HEADER IMAGE Courtesy of Chris Yates
This season, for London’s most acclaimed fashion designers to create their visions for the future, many turned to the past.
For some, empowering historical figures inspired their collections – for Turkish designer Bora Asku, a trip to Hamburg connected him with the complicated work and life of sculptor Eva Hesse, while Huishan Zhang took his inspiration from the infamous feud between silver screen starlets Ingrid Bergman and Anna Magnani, and Ahluwalia favoured the storytelling of Indian and Nigerian folklore and fairytales.
Others were looking back within their own history – Masha Popova and Sinead Gorey both explored the impact of the 2010-era styles of their youth, with plenty of jeggings, supersized plastic jewellery and iPods as hairclips in tow. Meanwhile, Kazna Asker, Robyn Lynch and Tolu Coker brought personal memories from their childhoods to the London Fashion Week runways, including Lynch’s tribute to Gaelic dancing and Asker’s replica of her grandmother’s living room.
What was apparent throughout the collections across the four-day weekend was the need for designers to look at any period other than now, highlighting what a difficult time it is for art and artists in Britain. As London Fashion Week celebrates its 40th anniversary, many of its ‘emerging’ names have matured into schedule mainstays and it’s vital for the industry to listen to their calls – for greater institutional and government support, and the need for the industry to slow down, fast.
Below, see our favourite collections from London Fashion Week AW24.
MASHA POPOVA
The Ukranian-born, London-based designer returned to the opening schedule spot for another rendition of her signature swirling distressed denim. Having debuted her brand amid the pandemic and risen to be one of the city’s most exciting emerging names, the designer is turning her lens on that experience for AW24 – or, as she puts it, “dressing celebrities, champagne parties, living in a garage.”
Masha Popova explores this façade-versus-reality mood via the 2010s, which has made its return back into the fashion lexicon thanks to recent “indie-sleaze” and Tumblr-core revivals online. For Popova, this means the return of glitter jeans, leopard print and daringly low-rise waistbands. Elsewhere, draped scarves, belt buckles and oversized statement necklaces added nostalgic style touches to the runway looks, and the newly showcased supersized hoodies will likely become a wardrobe staple this autumn.
SINEAD O’DWYER
Having previously showcased her trademark woven techniques in shapewear, partywear and sports attire, Irish designer Sinead O’Dywer displays her take on officewear for AW24. Following on from her SS24 collection, shirts remained at the forefront of the collection as black and white iterations made frequent appearances underneath catsuits or paired with pleated skirts and biker shorts. The collection also saw O’Dwyer’s most impressive tailoring offering to date, with new silhouettes of trousers, bodysuits and a trenchcoat.
Having gained a reputation for exceptional inclusive casting, this season the brand collaborated with hairstylist and Hair & Care Project founder, Anna Cofone, inviting visually impaired attendees to watch the show with an audio description and a walk through the collection backstage to feel the clothes in person.
TOLU COKER
British-Nigerian designer and artist Tolu Coker is another emerging talent who has quickly risen to become one of the LFW schedule’s most thrilling shows, and the designer’s sophomore collection did not disappoint. For AW24, Coker chose to highlight a community close to her heart, illuminating the London runway with the colour and chaos of street hawker culture. Coker’s mother worked as a street hawker before migrating to London, and the young designer was reacquainted with the profession during a recent trip to Ghana.
The resulting collection featured vibrant patterned satin, leather suiting and plenty of exceptional headwear, made in partnership with Virna Pasquinelli. Lined with tyres, piles of bananas and food carts, the models cheered and danced down the runway during the finale, and was undeniably the most joyous moment of the weekend.
ROBYN LYNCH
For her final show with NEWGEN, Dublin-born menswear designer Robyn Lynch honoured her younger sister Adrianna, a professional Irish dancer, and the culture of Gaelic dance championships. “I vividly remember all these weekends spent in sports halls at competitions, seeing the glitz and the drama that happened on and off stage,” she says.
It’s the ideal inspiration for the elevated athleisurewear designer who frequently borrows style codes from sports, from cycling to track athletics. As both a sport and an art form, Irish dancing merges elements of high camp and endurance. Lynch explores these distinctions through her fabrications, juxtaposing rich flocked velvet with recycled parachute nylon. In a playful nod to her sister’s stage wardrobe, Celtic knots and monogram embroidery appeared layered over classic outdoors trousers in the form of dancing skirts crafted with John Carey Design, a heritage artisan known for their Irish dance costumes.
