The London Fashion Week AW24 lowdown

What?
The third (and best) collection from creative director Daniel Lee.

Where was it?
Burberry’s wandering tent was pitched up in East London’s Victoria Park.

Who was there?
First and foremost, the Absolutely Fabulous Joanna Lumley. Plus, actors Barry Keoghan and Callum Turner, Nia Archives, Central Cee, M Huncho, Slawn and Madeline Argy.

And who walked?
A roll-call of the finest Brit fashion faces from Burberry’s past. Returning to the runway was Agyness Deyn who opened the show, swiftly followed by Lily Cole, Jean Campbell, Lily Donaldson, Edie Campbell, Karen Elson and Naomi Campbell. Plus, an appearance from one of our favourite emerging rappers, Slew.

Music?
Oh, yes. The show was set to a medley of much-loved Amy Winehouse tracks: You Know I’m No Good, In My Bed, Half Time and Back to Black.

Tell us about the clothes then.
With a muddy foot planted in the great outdoors, Lee’s earthy collection looked back to Burberry’s long and storied past – but this was by no means a rose-tinted nostalgia fest. The much-subverted trench coat was strong and masculine in dark brown leather with high collars and broad shoulders recalling the house’s military heritage, similarly with duffle coats that offered warmth and protection from the elements. And Burberry check scarves tied around the heads of some models felt like a sweet, respectful ode to an older generation of Britain’s past.

But then came the young renegades shoulder-barging a modern flex: extreme V‑necks on men, a cheeky fur trim poking out of a leather overcoat, and check trousers with zippers down the front, revealing a whole lot of skin. A cropped, fitted puffer jacket felt youthful, as did a full-length leather skirt sliced down the middle, that could easily appeal to a Gen Z customer with a penchant for early-’00s style. Three shows down, and Daniel Lee has hit his stride: the great outdoors was Lee’s reference point this season, but coming over the hill was a flirty, young British character with plenty of attitude.

What?
The debut runway show from London’s new and shiny menswear designer, Luke Derrick, who merges sharp tailoring with functionality.

Why are we excited?
Luke was fresh from Central Saint Martins when we first spoke to him in 2022, and he had big ideas for where he was going to take his namesake label, starting with questioning the modern man. ​“Who is that ​‘urban guy’ today? Maybe he’s creative, probably likes Tarantino… It’s about creating clothes that blur across those different expectations of dress codes,” he said.

So, tell us about the show…
Held at the Old Selfridges Hotel – the show space given to the British Fashion Council’s Newgen recipients – the front rows were noticeably pushed closer to the runway, so we could get a real look at the tailoring on offer. The collection, titled ​“Nightwalking”, was inspired by Luke’s late night 12-minute walk from his studio in Bethnal Green to his home, when he throws an overcoat on to brace himself against the cold wind, and comes across the characters of east London after dark. Increasingly, a number of designers, particularly in London, have been making clothes with the hustle of modern life in mind. Luke’s first collection included smart, structured tracksuits for daytime wear, easily adaptable for the night by chucking one of his impeccably tailored coats over the top, or smartening up with a softly textured dress shirt. And there were nifty hacks, too, such as narrow ankles to tuck into socks when getting on a fixie, double-sided zips to avoid a baggy belly when sitting down on the Tube, and hoods that shield from the impending storm, for when you’ve left the house without a brolly – again.

What?
A ​“Sensational” show from Charlotte Knowles and Alexandre Arsenault.

Tell us about the clothes…
The KNWLS woman is ever evolving. Since their early collections in 2018, co-designers and Fashion East alumni Knowles and Arsenault have steadily upped the power, strength and sexuality that’s become synonymous with the brand – it’s what their die-hard fanbase wants. This season, the first few looks presented a somewhat pared-back approach, with creamy white and grey jersey fabrics hugging the skin in lush bodycon dresses. But don’t be fooled – this is by no means a transition into the demure. What followed was sheer attitude served up in spades. There was a meditation on power dressing, with strong shapes and riffs on ​’80s glamour in a protective, cocoon-like green jacket, and a subverted camo print on an embellished two-piece. Denim was dark and overdyed, while lilac fur trims protruded from shoulders, resembling animalistic warning signals.

In a song?
Nine Inch Nails – Freak on a Leash

What?
A captivating collection from the talismanic designer.

Where was it?
The show was held at the glorious St Mary Le Strand Church in the City of Westminster.

And the looks?
This was a particularly moving collection from Jawara Alleyne, whose esoteric designs were based on Hurricane Ivan, which hit the Cayman Islands in 2004, where Alleyne was living with his family at the time. Alleyne emerged from the hurricane shelter he shared with other families and saw an entire island destroyed. ​“Through that experience, I learned invaluable lessons, as the community was forced to salvage anything we could and make use of everything we had,” he said in the show’s press notes. Titled ​“Eye of the Storm”, models staggered around the church in the brand’s signature drapes, this time knotted with fabrics such as corduroy, denim and waxed cotton to offer a new form of drapery, one that felt artfully deconstructed and light in texture. Inspired by the abstract landscapes of Bendel Hydes, one of the foremost artists of the Cayman Islands, Alleyne takes the painter’s long, expressive brushstrokes and reconfigures them into garments that tell a harrowing yet heartfelt story.

