So what does it mean when London Fashion Week operates a stripped-back schedule?
It is, after all, a B2B event where, despite all the celebrity buzz surrounding the runway, designers present the collections they’ve created over the past six months to sell.
Before the catwalks kicked off, as part of their Positive Change initiative the British Fashion Council announced that this season LFW would be entirely free from fur and exotic-skins (although we have spotted a flurry of feathers…) but Friday’s shows focused on new talent.
Poster Girl has already become a favourite of Kylie Jenner, Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion and the designer duo’s hyper-sexy shrunken bra tops, mini-skirts, bumsters and signature draped chainmail are hyped for good reason. The spray on knit unitards were a favourite of the frow…
Show-goers also fell for Chopova Lowena’s iconic kilts, we counted dozens before their show closed the first day of LFW in punkish mood. Another female design duo creating exactly what Gen Z women want to wear, the casting included an array of bigger bodies who appeared as more than mere tokens towards body positivity. We’re here for it.
Helen Kirkum’s presentation was a stand-out, too. By creating new trainers from discarded ‘old’ ones, Kirkum brings attention to society’s appalling throwaway culture, focuses on the artisan skills required to rebuild them and reminds us to better look after our fashion buys to actually become sustainable shoppers.
Criss-crossing the city between venues we spotted the queue snaking apace, leaving the fashion pack in a thoughtful mood and wondering whether perhaps a moment of levity is, in fact, welcome during such sombre days. If so, London Fashion Week is surely the place to find it.
Read more from Glamour UK Fashion Director at large Alex Fullerton here or follow her on Instagram @alexandrafullerton