by The question at London fashion week is: do you want the good news or the bad news first? The outlook for British fashion depends on where you look.
At SS Daley’s show in the lightly flooded Royal Academy gallery, the painting looked overwrought. Harry Styles, who became a financial backer of Steven Stokey-Daley when he took a minority stake in the brand earlier this year, created a power couple in the front row alongside Anna Wintour, who teamed her signature shades with a star and Harris-Walz strips. campaign scarf.
The show was top notch, with dalmatian-print silk scarves and oversized Brideshead Oxford bags enthralling the audience. Actress Emma Corrin, watching from the front row, was already wearing one of the dresses.
The appointment of Sarah Burton to the prestigious house of Givenchy in Paris is also cause for celebration, proof that British talent continues to rule the fashion world, along with the return of Christopher Kane, whose label went into administration last year, back on the scene with a one-off collection for British brand Self-Portrait.
A reception at No. 10 Monday an opportunity for warmer relations after the froideur that existed between the previous government and an industry that is still laughing about Brexit.
But others see a much bleaker forecast. The recent collapse of online retailer Matches has left many independent brands out of pocket, while the wider e-commerce landscape is still reeling. Molly Goddard is among the biggest absences from this week’s shows as designers lick their wounds and prepare to regroup. With headlines screaming Broke Britain, the prospects for support look slim.
Self-Portrait is one of London’s most notable recent success stories. Founder Han Chong has hit a commercial sweet spot with his dresses, which have a designer look and feel, but at around £350 which is a fraction of the prices of big luxury names. Chong is using her success to bring Kane – a forerunner in the lineage of London’s top party dress designers – back into the fashion fold as artist-in-residence at Self-Portrait, with a one-off collection on sale in November.
Chong was a student at Central St Martins when Kane’s eye-catching neon-and-lace debut anointed him as Donatella Versace’s protégé and London’s golden boy. “I remember his clothes marked the arrival of something really modern,” Chong recalled. Earlier this year he texted Kane to suggest a collaboration, and “was very happy when he said yes”.
Harris Reed, fresh from dressing Jenna Ortega in a dress made of recycled paper at the Venice film festival, turned the Tate Modern into a catwalk. A lace collar matched a bicycle wheel, ribbon cuffs tied to the floor, a sheer ball gown revealed platform boots worn underneath. “The more theater I get, the bigger the appetite,” Reed explained. “A fashion brand is about building a world,” he said. “From day one, I was looking at the designers who did that: the Tommy Hilfigers, the Tom Fords, the Michael Kors, people who could embody a universe.”
Rejina Pyo also knows how to make a splash with shows – the 2021 shows at the London Aquatic Center featured Team GB divers wearing her swimwear – but they stepped back from the show two years ago. A collaboration with British luxury brand Mulberry was enough to keep her profile this season, with the distinctive cargo-style shoulder bags appearing on several front rows, and celebrating with a dinner thrown by Pyo for friends and editors.
Pyo, selling direct from its London store, was unaffected by the Matches implication. “I see who is buying my clothes, to hear where they wear them. That insight is invaluable to me.” As an independent brand, “a show for a moment that lasts 15 minutes is a huge expense. I’d rather host an event where I can talk to people.”
After relocating to Somerset and restructuring her business, Alice Temperley is in London not putting on a show but preparing to open a new shop. A strong demand for custom designed wedding dresses has been sustained over the years. “We are still depending on the impact of Covid and Brexit. They sound like boring words now, but they are still real questions. We were lucky, because we had brides traveling from LA turning up on our doorstep in Somerset.”
Temperley is now planning to take out its daywear – luxe knits, and glamorous suits – and is introducing a digital “passport” to facilitate a move towards buying clothes back from customers, and its pre-loved in-house collection offer.
Designer Maria Grachvogel was an early adopter of “slow fashion”, stepping off the scene a decade ago in favor of small collections designed to align with what her customer already owns, rather than replace it. “It seemed that fashion was gaining momentum. I felt a distinct urge to slow down. And I knew that women were wearing my pieces for years, not seasons. I miss catwalk shows because they show clothes on the body, but this model of local production on demand reduces our impact on the environment,” she said.
Five reasons to be happy at London fashion week
1 Nancy Dojaka x Calvin Klein
Dojaka, 31, puts on her first show in 18 months on Saturday night. Zendaya and Rihanna barely wore her fringed lingerie-style dresses – she doesn’t like the word “sexy”, and this show features a still-under wraps collaboration with American underwear brand Calvin Klein. A hot ticket in every sense.
2 Return of Christopher Kane
Self-Portrait is expanding from a brand to a party dress empire with a one-off collection from Kane, whose label closed last year. On sale from November 21, this will be catnip for fashion fans.
3 Preppy gets British
Kent & Curwen started making Eton school ties and outfits for Oxbridge sports teams. With pure style as the new streetwear, her show at the Royal Academy will attempt to position the brand as London’s answer to Polo Ralph Lauren.
4 Burberry brings back the YBA era
First Oasis, Young British Artists now. Burberry – in desperate need of a win after disappointing financial results – has teamed up on stage for Monday’s show, which will take place at the National Theatre. British artist Gary Hume created it for a set based on Hume’s 1990 Bays installation, which was inspired by hospital doors.
5 Edan Lee
Edeline Lee’s elegant, wearable designs have long been a favorite of successful women – such as Victoria Starmer, who wore the Dada dress (in red, of course) for public and private occasions. Lee, an independent designer whose collections are produced at her home in east London, will not be drawn on whether Starmer will be tempted to look on the front row at Monday’s show.