What?
The mega outerwear designer’s debut runway show.

Where?
In an underground tunnel near Waterloo station.

Tell us about the collection…
Charlie Constantinou has been quietly working on his neoteric brand of ready-to-wear since graduating from Central Saint Martins’ MA course in 2022, dropping exclusive Ssense collections and a collaboration with Iceland outerwear brand 66North. Now, he’s crash-landed onto the London Fashion Week schedule, with an epic show that brought his futuristic vision to the runway for the first time. Here, he flexed his muscles with avant-garde shapes and adaptable silhouettes, his models becoming brilliantly odd, alien-like figures from another planet. In Constantinou’s hands, menswear basics such as cargo trousers and hoodies are transformed into properly captivating, multipurpose pieces, riffing off cyberpunk subcultures and techno dancefloors in a surreal palette of lime green, royal purple and orangey earthy tones. Together, Constantinou’s band of misfits form their very own cult – and we’re well behind it.

What?
A lesson in dress codes from menswear designer Saul Nash.

Who walked?
British model Jourdan Dunn, photographer Ewen Spencer and Heartless Crew’s legendary MC Bushkin.

Tell us about the clothes, then…
Nash took us to the hot stepping dance floors of London’s garage scene in the early-’00s, taking note of the era’s strict dress code policies for raves around Hackney, Peckham and Tottenham Court Road. As always with Nash’s work, this was personal. ​“Growing up, I witnessed the garage scene through the eyes of my older brother, who was an MC,” Nash said. ​“It set the blueprint for how I see clothing today. The question was, how do you take sportswear and dress it up to get in?” The answer is sharp, skin-tight viscose tops, technical utility jackets, slick black trousers and smart compression knits with images of dancing couples.

In a drink?
Brandy and coke.

In a song?
Roy Davis Jr. – Gabriel

What?
The sophomore collection from rising designer Aaron Esh.

Where was it?
The show was held in an intimate, dimly-lit room at East London’s Sarabande Foundation, which has given residency to Esh’s studio since November. This collection was thought up, designed and presented under one roof, and felt personal as a result.

How was the collection?
After the show, Esh described last September’s runway debut as a ​“test run”, where he presented womenswear for the first time, and tested the waters on where he’d be taking the brand next. The designer has been very consistent since graduating from Central Saint Martins’ MA course in 2022, fine-tuning themes of romance, sensuality, anxiety and disorder that underpin his collections. If anything, this season felt like his starry-eyed ascent, and a mega-step into Esh becoming a fashion mainstay. Still early into his career, he’s got a cult fanbase and the brand’s all-important identity under lock.

This season, Esh flexed his instinct via gossamer chiffon dresses draped, cut and fitted in one take (backstage, he recalled his MA tutors teaching him not to overthink the process: ​“Do it once, looks great, get up, go out, you look amazing,” he told us). And Esh’s beloved London was found throughout: in the black-grey colour palette with occasional swoops of purple as if a rainy sunset in the city, the youthful uniform of skinny jeans and hoodies found hanging around outside East London pubs, baseball caps pulled down to conceal morning-after eyes, and the irreverent attitude needed to survive the ruthless pace of London. And with Savile Row-grade tailoring in sublime tuxedo satin-collars and impeccable blazers, Esh winks at the capital’s tailoring traditions, too. This is London at its most rough, ready and real.

What?
The emerging Welsh designer’s debut runway show at London Fashion Week.

Tell us more…
The collection was titled ​“Melanchronic Mountain” and there was an undeniable sadness to the show’s presentation, with Carzana’s models walking with a slow, limp gait around the runway, passing one another as if climbing a steep hill, or descending from it. The models’ bare feet were coated as if to look like dirt. If fashion, and specially shows, are meant to conjure up a feeling, this was it: that of confusion and loss, searching for an answer in an otherwise bleak Britain, with youthful models wandering around in search of an answer – as many young people are right now. And the clothes – anti-fashion garments with some more wearable than others – felt tough and protective in armour-like structures, while other pieces were ethereal, using light-weight fabrics and raw-edge hems knotted together in pieces that felt as distressed as they did angelic.

What?
A trip to nana’s house for JW Anderson’s latest collection.

And where was it?
At the no-frills Seymour Leisure Centre near Edgware Road.

