London Fashion Week's best looks, from Vivienne Westwood to Emilia Wickstead
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For the first time in London Fashion Week’s 35-year history, the shows are digital-only. The capital's creatives are designing for a hopeful future, with vibrant colours and intricate detailing trending so far.
London Fashion Week will be open to all, with a busy schedule of live streams available throughout the event and beyond.
Here are the highlights from the autumn/winter 2021 collections so far...
Halpern
Michael Halpern is the happiest man in fashion. “I am an optimistic person at my core, so I can usually find an upside to most things,” he told The Telegraph last week. “For me, the upside to this season is about anticipation for what is to come. Whether that is looking forward to a time where we can all get together, go to a fashion show or presentation, and even a cocktail party; delayed gratification can often make what is to come even more exciting and relevant.”
Last season he shined a spotlight on key workers by featuring them in his collection wearing signature high-voltage pieces. This time around a larger than life production didn’t feel right, so instead he collaborated with Peckham-based florist, SAGE Flowers for his look book images with an electric blue curtain draped in the background, similar to high school prom photo setups. An indulging collection that largely consisted of leopard prints and sequins ready for cocktail hour.
Simone Rocha
The notion of life is central to Simone Rocha’s designs and while life may have temporarily stopped, she took relief in the everyday. “Thinking of clothes in a protective and practical way, fragile rebels,” the show notes read. The show was a sequence of cottagecore uniforms: babydoll dresses, roses made out of ruched silk, an oversized khaki knit jumper styled with a leather harness decorated with crystals and a lunch box bag in hand. Who would wear this, you ask? Wednesday Addams of course, in the Netflix commissioned show. For those feeling inspired, Simone Rocha’s H&M collection launches on March 11.
Erdem
The theatre industry has suffered an unfortunate crash in the face of the pandemic. In 2018, Erdem Moralıoğlu collaborated with The Royal Ballet, designing the costumes for Christopher Wheeldon’s Corybantic Games. Erdem is returning to the stage once again for his own ballet inspired collection, filmed at The Bridge Theatre. The esteemed English Margot Fonteyn served as a muse to the collection. In 1979 Queen Elizabeth II appointed Fonteyn as prima ballerina assoluta of The Royal Ballet.
The clothes were made for movement: skirts took form in pouf shapes in tulle and pleats, dresses enlarged like paper-fans, ribbed rehearsal uniforms a la shorts and unitards, and most crucially, the pointe shoe. Four principal dancers of The Royal Ballet alumni walked in the show: Christina Arestis (47), Elizabeth McGorian (62), Zenaida Yanowsky (45) and Marguerite Porter (72).
If you are raring to take a seat in the theatre balconies, Erdem has plenty to offer for what to wear.
Osman Yousefzada
Activism, healing and educating are all very dear to the fashion designer Osman Yousefzada. He has been unapologetic and brave in voicing the barriers he has had to cross in order to join the fashion industry - next year his memoir is being published, titled, The Go-Between: A Memoir of Growing Up Between Different Worlds. In the meantime, from his London flat, he has been working between several different time zones to produce his latest collection ‘I’m Coming Home’. He enlisted help from artisans in Uzbekistan, embroideries based in Rajasthan, India, and a quest to hunt down buttons in London, where three of the major button suppliers have closed down due to the pandemic. His offering is refreshingly hopeful, but the designer detests the idea of the Roaring Twenties. It’s a collection that reflects the TV shows he has been watching over lockdown, namely Schitt’s Creek and Pose, cheerful series with an important underlying message.
Despite all the heartache going on in the world, Yousefzada tried to put on a happy face and it shows in the clothes: a silk poofy dress with bows tied at the chest and a shimmering evening gown covered in sequins, both numbers drenched in shocking pink, a favourite hue of Elsa Schiaparelli. Amulets of the Evil Eye inside a heart and pomegranates were decorated onto the more formal outerwear pieces. Later this year, Yousefzada will be introducing a new label, Osman_Aljebra, that’s more affordable in comparison to his main line.
Roksanda
Twice a year fashion designers get the chance to go willy nilly with their collections — a free for all of their own ideas, generally rooted in obscure artists and books to parade their intellect. Serbian fashion designer Roksanda Ilinčić on the other hand is very grounded, perhaps it has something to do with her Eastern European sensibility.
Nonetheless that doesn’t mean she’s not thinking about joy or escaping. Her autumn/winter collection is one made for breezing around in, as demonstrated by three generations of Redgraves: Vanessa, Daisy Bevan and Joely Richardson, whose country home in Hampshire served as the backdrop for the film. Slinky silk jumpsuits that sit freely on the body to matching knotted head scarves made from the same fabric; relaxed two-piece suits that don’t slouch; Roksanda’s famous bows, belts and hot-air ballooned sleeves peppered throughout the collection for her die hard fans.
Emilia Wickstead
Emilia Wickstead’s collections often feel cinematic — and that’s because they are. In her spring/summer 2020 collection Wickstead nodded to the Victorian sherbet coloured dresses of Little Women. Now, the frills and voluminosity are gone, the Wickstead woman has been sobered. Double-breasted blazers and coats in deep charcoal greys and inky purples; capes hovering close to the ground; statuesque pleats that don’t move so easily. The combination of melodramatic music and gliding models easily lent itself to the compelling women of Hitchcock’s cinema.
Matty Bovan
Matty Bovan’s autumn/winter collection is a tribute to the best of British, a mantra held closely to the designer’s brand ethos. The collection was far away from London, not that it mattered because we’re all watching from our sofas. Bovan’s experimental collage designs came to life at St Lawrence Parish Church in York, where the unorthodox pieces were photographed. The parachute dress made of Liberty prints was one of the more demure looks in the collection yet equally in line with Bovan’s eccentric approach to style.
