The standout shows that kept London Fashion Week SS26 pulsing

London Fashion Week kept us on our toes this season. With British Fashion Council CEO Laura Weir waiving fees for emerging designers, the schedule included a line-up that featured young talents like CSM graduate and South Londoner Joshua Ewusie, who celebrated Lewisham through his garments. Meanwhile, eyes were on rising stars Paolo Carzana, a BFC-nominated designer, and Pauline Dujancourt, an LVMH Prize finalist.

Amidst it all, many of London’s finest – Simone Rocha, Ashley Williams and Aaron Esh – gave the remaining cities, Paris and Milan, a run for their money. Simone’s SS26 show transported showgoers with floor-sweeping sequin gowns and separates woven with lilies, while Ashley Williams’ focus this season was ​“finding purpose in what you have, not what you want”, using archetypes of everyday tradespeople to execute her vision. Of course, it was an OTT affair with Starface patches, wacky makeup and bright wigs.

Aaron Esh’s runway featured Post Party and FACE truckers (come down to our party, if you fancy it), stickers that were slapped on leather trousers and lanyards that swung about over slashed metallic knits as The Hellp’s Rllynice and bassvictim soundtracked the show. Not to mention, Fashion East​’s Lulu Kennedy toasted to 25 years of the talent incubator.

There’s more where that came from. Here are the best bits you might have missed.

The Sunday of London Fashion Week was a true commemoration of girlhood and reverie. Opening the day was Ashley Williams, who, together with stylist and FACE fashion director Danny Reed, brought fantasy, nostalgia and eccentricity to the forefront. Pastels, off-kilter Anna Sui heels and synthetic wigs remained a mainstay as various archetypes – X‑ray technicians, nurses, soldiers, cement mixers and toilet paper factory workers – paraded down the runway.

Models including Pixie Geldof, Debra Shaw and Tish Weinstock sported bog roll bracelets, plastic chairs reworked into necklaces, flower-adorned double-visor sunnies and brash motif tops (the signature ​“I <3 Me” slogan returned). It was just on the right side of cloyingly sweet – exactly the way we like Ashley.

Soon after, Simone Rocha’s SS26 show unfolded inside the palatial Mansion House, the residence of the Lord Mayor of London. Gold-drenched décor wrapped around each winding stairwell, with metallic-licked walls adding to the fantasy. And upstairs? Ethereal stained-glass windows and statues dotted across the room. As ever with Rocha, a harem of tastemakers and editors gathered to support the Irish designer – from Isabella Burley ​‚founder of Climax Books, to Julia Fox. The show notes read: ​“A playful provocative stance”, ​“an awkward moment”, ​“flowers from the corner shop” – notes inspired by Girl Pictures, Justine Kurland’s photo series of reimagined teenage girl runaways.

Moments before the show began, fashion editor Jeanie Annan-Lewin told me of her current TV obsession: 50 Ways To Catch a Killer, a small-screen series with 50 Cent front and centre (in 2025, no less) in a too-tight suit. But then the first look, a silver sequin dress sweeping the floor with a circular underhoop, brought our conversation to a sharp close. A Simone Rocha show will do that.

Down the runway, there was then a procession of ready-to-wear that elicited goosebumps: a chartreuse skirt with detailing jutting out of the back, a black dress resembling patchwork art – sequins on a skirt with a sheer floral bra and a sliced top wrapped around the waist. Crystal wedges! Crocs dripping with pearls! Bouquets cleverly wrapped into shirting and 3D lilies affixed to skirts! It felt feminine, youthful and elevated. Feeling alive and charged, I left the show fully submerged in Rocha’s girlhood.

Dilara Findıkoğlu has long solidified her spot as a LFW highlight, and this was made crystal clear by the line of people snaking down the road and through an underpass, all hoping to see her latest show. Held inside an old steelmonger’s, the electricity was palpable as guests filled the corridors and adjoining rooms – you’d never think the show was over an hour late at this point. Quiet chatter ended as the sound of a rickety cage opening and footsteps down the hall signalled the start of the show.

