Celebrating London Fashion Week 2024

The London Fashion Week autumn/winter 24 40th anniversary celebrations saw performances and multiple takeovers of heritage buildings, designers have pulled out all the stops for another memorable season.

Poppy Lomax, head of super-brands and international designer at Harrods, told Drapers: "London Fashion Week is a great representation of what Harrods customers love: quintessentially British fashion that values great quality and timelessness design.

"Designers such as JW Anderson, Huishan Zhang, Emilia Wickstead and of course, Burberry, who we currently have a store takeover partnership with this month." She said of her must-have items for Harrods customers: "16 Arlington’s metallic, tinsel maxi skirt was a show stopper, and will sit perfectly in our International Designer room.

“Erdem’s knitted scarf sets were a perfect winter wardrobe addition, and of course Simone Rocha’s super-feminine silhouette." Designer Richard Quinn’s show was no exception. In the grandiose ballroom of the Andaz Hotel, flowers filled almost every available surface, either through lush arrangements which snaked around the room’s pillars, or floral printed fabric which draped and framed the show space. A single pink rose sat atop each guest’s seat.

There was an undeniably timeless feel to the collection — which started with monochrome, sequins, ostrich feathers and velvet floor-length gowns and jumpsuits that were quite simply chic, regardless of what season they were being shown as a part of. Progressing to the designer’s trademark floral prints, long chiffon trains wafted behind models and on ruffles around their necks.

The third act was strictly bridal — an all-white colour palette encompassed veils, structured glittering bodices, wide voluminous skirts and more flowers in the form of traditional bouquets. A beautifully moving presentation that truly focussed on “shape, volume and craftsmanship”. 

Drapers 30 Under 30 alumnus, designer Harris Reed, showed his eponymous label's AW24 collection at the Tate Britain in an off-schedule show on the evening of Thursday 17 February. Entitled "Shadow Dance", the slow-paced catwalk show was accompanied by a live classical music performance, heightening the obvious Victorian references in the clothing designs.

Structured bodices, dramatic headpieces and towering platform boots appeared throughout the 10-piece collection. Standout looks included a deep purple jacket-turned-mini-dress, with a contrasting pink botanical-patterned collar, which wafted behind the wearer's head like an enormous anthurium flower.

A floor-length, canary yellow dress with a scalloped, chin-high front bodice was draped in glistening violet beads, which rustled loudly as the model walked past guests. This was a small collection from Reed which made a large impact.

Jewellery, accessories and homeware brand Completedworks managed to do just that. The invitation stated that “A special performance by a notable actor” would begin promptly at the show’s start time, and as promised, sat in a curtain covered, mirrored set, was none other than Dame Joanna Lumley. Creative director Anna Jewsbury commissioned an original monologue by author Fatima Farheen Mirza, entitled “Confessions of Lilith”, which saw Lumley making toast, flicking through magazines and finally, cutting one of the label’s ceramic vases that in fact turned out to be a cake. A riveting performance and a show format which challenged the dimensions of what a "fashion show" can be in 2024, this was one not to have missed.

Central Hall in Westminster was transformed into a mythical jungle for Priya Ahluwalia’s AW24 collection. Lush trees and greenery framed the runway, and floral arrangements were worn as headdresses throughout the collection.

Inspired by “mysticism, memories of fables and realms of mythology” the clothes featured greens, reds, oranges and pinks in various mesmerising patterns, across dresses, cardigans, track tops and fitted trousers. The label is known for its signature "wavy" patchwork denim, which featured most dramatically in a wrap around collar which towered high behind the wearer’s head.

Model Precious Lee closed the show in a silk burnt orange hooded top and skirt combination, with whooping and cheering coming from Ahluwalia’s large audience of community, family and friends. Fashion East alumni Edward Crutchley seated guests in the Ironmongers Hall of the Barbican, on narrow wooden benches and beneath the gaze of groaning chandeliers and crest-filled stain glass windows.

Such looks were then contrasted with skin-tight latex, lace-up leggings, shorts and crop tops. Faux cigarettes hung from model’s lips, and small, circular sunglasses adorned their faces, giving the historical references a modern edge of super-cool attitude.

Irish designer Robyn Lynch’s AW24 collection had the Old Selfridges Hotel packed to the rafters. With the show notes citing family as the greatest source of her inspiration, and home video footage being screened on the runway, everything about the show felt extremely personal and heartfelt.

The collection was largely made up of sportswear, but with unexpected and unusual twists — styling lightweight nylon trousers with chunky, cable knit zip through hoodies, for example. “I loved the contrasting feeling of a rich, abstract devoré against our recycled nylons. So this tension of pragmatic versus decorative became a through line in the process,” the designer explained in her show notes.

Electric blue featured heavily throughout the collection, and across footwear produced in partnership with Italian shoemaker Geox. Haute couture-trained designer Huishan Zhang was inspired by 1950s Hollywood starlets for his latest collection.

In the sprawling hall of Banqueting House, models in delicate lace, sequins, ruffles and elbow length gloves strutted the runway in strappy kitten heels. Fur coats added an extra layer of glamour, and there were several all leather and tailored suit looks, which kept the collection from feeling too romantic. Flashes of orange, green and red disrupted a soft, neutral based colour palette, overall creating a thoroughly modern woman’s wardrobe, despite referencing the stars of old.

