A quiet London Fashion Week? Not if you know where to look

Once home to visionaries such as Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen, London Fashion Week has been synonymous with theatricality and boundary-pushing designs. But increased operational costs and other disruptions in the wake of Brexit, along with diminishing global interest in the city’s designers, whose shows garner a fraction of the attention of those in other fashion capitals like Milan, Paris and even New York, has hampered the mood in recent years.

At the event’s kickoff, the British Fashion Council’s outgoing CEO Caroline Rush addressed some of those difficulties in a speech that concluded her 16-year tenure. “London Fashion Week is about making meaningful connections… and cementing (designers’) place on the global stage,” she said. “These are challenging times, but this community is resilient — and as someone who has been there for a little while, I can tell you from experience that creativity is heightened even further when businesses face adversity.”

By the next season of shows in September, Rush’s successor, Laura Weir, will be well into the role (she joins in April), marking a new chapter for the sector. “Creativity, innovation, breaking boundaries… that is our role in the fashion industry and one that we are incredibly proud of,” Rush said, adding that London is fueled by “high-octane creativity that you see nowhere else in the world.”

Despite the transitional period, London Fashion Week brimmed with unabridged talent and creativity — from cult names, like Paolo Carzana and Dilara Findikoglu, to the fledgling labels (Louther, Nuba and Olly Shinder) showing as part of talent incubator Fashion East. All of which, in the absence of bigger, heavy-hitting brands, had more space to shine.

Showgoers held out for a late show by Findikoglu, who returned after a season off, with a collection of body-hugging styles, including a black snakeskin corset worn by supermodel Lara Stone, who opened the show. The venue Electrowerkz — a sprawling warehouse known for its alternative club nights — was a fitting backdrop for Findikoglu’s darkly romantic and subversive designs, which have drawn equally bold fans such as Lady Gaga, Madonna and Doja Cat. Also among the highlights were a skin-colored leather dress covered in intricate scrawls by tattoo artist Jonah Slater, and pieces covered in seashells — a nod to the goddess Venus, who was born in the sea.

Popular mainstays, such as Roksanda, Simone Rocha and Erdem, stayed the course and presented collections that were unmistakably true to their brand identities. Inspired by the late British visual artist Phyllida Barlow, Roksanda leaned into odd color pairings, such as copper brown and Yves Klein blue, and vivid artistic prints. Art also typically plays a key role in Erdem’s collections: this time, the eponymous designer partnered with Kaye Donachie, a Scottish painter known for her figurative works, on appliques hand-drawn onto gauzy fabrics, which made the models look like walking watercolor paintings.

Meanwhile, Simone Rocha turned to the childhood fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare,” as the starting point for her collection. Some famous faces, including model and television host Alexa Chung and actresses Fiona Shaw and Bel Powley, made a surprise appearance on the runway, some carrying rabbit or turtle-shaped accessories. Rocha’s signature darkly romantic pieces were complemented by a greater range of accessories, from the knitted neckerchief to the silver hardware (including belts, necklaces and earrings) that featured a padlock.

It was the return of Cool Britannia at brand S.S. Daley, which presented reinvented wardrobe staples such as trench coats, rain jackets, duffle coats, bomber jackets and pea coats to a score of ‘80s post-punk British hits from The Smiths, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and the Pet Shop Boys. The outerwear — the kind you’d see on a drizzly day in London — were not quite weather-appropriate, ironically. Instead, the classic pieces were refashioned in lightweight blue-and-white printed chiffon, tufted felt and floral chintz.

The collection was inspired by Scottish Colourists, a prolific group of painters in the 1920s known for their vibrant and confident use of colors, resulting in artworks that were often “quite smudgy and fibrous,”, said S.S. Daley founder and designer Steven Stokey-Daley. Backstage, Stokey-Daley shared that he had especially been drawn to Francis Cadell, one of the Scottish Colourists, who “ventured out to find new color inspiration” — and so he replicated Cadell’s painting of Iona Croft, an island off the west coast of Scotland, on felted pieces.

Daniel Fletcher’s debut as creative director of Chinese fashion label Mithridate was a similar masterclass in British heritage. Pastel-hued sweaters were tied and swung over the shoulder, while pinstriped Oxford shirts were styled with leather brogues. On joining “a young brand without an archive,” Fletcher took the opportunity to draw from his own heritage. “I (wanted to) look at that preppy, eccentric way of dressing that is so unique to the UK,” he told CNN backstage after the show.

There was also plenty of appeal off the runway, as several designers opted to present their new designs privately, while others hosted events for their communities.

Saul Nash collaborated on a collection with athletic-wear maker Lululemon, while Ahluwalia teamed up with jewelry company Pandora on an engraving event. Elsewhere, Stefan Cooke and Grace Wales Bonner (who normally shows in Paris) prioritized in-person previews, while Aaron Esh, 16 Arlington’s Marco Capaldo and Feben Vemmenby of Feben hosted private dinners, respectively. Labrum, Karoline Vitto and Tolu Coker opted for presentations, where people could drop in and see the designs throughout the day.

Asked why she had eschewed a show this season, Coker told CNN that a presentation “felt more aligned” with the brand and business. “I’m constantly evaluating how I present and how I tell stories. My practice is very multidisciplinary.” It may also mark a permanent shift, she said. “As a young brand, I think that a runway show every season is not always the most effective way of maximizing resources, which often are very limited.”

Coker added that the label will present its collection via a showroom in Paris, and as a semi-finalist of this year’s prestigious LVMH Prize, she will also present her collection alongside the other contestants — a move that will surely give the designer additional exposure outside of the UK. “Paris makes a lot more sense for us because it’s where retailers tend to place orders at the end of the season,” she said.

Some designers, including Jonathan Anderson, Rejina Pyo, Molly Goddard and Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida of Marques Almeida have decided to sit the show season out entirely, focusing instead on developing their collections off the runway. Also absent were Chopova Lowena and Knwls, which now only stage shows once a year, in September, demonstrating their ability to run a fashion business without abiding by traditional rules — which is no bad thing at all.