From tweed to the iconic low-rise jeans of the early 2000s, London Fashion Week unveiled a range of styles on Friday, kicking off its 40th season, which has been dampened by the UK’s gloomy economy.
Around 60 designers, from up-and-coming talents to established brands such as Burberry, will present their new designs over five days, hoping to catch the attention of buyers and fashion influencers.
Irish-American designer Paul Costelloe’s show, titled “Once upon a Time” — a reference to the iconic 1984 film “Once Upon a Time in America” ​​– featured wide-belted coats in off-white, charcoal and tweed checks.
Costelloe, 78, who is bedridden with a virus, was absent from the event.
Gen Z favorite
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In another early show, Ukraine’s Masha Popova, a “Gen Z” favorite, presented a collection inspired by the early 2000s, the so-called Y2K era.
Performed to a backdrop of techno music and in front of a crowd of influencers, it featured models in low-waisted pants, washed-out denim — and ankle-length heels.
Elsewhere, Turkish designer Bora Aksu set a more somber mood, aiming to find and celebrate “the purest beauty amidst the most vivid horror”.
Slim models wearing bustiers paired with loose sleeves, lace gowns, skirts, blouses and men’s jackets paraded to laid-back music, with cream, grey, black and navy blue being the dominant colors.
The designer, who was inspired by the work of sculptor Eva Hesse who fled Nazi Germany as a child in 1938, used tones of pink and blush to maintain a light, feminine energy, while using old stock and discarded rolls for the clothes of. .
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British designer Edward Crutchley presented the masculine figure of the cowboy, adorned with a hat and baggy coat, subverted by the addition of latex pieces, maxi shoulders, subtle medieval-inspired prints and long wavy hair on both men and women.
Troubled time
Despite public excitement, the show comes at a turbulent time for Britain’s fashion industry, amid post-Brexit trade barriers and the country’s inflation-fuelled cost of living crisis.
The situation has prompted some budding designers to question the viability of investing in British fashion events.
Rising star Dilara Fidikoglu made headlines last September after canceling her show just days before the event due to financial reasons.
The industry, which employs almost 900,000 people in the UK and contributes 21 billion pounds ($26 billion) to the British economy, is facing “incredibly difficult times”, LFW director Caroline Rush told AFP.
But what can be gleaned from 40 years, he said, “is that in the most difficult economic times, you see the most incredible creativity.”
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“There’s almost this visceral reaction to what’s going on at home,” Russ added.
“I hope that the creativity we see in the next few days will be incredibly uplifting, that it will speak to the role of culture and creativity in society.”
The first edition of British Fashion Week was held in 1984 on a stage set up in the car park of the former Commonwealth Institute in West London.
Initially overlooked, the British capital gained its revolutionary reputation thanks to legends such as Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano, who put the city on the fashion map, and then with the ‘Cool Britannia’ era in the 1990s, a period of cultural euphoria when Stella McCartney or Matthew Williamson dressed supermodels Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell.
Since then, London has lost some of its charm, with the departure of star designers and houses that prefer Paris, such as Alexander McQueen or Victoria Beckham.
However, the BFC’s NEWGEN grant scheme, which supports young designers, has confirmed London’s place as a hotbed of talent.
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And while it remains less prestigious than Paris or Milan, London Fashion Week is celebrated as freer, more radical and less formulaic.
This anniversary edition also aims to highlight greater diversity and inclusivity, in terms of models’ body shapes, ages or skin tones, as well as in designers’ collections, with identities or inspirations from the Caribbean, Iran, India or Ethiopia.
The weekend will see more established names such as JW Anderson, Richard Quinn, Ahluwalia and Simone Rocha, before the Burberry show scheduled for Monday evening.
Source: AFP