For her first foray into footwear, Lynch also took sartorial inspiration from another family member, her father. “I knew I wanted to reference my dad’s all-time favourite shoe, the perennial GEOX Uomo Snake,” she explains. “After going through all the variations of the model, I decided on revisiting a style from 2005.” Elsewhere, she pays tribute to her roots with traditional Irish cable knits, and a custom map print of Éire ties the collection’s colour story of chocolate and cobalt together.
AHLUWALIA
Priya Ahluwalia is a master storyteller. For Ahluwalia’s AW24 collection ‘Reveries’, she dedicated the collection to “the trading of wisdom found in the old Indian and Nigerian folklore and fairytales.” With nods to traditional styles of dress from the two countries, the collection married the designer’s dual heritage, including print designs that referenced the body painting technique specific to the Igbo people and Sari-inspired draping.
Reflecting the concept of storytelling, the show was broken into chapters, with characters interwoven throughout its unveiling. Stand-out looks came from a denim collaboration with Levi’s, who worked with the esteemed designer on three “reimagined by Ahluwalia” looks that sculpted the body and drew from the collection’s extensive references.
LABRUM
For AW24, Labrum designer Foady Dumbuya pays tribute to the “inspiring stories of immigrant artists who overcame adversity and made significant contributions to the art and fashion world.” This ethos is embedded within each garment that walked down the runway, from the patchwork blazer made from their studio off-cuts, using traditional quilting techniques that celebrated the rich tapestry of artists who have contributed to the brand, to the collection’s remarkable final ensemble, entitled ‘Flags’, which represented the countries that have been involved in key migrations throughout history.
Dumbuya describes the practice as a “cultural confluence”, as his work embraces the diversity of designs and silhouettes from across the globe. Wrapping techniques also played a prominent role, including delicately draped dresses and illusionary suiting. This was another collection that was heavy on the headwear, from Kufi style crowns and patchwork bucket hats to a vintage Adidas bowling bag and a striking bowl hat made in 30 metres of coiled hemp braid.
KAZNA ASKER
In a powerful presentation, Kazna Asker asked the fashion community: “What are we fighting for?” Asker offered attendees a glimpse at her answer – inviting them into her grandmother’s living room (or, a very good recreation of it ), a place where she would drink tea, eat biscuits and apply henna with her family – a moment of togetherness and peace during a tumultuous time of division, anger and desperation.
“With everything happening in the world right now, I think it’s important that we come together and collectively stand for something so we can understand what we’re fighting for,” says Asker. “Sometimes the pressure can feel a bit too much for one individual so it’s about putting action behind the community.”
Combining her Yemeni heritage and British Northern upbringing, the collection serves as a love letter to Sheffield and Yemen along with the strong women from her life. Modest silhouettes inspired by abayas, hijabs and jilbabs are reinterpreted as floor-trapsing coats constructed in sportswear fabrics while Middle Eastern patterns are printed across silk organza and sportwear details. Deadstock fabrics are paired with traditional woven Middle Eastern upholstery continues to be a signature, this time in the white floor-length panelled skirt and a white and red keffiyeh draped across the waist.
HOLZWEILER
The Norwegian brand made its LFW debut last season having founded itself as a CPHFW favourite. For AW24, the family-run label’s collection, entitled ‘Mycelia’, takes its cues from the natural landscapes of their home country. In particular, the richly populated ecosystems of the country’s spruce and pine forests, whereby constellation-like threads of mycelium stretch beneath the surface of the forest floor.
Creative director Maria Skappel Holzweiler was fascinated with mushrooms from an early age, foraging with family throughout her childhood. The collection takes its colour palette of lavender, mint and lemon from the psychedelic spiralling shades of funghi, while knitwear was showcased in earthy tones of cream and brown.
Aside from its signature puffer jackets, the collection’s winning pieces came from its accessories – joining the popular ‘Cocoon’ bag reimagined in nylon puffer, is the ‘Bo’ bag, a gently structured top-handle style which could be seen in suede and printed iterations. Scarves also featured heavily, paying homage to the brand’s routes in knitwear.
