Appears to be like from Nensi Dojaka’s Fall 2022 Assortment. (Picture Credit score: Acielle StyleDuMonde)
It’s a wrap. London Style Week had one among its strongest seasons in years. In pure British fashion, the 5-day world-wind (Feb 17 – 21) mixed a funeral, an awards present, the ‘popping out’ of Kate and William, designer debuts and a few actually nice style exhibits. Held twice a 12 months, London Style Week (LFW) is without doubt one of the most prestigious occasions within the style business, showcasing the newest creations of a number of the world’s most proficient designers. LFW has been a significant a part of the worldwide style calendar for over three a long time and this 12 months it grew to become a British lollapalooza!
However first some historical past: London Style Week was first established in 1984, organized by the British Style Council (BFC) as a response to the dominance of Paris and Milan within the style world. The occasion was initially held in a West London automotive park, and featured only a handful of British designers, reminiscent of Jasper Conran and Betty Jackson. Over time, London Style Week grew in reputation and stature, attracting a wider vary of designers and worldwide consideration. Within the late Nineties and early 2000s, it grew to become a platform for rising expertise, with designers like Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney making their debuts. In 2009, London Style Week was merged with the London Style Weekender, a consumer-focused occasion that allowed members of the general public to see style exhibits and purchase garments instantly from designers. This transfer aimed to make style extra accessible and inclusive to a wider viewers.
In recent times, London Style Week has continued to evolve and innovate. It has embraced new applied sciences, reminiscent of live-streaming and social media, to achieve a world viewers (which was extraordinarily helpful throughout COVID-19 lockdowns). It has additionally change into a significant platform for sustainable and moral style, with many designers utilizing environmentally-friendly supplies and manufacturing processes.
Appears to be like from Erdem’s Fall 2022 Assortment. (Picture Credit score: Acielle StyleDuMonde)
LFW now attracts 1000’s of tourists from all over the world, together with business professionals, journalists, celebrities, and style lovers. It stays an vital occasion within the world style calendar, showcasing the creativity and variety of British style.
A FUNERAL
Left To Proper: Kate Moss, Helen Bonham Carter, Victoria Beckham, and Will Younger all attended the late Vivienne Westwood’s memorial service. (Picture Credit score: Getty Photographs)London Style Week kicked off in a somber temper as outstanding friends within the style world gathered to pay their ultimate respects on the funeral of the late Dame Vivienne Westwood which passed off on Thursday 16 February at Southwark Cathedral in London. The funeral was a star-studded occasion the place actress Helena Bonham Carter delivered the eulogy and Chrissie Hynde carried out. The Cathedral was filled with Westwood’s household and pals in addition to loads of style business friends included Marc Jacobs, Kate Moss, Tracey Emin, Victoria Beckham, Paul Smith, Zandra Rhodes, Bella Freud, Stephen Jones, Matty Bovan, and Ellen von Unwerth. Many friends paid tribute to the late Westwood as they adopted one among Westwood’s many mottos, “When doubtful, costume up!” And dressed up they had been, as they streamed into the Gothic cathedral of their finery to pay their ultimate respects to the pioneering designer and activist, who died Dec. 29 at age 81.
AN AWARDS SHOW & A ROYAL PDA MOMENT
Kate Middleton’s cheeky gesture to Prince William as they stroll the BAFTAs pink carpet. (Picture Credit score: Getty Photographs)
The Prince and Princess of Wales had a uncommon PDA Second (public show of affection) on the BAFTAs (British Academy of Movie & Tv Award), which passed off on Sunday, February 19th. The royals made certain to carry arms whereas strolling down the pink carpet and at one level the Princess playfully tapped William’s decrease again because the paparazzi went wild. Princess Kate, who’s a grasp at high-low dressing, appeared beautiful in a reworked Grecian Alexander McQueen robe (which she first debuted on the 2019 BAFTAs), paired with black gloves, and a pair of Zara earrings.
DESIGNER DEBUTS & HIGH BROW FASHION SHOWS
A glance from Burberry’s Fall 2023 Assortment. (Picture Credit score: Vogue)
Daniel Lee debuted his Burberry assortment by crusing into uncharted territory with extra terrific colour (living proof, cobalt blue) and pretend fur than the heritage model has seen in its 167-year historical past. Lee’s new imaginative and prescient for the long-lasting British home got here laced with an appropriately cheeky duck motif. “The geese I simply discovered very British,” he defined backstage after the present to Vogue Journal. “It made me consider the outside, and Burberry is an open air model. It jogged my memory of rain, and safety.” In spite of everything, raincoats are within the model’s DNA.
Appears to be like from S.S.Daley’s Fall 2022 Assortment, Proper, Sir Ian McKellen. (Picture Credit score: Vogue)
S.S. Daley’s assortment for Steven Stokey-Daley was pure theatre. For Daley’s menswear present, he enlisted British actor Sir Ian McKellen (Shakespeare, fashionable fantasy and science fiction), who opened the present studying a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (of Ulysses and The Cost of the Gentle Brigade fame), a wildly surprising shock. AND OH SO HIGH-BROW!
A glance from Simone Rocha’s Fall 2023 Assortment. (Picture Credit score: Vogue)
Impressed by Lughnasadh, an Irish harvest competition with pagan origins, designer Simone Rocha turned her presentation right into a ritual. The designer created stunning lace robes and crinolines that had been full of raffia.
A glance from Dilara Findikoglu’s Fall 2023 Assortment. (Picture Credit score: GoRunway)
Turkish designer Dilara Findikoglu staged a style present entitled “Not a Man’s Territory,” which she acknowledged got here collectively after the arrest and dying of Mahsa Amini in Iran late final 12 months. The finale creation was Joan of Arc reincarnated, she informed Vogue in an interview, “She’s coming again for revenge, attire as she needs. And she or he has her knives.”
Appears to be like from JW Anderson’s Fall 2022 Assortment. (Picture Credit score: Acielle StyleDuMonde)
This season Jonathan Anderson was impressed by the Scottish dancer/choreographer Michael Clark. Trying by way of Clark’s archive, Anderson determined he wanted to look by way of his personal archives as effectively. The outcome, a group that brings collectively costume particulars from Clark’s performances combined with particulars from early JW Anderson collections. Total, it was a cosmic dancer delight.
Appears to be like from Christopher Kane’s Fall 2022 Assortment. (Picture Credit score: Glamsquad)
Christopher Kane despatched out a sequence of slinky jersey attire, printed with hyperrealistic pictures of piglets, rats, and chicks – speak about animal magnetism.
Florence Pugh modeling a glance from Harris Reed’s Fall 2023 Assortment. (Picture Credit score: Launchmetrics)
Florence Pugh is aware of how you can make an entrance. So, who higher than the bona fide pink carpet star herself to open Harris Reed’s theatrical Fall 2023 present? The actress wore a harlequin sequin skirt with a thigh-high slit, a black corset high and a large halo headpiece. Pugh set the tone for the occasion with a speech written by Reed in regards to the transformative energy of garments. “In a generally judgmental world, our costumes can change who we need to be seen as, and who we’re destined to be,” she mentioned. “I invite you to embrace the lamé and sequins of life, as a result of all of the world’s a stage.” Reed provided ten fantastically detailed seems to be dripping in sartorial theatrics.