Most LFW attendees would likely agree that there are definitive levels at which one can attend, all the way from your beginner level Awestruck Tourist or Baby Influencer, to your 90s veteran professionally haggard Creative Director/Arbiter Of Style/Fashion Industry Deity.
Joanne Lumley as Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous, BBC
As an involved person sitting far more in the former category than the latter, I approached this year’s LFW with a healthy mix of imposter syndrome, scepticism, and child-like wonder that there still existed, in a major city, an entire week for the celebration of the textile as art.
Of course, that’s not to ignore the significant commercial benefits that keep the week afloat as the major public spectacle it has now become. With the first LFW taking place in a Commonwealth Institute car park in Kensington in 1984 (masterminded by Lynne Franks OBE, PR legend and the inspiration behind Edina in Absolutely Fabulous, amongst many others) it has since grown to hold its own against Milan, New York, and Paris. Generating in excess of £160 million in media coverage, with over £100 million of orders being placed during the event, the economic benefits of the UK fashion industry, which contributes £26 billion to the UK economy each year, are hard to overstate. But what of its essence, its creativity - what is so very special about London Fashion Week?
NY Times
Depending on the level of immersion you’re experiencing, it’s rather easy to become crestfallen at the social media highlight reel of similar looking people in similar looking outfits often buying their way into events that have become an easy purveyor of social capital. However, I can confidently say that the 40th anniversary of LFW did not disappoint in the innate weirdness that is the beating heart of the London fashion scene.
NY Times
The first cheering indicator of this was the colourful, fun street style visible at every event, and on the tube in-between. Ball gowns under sharply tailored trench coats, layers of sumptuously clashing plaids, scarves woven into dyed hair, and plenty of mesh lined the streets of central London this February. In a kaleidoscopic display of colours and patterns, from the most expensive gossamer vintage Galliano to elbow-length rubber gloves bought from ebay, London had fun, and paid homage to the communicative and counter-cultural roots found in iconic British designers like Vivienne Westwood and Alexander Mcqueen.
Being a LFW first-timer, I have very little comparison for the calibre of the shows, but my overall impression was of a week focussing on storytelling, sensuality, and a healthy dose of outdoorsy chic.
My sister (in ebay rubber gloves and a TK Maxx dress), Need It For Tonight LFW closing party at The Other House South Kensington
Identified by most attendees as a standout collection, an example of this is Jawara Alleyne’s ‘Eye of the Storm’ show, which took audiences through the experience of the destructive hurricane season in the Cayman Islands. Based on his experience of sheltering in a church during a category 5 hurricane in 2004, models wore draped tops which wrapped round like shock blankets. Other looks were straightforwardly nautical, featuring wellies, waterproof clogs, thick ropes, and striped fabrics.
Jawara Alleyne, ‘Eye of the Storm’ FW 2024
My favourite find of the week? These geometric yet somehow softly heart-shaped bags by Marina C, a (very lovely and friendly) Italian designer who exhibited at the Pure X JATC sustainable sourcing show held at Kensington Olympia.
The Venere Cube in Burgundy by Marina C
Having recovered from the exhilarating sensory hell that is a week of nonstop work and play (to varying degrees - I got off lightly), I feel proud of a city that respects the gravity of the fashion industry, but is not afraid to breathe.
Annaliese Dayes, a confidence-oriented presenter I was lucky enough to spend some time with this past week, puts it best in a recent post: “Every fashion week I have imposter syndrome, seeing all these chic, sophisticated fashionistas capturing their sleek, cool, 'perfect' content and it takes me a moment to remember that my sauce is unique! And it’s always best to lean into who you are as opposed to pretending to be something else.”
It’s poignant, because for the longest time (and sometimes still, if I’m totally honest) I thought not being a 5’9 slinky brunette living in a chic studio somewhere in Fulham precluded me from enjoying fashion, or at least being serious about it. I anticipated a beige, perfectionist, social media-oriented hellhole, but I (for the most part!) instead received the London I know and love, exploding across the world’s fashion scene in technicolour and plenty of double denim.
By Ella Jones
Comments