Bathed in darkness, the first model appeared with backcombed hair and a white dress structured with boning and corsetry up the spine, languidly circling the square runway. A procession followed: models with bedraggled hair tangled with twigs and leaves, faces besmeared, walking to the same prowling beat. Clothing was almost all white, playing on society’s warped perception of virginity, purity and the curtailing of women’s rights. Ivory bags overspilling with cherries and baccy marked Dilara’s accessory debut, while slivers of skin cut through tight corsets and babydoll dresses emphasised cleavage.

Amelia Gray and Naomi Campbell were the last to walk the runway, Amelia in a searing red dress with a flouncy tulle hem and Naomi in a black dress and scores of jewellery. Backstage, after Dilara joked about having a Britney and Madonna VMAs moment as she gave Julia Fox and Richie Shazam a peck, she then told the press: ​“I think when I’m vulnerable, I’ll come across as weak, but actually there’s so much power in vulnerability,” explained. ​“It’s a very personal and vulnerable collection. I hope everyone felt it.” The show lingered on the mind long after hordes of sponsored Mercedes Benz’ screeched off into the night. Perhaps Dilara’s just bulldozed her way to the top of the list for next woman creative director at a big house.

Tolu Coker honoured legacy, motherhood, and Black womanhood in fashion, by way of a presentation at the New Gen space at 180 Strand. I brushed shoulders with Saweetie as she exited in full Tolu Coker and was greeted by three mannequins dressed in voluminous pieces: one a pale yellow with button detailing, another featured a gather skirt and coloured checks and the last, a glossy green skirt set, which I spied on Naomi Campbell in the collections’ accompanying film. Styled by Jeanie Annan-Lewin, it was nice to turn the pace down a little and fully absorb and touch well-crafted garments IRL.

On the final day of shows, emotions ran high at Conner Ives’ Pop show, where a small but mighty crowd turned out for the American designer. Ch’lita, Stevie Sims and Camille Charriere lined the front row of the show inside Saatchi Yates. Recent FACE cover girl, Cortisa Star opened the show in a punchy orange top with upturned collars, a floral green skirt and Brat hue heels, nodding to the apt show name. Editor Osman Ahmed made their runway debut in a fitted backless number dotted with shells at the waist, while trans model Hunter Pifer looked ethereal in a white ruched number.

It’s been an Addison Rae summer, and Ives ensured that fed through to his collection, peppered with jolts of colour, he mentioned Addison’s use of pink backstage. The ​“Protect The Dolls” designer also commemorated trans women and the community that uplifts him, not just through words but with solid action. Back in April, he told THE FACE the way to show up for trans people is through ​“listening to your trans friends! Their concerns, their desires and their wishes!” Using a fashion main stage isn’t too shabby either.

Burberry held the closing slot and staged its show in Perk Field, Kensington Gardens – old stomping ground for the brand, which last showed there in 2016 – inside a sprawling tent. Clearly, it was world-building off the ​“Burberry Festival” campaign which was released in June.

Lee’s affinity for music was the undercurrent of the collection, and so, a throng of musicians were out in full force: Central Cee, Skepta, Olivia Dean and Elton John (!!) wandered the space, and Ab Fab legends Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders reunited (cat-nip for fashion editors’ IG feeds). Plus, everyone’s favourite TikTok bus swerver, ​“Bus Aunty” AKA Bemi Orojuogun, attended her first Burbs show (we’ve got the deets, dw). Now, onto the threads. Black Sabbath’s N.I.B. and You Won’t Change Me played as bright checked A‑line coats were paired with thin scarves, and mussed-haired models donned suits with striped shirting. Skinny silhouettes reigned supreme and dresses swung between chainmail or hand-crocheted. Pink and green sequinned skirts were geared towards eveningwear, while Chelsea boots, festival-ready hooded parkas and silk bombers were for the boys. Post-show, FACE Editor-in-Chief Matthew Whitehouse summed it up best: ​“Big, British, fun, young, accessible, colourful, lots of tight silhouettes, indie!”. Until February, London.