketing, refunds, cancellations, admission conditions, age restrictions where relevant, prohibited items, photography and filming notices, data collection, competition terms, accessibility information and behaviour standards. These terms should be visible, consistent and easy for visitors to understand.

Sustainability and ethical claims can create additional risk for event organisers and sponsors. Words such as “sustainable”, “recycled”, “ethical”, “green” or “low impact” should only be used where they can be substantiated. This applies not only to fashion events, but also to festivals, exhibitions, hospitality events and brand activations where environmental claims are used in marketing.

Conclusion: reducing legal risk for major events

Key legal points for large-scale event organisers include checking whether the correct licences, permissions or temporary event notices are in place; confirming that venue, sponsor and supplier contracts allocate responsibility clearly; ensuring ticketing, consumer-facing terms and visitor communications are accurate; substantiating sustainability or ethical claims; and reviewing insurance, safety, accessibility and data protection arrangements.

For organisers, Manchester Fashion Week should be seen not just as a retail and fashion moment, but as a reminder of the legal foundations needed for any event delivered at scale. Addressing licensing, health and safety, consumer terms, intellectual property, commercial contracts, data protection, liability and insurance in advance can reduce the risk of regulatory, contractual and reputational issues once the event is live.