Standing out among the London line-up, Holzweiler knows how to present classically commercial pieces with exceptional editorial appeal, styling its waterproof outwear with luxurious sheer knitwear and intricately printed mesh, outstanding accessories and a fashion-forward cohort of influencer-models.
CHARLIE CONSTANTINOU
For his third collection, Central Saint Martins alum Charlie Constantinou invited guests to Waterloo’s graffiti tunnels for a runway show that reimagined streetwear. The emerging talent partnered again with Icelandic outerwear brand 66North to elevate his contemporary tech-focused aesthetic with the heritage brand’s fabrics and finishings.
Following on from the denim and jersey expressions of SS24, Constantinou has returned with his signature expandable quilt in a heavier-duty mineral and down-filled version. Using solely deadstock fabric in white or neutral tones, all garments are then dyed in-house in a unique one-of-one colourway, from volcanic red to glacier blue.
In his womenswear collection debut, Constantinou displayed dramatic knitwear with adjustable zips, multi-layered details and shimmering accents all while keeping his codes of function and form.
DILARA FINDIKOGLU
In recent years, Dilara Findikoglu has risen from emerging starlet to schedule highlight, no doubt thanks to her viral cutlery dress, dramatic live performances and celebrity endorsement from the likes of Hari Nef and Doja Cat.
For AW24, Findikoglu served up a manifesto: “A world built by the hands of men is destined for destruction by those very hands,” read the place cards on guests’ chairs. Entitled ‘Femme Vortex’, the collection was full of corsetry and steeped in divine feminine energy, and featured surrealist designs from armoured headpieces and shorts made of that set of keys you once lost to chain-strapped bondage-wear and gravity-defying skirts.
Perhaps the most “it” item of the AW24 season came from the Turkish designer – models held bags made to look like folded newspapers, sporting the headline in all caps: “OMG Dilara is Doing a Satanic Orgy at a London Church” – so get ready to add that to your wishlist.
Aside from the clothes, attendees were transfixed by Findikoglu’s models – including some famous faces like Nef, Thembot Theo and Richie Shazam – who slinked down the runway with mesmerising movements, beckoning onlookers to fall for the fantasy.
YUHAN WANG
Step aside Gwyneth Paltrow, as we have a new style icon for courtroom attire. Entitled ‘The Trials’, Yuhan Wang’s AW24 collection celebrated the “formidable and audacious” women in law who have shaped history, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Dame Rose Heilbron, Sandra Day O’Connor, and Brenda Hale. “These influential icons in justice not only pushed culture forward but also empowered women to advocate for righteousness,” says Wang.
This translated to Edwardian-inspired collared shirts, shoulder pads galore and a black eco-leather take on a High Court judges’ civil robes. Furthering the collection’s legal symbolism, some garments also featured a new rose print, while lace off-cuts were repurposed from previous seasons and transformed into girlish gowns and plenty of lace tights styled beneath frayed skirt suits and mini dresses.
The showcase featured much of Wang’s hyper-feminine aesthetic with a renewed sense of contemporary styling, making for a cohesive collection fit for the modern woman.
MARQUES ‘ALMEIDA
What better way to round out the AW24 season than with the return of beloved design duo Marques ‘Almeida? The show’s notes claim that in their hiatus, the brand has been “tirelessly challenging the expectations of the system by stubbornly surviving,” and discovering what it means to be an independent fashion brand in today’s landscape.
We’ve already seen a glimpse at what they’ve been working on through REM’ADE, a limited collection of upcycled one-of-one designs launched in 2020. The team has also published a a social responsibility and environmental Manifesto and created its own magazine, See-Through, in the name of fostering radical empathy among fashion communities.
For this season, the collection focuses on volume, offering heavy satin, structured shapes in outerwear and eveningwear with frills and organza in frequent use. However, that’s not to say the collection was serious – rather, it showcased a casual take on glamorous silhouettes and fabrics with a unique injection of individuality. Think: couture organza tops and delicate lace dresses with tie-dye boyfriend jeans and a biker jacket on top.
They say that the clothes should not wear you and this was certainly the case at M’A, as the show’s diverse cast of models shined through the vibrant clothing in a celebration of the community that has grown alongside the label.
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