London Fashion Week SS27 is officially two days in, with a raft of shows yet to come before Burberry closes the five-day event on Monday evening.
This season has seen another increase in the number of shows and presentations, with 47 and 23 respectively, compared to 41 shows and 20 presentations in February. Alexander McQueen has returned to the lineup, while Mulberry will showcase its new creative direction under Christopher Kane. Marks & Spencer also presented its very first London Fashion Week show.
Stay up to date with Drapers’ roundups of the week so far.
Read more: Editor’s comment: All eyes on London as fashion takes centre stage
M&S to show first London Fashion Week collection today
‘London remains the world’s ultimate showcase of creative excellence’, says BFC CEO
As usual, Paul Costelloe kicked off proceedings, where 1980s silhouettes prevailed: enlarged shoulders descended into cinched waists across jackets, coats and dresses. Necks were decorated with pussy-bows and heads covered with scarves. As such, creative director William Costelloe, son of the eponymous founder who died last November aged 80, is continuing his father’s legacy through his own lens.
The highly-attended catwalk was set to a series of feel-good tunes, including Olivia Dean’s Man I Need, Vampire Weekend’s This Life and a tribute to the late Dolly Parton as Here You Come Again closed the show.
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The 1980s theme continued at Mithridate, where creative director Daniel Fletcher’s collection drew inspiration from British musical icons of the decade such as Mick Jagger and Princess Julia, the latter of whom was in attendance.
To a 1980s soundtrack of Visage and David Bowie, models carried a series of leather bowling bags (Mithridate launched bags and footwear last year), modernised with large appliqué numbers, injecting a sporty streak. These were repeated on shirts and scarves throughout the collection. Standout pieces included a red boned midi dress with a sculpted upper and a layered tulle hem, lingerie-inspired corset tops complete with garter tabs and striped scarves, wired as if to appear windswept. Tops, jeans and bags were peppered with large gold studs and several models wore gold chain belts with rosette charms.
Maximilian Raynor also played with sculptural designs. The Drapers 30 under 30 alumnus lived up to his name with a host of maximalist designs with exaggerated hems and shoulders, and a spectacular ombre rose pink gown with a dramatic oversized bodice and all-over fringe. The open-air show was the Derbyshire-born designer’s take on Shakespeare’s feuding Montagues and Capulets, reimagined as an “English sporting feud”, hosted in a green courtyard and accompanied by a brass band doing their own reimagining of pop and soul hits.
Barbour, meanwhile, took over the Saatchi Gallery’s ground floor for its ‘Tartan Reimagined: The Barbour Way’ presentation, as the brand explored how its 130-year Scottish heritage can be worn by modern audiences via expertly styled kilted mannequins and soundracked by a professional bagpipe player. The exhibition was open to the public on Friday afternoon and evening, and is open today (19 Septembrer) between 10am and 6pm.
Ebay hosted its ‘Endless Runway’ live shopping catwalk, with 20 looks donated by a host of renowned stylistas including actor Daisy Edgar-Jones, model Adwoa Aboah and former fashion editor Isabella Burley. Columnist and author Raven Smith hosted the event, during which all Ebay users could shop the pieces live. Highlights were a nightgown made for Scarlett Johansson in The Other Boleyn Girl, a Charles Jeffrey shirt donated by the designer himself, and an Acne Studios sculpted distressed denim jacket.
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Harris Reed showed his first collection since exiting Nina Ricci in March, with model Ashley Graham making an appearance on the catwalk. The towering footwear he’s known for was gone, with the clothes taking centre stage. White dominated the palette, and sculpted bodices, elongated silhouettes, exaggerated shoulders and fluid gowns stood out against a dark backdrop.
H&M was the first high-street brand to stage a catwalk show this London Fashion Week, hosted at Olympia London with appearances from models including Paloma Elsesser and Alex Consani, the latter wearing a full cream look featuring military-inspired tailored jacket over romantic lace blouse and slim, raw-edged trousers as one of her two looks. The romantic theme weaved throughout: certain looks, such as a white lace maxi dress combined with cascading wet-look hair, would not have been out of place in a pre-Raphaelite painting.
Three protesters from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) unexpectedly invaded the catwalk, carrying signs that read “H&M: Wool is bloody cruel. Drop it!”. All three were able to walk the full length of the catwalk before being escorted away by security without any struggle. The incident came days after CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Steve Kolb was filmed physically restraining two PETA protesters at the similarly H&M Group-owned Cos show at New York Fashion Week. Kolb resigned from his position this morning (19 September).
Friday commenced with the British Fashion Council (BFC) London Fashion Week opening breakfast, where CEO Laura Weir hailed London as the world’s “ultimate showcase of creative excellence”, thanking outgoing chair David Pemsel and welcoming Pavita Cooper, who will take his place from 1 March.
On Friday morning, Bora Aksu did what he does best: showing fairytale looks in a religious setting. Held at St Cyprian’s Anglican church in Marylebone, the Turkish-born designer showed his collection, which included a funereal black lace gown, two gothic wine-hued gowns, one of which was paired with a veil, as well as three tulle pastel numbers.
M&S hosted its first ever London Fashion Week show at the Design Museum in Kensington, to celebrate 100 years of its fashion offer. The retailer, whose fashion team is headed by Maddy Evans in womenswear and Mitch Hughes in menswear, showed 57 looks (41 women’s and 16 men’s) to a discerning front row that included Joan Collins, Ian Wright and Pixie Geldof.
Susan Fang’s show was full of pearls, petals, porcelain and elaborate braids, with 3D-printed flowers and shoes in unnatural shades of sour green, blue and electric pink. Transparent resin bubbles were assembled into an antique-looking crystal headdress. Fang wanted the show to represent a collision of handcraft and technology, an issue increasingly facing the industry as artistry competes with AI.
Lulu Kennedy’s Fashion East comprised Jacek Gleba: now in his third season, Goyagoma by Traiceline Pratt, which debuted last season and new arrival Mé Mé (Mé Mé Yin), a Central Saint Martins graduate with experience at Alexander McQueen and Maison Margiela.
Annie’s (formerly Annie’s Ibiza) was held in the courtyard of Grade I listed Skinners’ Hall. Entitled ‘Nocturne’, the collection featured 13 one-piece looks. The collection, which appeared to draw inspiration from Tudor silhouettes and embroidery, was shown in three acts: six black looks, five champagne and three heavily embroidered dresses in the same red and gold floral design with rhinestone trim.
Natasha Zinko caused a stir on Friday night, for her show in collaboration with OnlyFans, where a scantily clad Katie Price returned to the catwalk for the first time since 2015, joined by Kelly Osbourne and The Sopranos star Drea de Matteo.
Stay tuned for further updates from Drapers throughout the weekend.
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