Five major moments from London Fashion Week

It was the Sunday of London Fashion Week and the last model had just walked the JW Anderson show. An intense melee quickly descended on the designer, a sea of ​​phones held aloft like antennas. Jonathan Anderson's collection was a nostalgic British jumble of chunky knits and trench coats, school uniform basics, retro thermal underwear sets and hats like grandma's curly gray wigs, all thrown in a subversive dryer for a warped version of what once seemed familiar. . For what?

“I was looking at ideas of strange characters in Britain, the nosy neighbor next door, but then twisted slightly into distortions and grotesque proportions,” Mr Anderson said. It was inspired by Generation Z's constant remixing of the past, using the lens of technology or referencing past trends through street wear.

I suppose I was thinking about how Britain has changed, he added, and how we look at it in a completely new way.

It was a fitting meditation for one of the country's biggest names in fashion, especially given the ongoing celebrations in honor of a momentous anniversary: ​​this season, London Fashion Week celebrated its 40th anniversary .

Monuments inevitably invite comparison and reflection, and much has already been written about the midlife crisis facing the smallest and most rebellious of fashion's big four weeks. A tough retail climate due to a slowdown in demand for luxury, particularly from independent designers who largely populate the London grid. The rise of luxury giants based in Paris and Milan. And on the eve of Fashion Week, 10 Downing Street, which has planned a tea party on Tuesday to close the event, confirmed that Britain had entered recession.

However, refreshingly, many designers have offered more than just stiff upper lips. There were great clothes galore, from must-have names like Molly Goddard, Erdem and Simone Rocha, as well as fresher faces like Dilara Findikoglu and 16Arlington. And a welcome return to the program from 2015 LVMH Prize winner MarquesAlmeida, his designer duo all adults and with a handful of adorable children as models.

From flowery eyebrows, big coats and faux fur trims to a seasoning of Hollywood star dust on Sunday night thanks to a joyful scheduling conflict with the BAFTA Film Awards, here are five things that had our heads spinning this week.

The red runway trend may not have died down yet, but a scarlet lady sure did last season. She has been replaced by a classier, more subdued woman, who prefers a darker shade, ranging from burgundy to oxblood, and who exudes an aura of wealth, status and power.

At Roksanda, the sleek opening look, a plunging black cherry blazer with statement shoulders, matched with a tunic layered over pants, had actually made its public debut on Zendaya a few days earlier at a press conference in London for Dune: Part Two, as Emilia Wickstead opted for dark, delicious glamor with feminine pencil skirts and shiny carmine leather and sequinned car coats. Molly Goddard layered new ideas and shapes in ruby ​​tones using the brand's signature tulle tie-ups and Chet Lo, inspired this season by the terracotta army discovered in China in the 1970s, had a rich touch earthy in her signature spiked knitted creations. It's time to move on to burgundy.

The pressure was on Daniel Lee at Burberry

The stakes were high for Burberry this season, as were the flags flying atop the giant black tent the brand erected in Victoria Park for its Monday night show. Critical and commercial response to Daniel Lee's first two hugely expensive collections as creative director of Britain's biggest luxury house by sales had been lukewarm. Lately, the share price has collapsed, thanks to two profit warnings in three months. What could Mr. Lee, who created buzz at Bottega Veneta in his previous role, have pulled out of the bag for his third outing at Burberry?

The great and good of British models, on the one hand. Agyness Deyn, dressed in a green gabardine trench and flared pants with yellow tartan lapels, led a line of runway icons, including Lily Cole, Karen Elson, Lily Donaldson, Edie Campbell and Naomi Campbell, set to a thumping retro soundtrack by Amy Winehouse. They wore nude, olive and oatmeal outerwear designed to exude both comfort and style, with fluffy duffle coats and belted leather military jackets with fringes and caressable hems adorning almost every garment. Also on display were romantic checked maxi-kilts and chunky scarves, ridiculously roomy bags, silver tassel loafers and chunky walking boots.