Mithridate
Chinese gender-neutral brand Mithridate was launched by Demon Zhang in 2018, a Central Saint Martins graduate and an apprentice to the late British fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen. This is Zhang’s fifth collection, tying up the brand’s flair for a soft take on gothicism. Mannish shirts are remixed with point cuffs and printed with moths, a symbol that Zhang has been playing with for a few seasons. Zhang has stripped away all the exuberance that comes with eveningwear; instead she has turned her spotlight to square necklines, monochrome jewellery and black velvet.
Preen By Thornton Bregazzi
Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi of Preen by Thornton Bregazzi spent lockdown watching the original Grey Gardens from 1975. It’s the story of two recluses: a mother and daughter who live in a 14-room house with nothing but the love of fashion and knitting.
“Even if you don’t go out, you can go out in your mind, dressing up at home, let your imagination and love of style take you there,” Thornton told The Telegraph. “The collection has loosely been inspired by a feeling of being ‘unhinged'. A feeling many of us feel during enforced isolation.” Key pieces in the collection included babushka knotted headscarves, cottagecore-style dresses and cardigans tucked into skirts.
Marques'Almeida
Marques'Almeida’s new collection showed an elevated take on what we have been wearing in lockdown; tie-dye tops are fitted and sleek, padded walking coats transformed into party coats and dresses in merino wool, taffeta, silk and denim combine ease and sophistication.
Molly Goddard
Molly Goddard has not let the pandemic defeat her romanticism — her signature frilly tulle numbers are bolder and brighter than ever while her successful line of knitwear has expanded, created by UK manufacturers. The sweater vests knits and grandad argyle socks are sure to be bestsellers, stylish in all weathers.
“[Designing this collection] I felt like let’s just go for it, what is there to lose - more colour, more texture, more volume," Goddard told The Telegraph. "That’s what I want to wear when I go out.”
16Arlington
Marco Capaldo and Federica Cavenati, the design duo and real-life couple behind 16Arlington, have always excelled at opulent partwear, evident in their previous high-octane collections and the roster of glitzy celebrities who wear their designs: Jennifer Lopez, Lizzo, Lady Gaga, to name a few. The designers are still dancing, introducing a new collection in sensual fabrics: ostrich feathers, crushed velvets and sequins - ideal for the Roaring '20s ahead.
Palmer//Harding
Levi Palmer and Matthew Harding of Palmer//Harding want you to think about comfort this season. In the last year we have all had to think about our safe haven within our homes and wardrobes. City commuters have hung up their crisp white shirts and ties. So for a business rooted in shirting, the workwear aficionados played with volumes and shapes to offer new and quirky alternatives: billowy leather creations and wide leg trousers.
Eudon Choi
Last season Eudon Choi was dreaming of a trip to the Amalfi Coast and Puglia. Due to travel restrictions, the Korean-born London-based designer is still dreaming — this time of Gstaad, Switzerland, the skiing hot spot for Hollywood celebrities and royals. Choi's is a considered collection that consists of 25 pieces, ranging from pragmatic outerwear and three pairs of joggers to more dream-like pieces such as a strappy gown with opera gloves.
Colville
Dressing to match with your home is the new normal. Colville founders Molly Molloy and Lucinda Chambers have taken pointers from the Zoom age for their new collection. The vibrant swirl vases go hand in hand with their multi-coloured knits, puffer duvets and statement co-ords.
Bora Aksu
History has been on the mind of many designers during lockdown, perhaps because of an influx of costume dramas on our small screens, from Belgravia at the start of lockdown to more recent adaptations like Bridgerton and The Great. Delicate lace dresses were the focal point of Bora Aksu’s audience-free show at the Tate Modern with a few standout tailoring pieces in velvet pink and navy.
Richard Quinn
Ahead of his show next month, Richard Quinn disclosed that his muse for the season is the iconic toy doll, Barbie. In a statement Quinn said; “She stands for inclusivity and beauty in all forms and embodies the Richard Quinn brand. It has been an absolute honour to dress Barbie - It’s really amazing to work with such a diverse and beautiful range of dolls and it's been so much fun making everything in miniature!” Quinn decorated the Mattel doll’s gown in jewel toned beads and sequins.
Vivienne Westwood
Vivienne Westwood's famous signature pieces - from platform boots and bodysuits to fishnet tights and bicorne hats came with an environmental message this season. The British designer revealed that over 90% of the fabrics used have a reduced impact on the environment.
Temperley London
With festivals cancelled for the foreseeable future, Alice Temperley of Temperley London took inspiration from Woodstock and Glastonbury for her autumn/winter collection. From kaleidoscope boho dresses to frilly lace frocks — Temperley created a capsule wardrobe for an upscale DIY festival at home. Who better to choose as one of the models for the collection, than Ella Richards, granddaughter of Anita Pallenberg and Keith Richards.
Mark Fast
Mark Fast focussed on the joy of fashion with his eveningwear and outerwear offerings. The designer used crochet techniques on gowns and mini bodycon dresses, while his multi-coloured fuzzy coats dominated the rest of the collection.
House of Sunny
Dressing for the park has turned into a competitive sport that’s resulted in many walkers having to amp up their walking gear for their turf. The indie label House of Sunny’s idea of a stylish government mandated walk requires statement cardigans embroidered with mushrooms and daisies; white swans printed onto knitted slip-ons, lending its name to the collection ‘Ride a White Swan’.
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