It was Estonian-born, London-based Johanna Parv's final season as part of renowned talent incubator Fashion East. Her lightweight and technical designs were described as "fast and furious" in the show notes, and were accessorised by practical pouches, pocket belts and cross-body bags.

A neutral colour palette of stone, black and brown was injected with mint green, teal and baby blue for a sleek and city ready collection. For Olly Shinder, his sophomore collection for Fashion East was entitled "Lab" and drew parallels between a designer's studio and a scientist's laboratory.

Rubber gloves, wrap around aprons and hazmat style suits were interspersed with camouflage tracksuits, crisp shirts and workwear style jackets. All were accessorised with square-framed spectacles, creating an overall look that managed to simultaneously channel the club, the street, the office and of course, the laboratory.

Designer Masha Popova gave a riotous start to the New Gen space at the Old Selfridges Hotel on the morning of Friday 16 February. Entitling the collection "GLI$TEN" and taking the audience on “a journey through the 2010s: a period that defined her formative teenage years” models stomped the runway in fur-covered heels and Ugg boots to a blaring soundtrack.

Her eponymous label’s trademark washed out denim was seen across hoodies, flowing jackets and cut-out jeans accessorised with oversized charm jewellery and belts. The show notes stated that Popova also took inspiration from “Paparazzi images, cult TV series Skins and Sophia Coppola film The Bling Ring” which could easily be seen in the styling. Bold and punchy, it was a display of what this emerging talent does best.

Designer Chet Lo’s new collection was entitled "Terracotta". The first look down the runway at the New Gen space was a cracked, rust coloured top and trouser combination, making for a literal interpretation of the show’s namesake.

What followed was signature Chet Lo, with plenty of spikey designs for which the 27-year-old designer has become synonymous with. Silver also featured heavily in the collection, across body-con fabric and sequin-embellished dresses, as well as in the models’ beauty looks. The collection was styled with shoes and handbags from Chet Lo’s recent partnership with accessories brand Charles & Keith — such as pointed toe pumps with perspex, spiked coloured wedge heels and spikey fabric handbags.

In another rather literal move, Lo ran loops around the runway to close the show, bringing a much-needed smile to the tired fashion crowd's faces. Paul Costelloe opened Friday morning’s schedule with a sunlit show at Pimlico’s Royal Horticultural Halls.

The presentation began with a selection of elegant winter white looks accessorised with chocolatey leather gloves, oversized clutch bags and thick belts. These were followed by more preppy, autumnal wool knitwear, tartan tweed tailoring and silk shirts, culminating in opulent burgundy velvet and floral jacquard evening gowns with statement sleeves, transporting attendees from the windy streets of Downtown New York City – the main inspiration behind the collection – to Uptown society’s ballrooms.

The Irish fashion designer, who last June celebrated his 78th birthday, was sadly missing from the show due to illness, yet his powerful presence was felt by the crowd of viewers as they applauded Costelloe's couture design team, who took the bow in his absence.

Titled ‘Human Resource’, SRVC's AW24 collection took inspiration from the mundane morning commute. Taking place inside two double-decker Transport for London (TfL) buses parked outside of Bloomsbury’s Stewart House, models donning cinched-waist outerwear with statement shoulders, pinstripe shirts and thigh-slit indigo denim skirts and dresses walked up and down the precarious narrow staircases of the buses – an everyday element of a London’s commuter life turned into a fashion show.

Tailoring extraordinaire and winner of the 2023 Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design, Labrum creative director Foday Dumbuya, sought inspiration from US surrealist Man Ray and London-based street muralist Dreph, among others, for his AW24 showcase. The label, which is celebrating its 10-year anniversary, took over Tate Britain for a breathtaking display of its signature passport print and cowrie-shell patterned suiting.

This was presented in shades of sunrise orange, tones of bright and olive green and ivory, with women’s tailoring silhouettes inspired by 19th-century Burmese htamein traditional dress. Eudon Choi's AW24 collection, presented at Marylebone's Hellenic Centre to the accompaniment of a grand piano, was inspired by the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 79 AD.

The city's surviving frescoes were referenced by the muted colour palette of earthy browns, ash black and grey, clean beiges and pastel pinks and blues, juxtaposed with textured wool and velvet with exposed seams on suit trousers and distressed ribbon details on lustrous silk shirting. Building on previous collections' silhouettes which paid homage to Marvel Comics' Hulk character, Ukrainian-born fashion designer Natasha Zinko transformed the oversized padded shapes into curved spacesuit sleeves for her AW24 presentation at east London's Truman Brewery on Friday night.

Taking inspiration from the 1960s-era sociopolitical focus on the extraterrestrial, evident in the Cold War-era space race as well as Stanley Kubrick's 1968 cultural landmark picture ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, Zinko referenced the futuristic minimalism of the era with the help of monochrome looks referencing spacegear, risqué mini skirts and an air stewardess-inspired, pastel pink shirt-dress.