Everything was much warmer, a little more relaxed. There were moments that almost felt like a throwback to the glory days, before Brexit, or Boris Johnson or Riccardo Tisci, to a time when Christopher Bailey harnessed a feel-good feeling in Burberry clothes that made them truly desirable and put London back in value. the fashion map. A front row of Britain's best that included Cara Delevingne, Skepta, Lily Allen, Olivia Colman and Joanna Lumley, all screaming with joy and perhaps relief.

Will this be enough? Time will tell us. But sometimes, going back in time in fashion to try to move forward isn't a bad thing.

The stars of cinema and stage were out

Thanks to the BAFTAs (the less said about it, the better), the stars were in town and in the front row. Rosamund Pike had us twirling at Molly Goddard, while Kristin Scott Thomas dazzled in emerald green at Erdem alongside Lily James. Some even walked the runway themselves as Hari Nef opened for Dilara Findikoglu and Joanna Lumley appeared in a presentation for fashion jewelry brand Completedworks. Fun fact: Ms. Lumley's character, Patsy Stone, on the TV show Absolutely Fabulous is based on Lynne Franks, the founder of London Fashion Week.

But the most high-profile guest list was at the BAFTA after-party hosted by British Vogue and Tiffany & Company, where local co-hosts Emily Blunt and Emerald Fennell joined Chioma Nnadi, the new head of editorial content. from British Vogue. , for what looked like his de facto coming out party. Cheers.

Dressing up is the new disguise

London often offers plenty for those lusting after grunge streetwear, but this season several big names have stepped up to provide options for the glam-hungry crowd. Shown in front of the controversial Parthenon marbles at the British Museum and inspired by Greek-American soprano Maria Callas, Erdem delivered sumptuous draped cocktail dresses and ornate skirt suits, large opera capes and fluffy flat marabou slippers , as well as earrings in the shape of golden roses, like the real ones thrown at the end of a divas show. Richard Quinn put customers of his timeless couture-like designs and burgeoning wedding business front row in his salon-style runway show, wrapped in 900 meters (2,950 feet) of his signature floral fabric.

But it was 16Arlington's Marco Capaldo, 2023 winner of the British Fashion Council/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, whose elegant vision of sophistication seemed most current. Her oversized handbags and knits, sheer paneled dresses, and shimmering silver evening pieces may have been inspired by misunderstood monsters and had animalistic touches, but there was a simple beauty in her sleight of hand. pass that makes Mr. Capaldo a man to watch.

We went to church (twice actually)

It's not often you see laced hot pants, corsets, nipples and bare flesh in traditional places of worship, but Dilara Findikoglu isn't exactly your traditional label. After canceling her show last season due to cash flow problems, Ms. Findikoglu made a triumphant and sexually charged return on Sunday night with a collection that denounced toxic masculinity.

It is a manifesto for a world order born from a relentless vortex of feminine energy; bringing a new world to life through mass ritual, she said in her show notes about the deconstructed corporate suits and shirts paired with boneless underwear, PVC parts, made-up panties of silver keys and a white feathered cocktail dress. It is the imagination of the world which, I know, can correct ours.

Ms Findikoglu was looking for a fresh start. But with her show entitled The Wake, Simone Rocha closed the final chapter of a triptych that began last season with the General Rehearsal and continued last month with the Procession, her wedding-themed couture collection for Jean paul Gaultier. Presented on Saturday evening in a 12th century church, Saint-Barthélemy-le-Grand, the collection was inspired by Queen Victoria's mourning outfit after the death of her husband, Prince Albert.

Corsetry shone with crystal embellishments while faux fur stoles rested on the shoulders and backs were covered in translucent swirls of organza. The models, some of whom had sinuous rose brambles painted on their eyebrows, held plush lamb-shaped handbags and paraded in Ms. Rocha's ever-popular rhinestone-encrusted Crocs. The devil was in the details.