So, what was that about nana?
When talking about a collection, it’s not often we start with the hair. But the big, grey, cartoon-like curls – thought up by hairstylist Anthony Turner – set the precedent for the show. Backstage, Anderson picked up on ​“something happening in terms of younger people, where we are [almost] glorifying nostalgia.” Gen Z has made no secret of their affinity for a by-gone era (one they weren’t old enough to remember, mind). For them, it’s the lager of Britpop and miniskirts of Paris Hilton. Anderson, taking a sharp turn, interrogates a very different version of nostalgia – of everydayness, of nipping to nan’s for a cup of tea, of neighbours peeking over the garden fence whilst hanging out the washing. And the dowdy fits, bolshy red lipstick, awkward shapes, primary colours and distorted proportions are a little closer to home. In Anderson’s hands, nostalgia is a weird, fun-filled, mad-hatter trip down memory lane. ​“When you’re mixing things that we all know or my parents know, and then suddenly you’re reconfiguring them,” he says, ​“they feel new again.”

In a food?
Cheese sandwiches.

In a song?
Lancashire Blues.

What?
The American designer’s celebration of the muses that have shaped him, from his classmates at Central Saint Martins, to Adwoa Aboah (who wore Conner Ives at the Met Gala), to longtime supporter Tish Weinstock, who closed the show holding iPod Nano in a gown embroidered with headphone wires.

Where was it?
In the swanky setting of the ballroom at The Savoy.

And the clothes?
In his first two collections as a recipient of the British Fashion Council’s NEWGEN, Ives had established a cult of ​“archetypes” ranging from the pop star to the supermodel, with looks riffing off modern day pop culture figures such as Diana Ross and Kate Moss. This season, Ives somewhat closed that chapter of make-believe, instead channelling the real women – from socialites to university peers who Ives nicknames ​“the Swans” – who exist in his orbit and inspire his womenswear. And so the collection was an assemblage of well-cut cocktail dresses, puffy ballerina skirts and Ives’ signature upcycled sports motifs that imbued the more glam pieces with effortless appeal. Ives has long expressed his discomfort with waste. In this collection, he upcycled deadstock surplus garments, such as vests, military blankets and T‑shirts, into fun printed jersey pieces. And the final showstopper, an ornate white wedding gown modelled by his friend and muse Tish Weinstock, made using organza and, rather brilliantly, discarded Apple earphones – the buds of which looked like swan beaks from afar.

In a song
Björk – Headphones

What?
Simone Rocha’s haunting congregation, the third part in a triptych which started with SS24’s ​“dress rehearsal”, moved on to ​“the procession” — aka Jean Paul Gaultier couture — and ended with AW24’s spooky and seductive show which took place in the breathtaking setting of St. Bartholomew’s Church.

How was the collection?
To put it casually, Simone Rocha’s Jean Paul Gaultier couture collection knocked our socks off: the designer’s romantic, feminine embellishments were a balancing act of ethereal and tough, romantic and powerful; a real testament to the signatures Rocha has built over the years. This collection was arguably darker than her previous two outings. Rocha noted the ​“mourning dress of Queen Victoria” as a key influence – perhaps a reference in her closing this chapter. Here, Rocha maintained the romance, but in lashings of black silk, protective blood-red balaclavas and cinched waists that felt like an ornate procession of goodbyes (until next season, of course).

Of note:
Simone Rocha’s little lambs. Lamb shaped quilted handbags, that is – tucked beneath the arms of models wearing crocheted and ornately embellished balaclavas à la Little Bo-Peep.

What?
A peek inside the sketchbook of West London’s finest, Molly Goddard.

What do you mean?
Goddard showed us the inner workings of building a collection from scratch. That includes what she calls an ​“experimental fitting” done at the start of each season in her studio: scrap materials, archive samples, toiles and all sorts thrown together and mashed up before two becomes one, et voila, a collection. Goddard’s irreverent approach makes perfect sense: the designer’s usual patchwork of textures, explosion of colours and ​“thrown together” appeal was met by hallucinogenic frothy tulles, voluminous polka dots and cowgirl style this season. And it’s this hypnotic mix that makes the designer such a thrilling LFW mainstay, with an undercurrent of humour that continues her tradition of good-time British style.

In a song?
Babybird – You’re Gorgeous

What?
Marco Capaldo’s latest shiny showing of goods.

Where was the show?
In a darkened corner of the Barbican.

And how about it?
This season, Capaldo took a walk through the mind of wunderkind writer, author and curator Charlie Fox. In his 2017 book This Young Monster, published when he was just 25, Fox traces the pop cultural appeal of the monster, from the transgressive dog shit-eating antics of John Waters’ Divine to Harmony Korine’s dystopian America in Gummo. He looked too at Fox’s 2019 exhibition My Head is a Haunted House, which revelled in themes of death, perversion, sex and, above all, fear. In Capaldo’s latest collection for 16Arlington, the monster is awoken, rising up in dark, sumptuous full-looks in midnight black, as if concealing in the shadows. Meanwhile, textures, such as a shaggy fur coat, look as if they’re growing out of the skin of its wearer. In the collection’s segments of all-white skirts and dresses, wispy tails appear as if a disappearing ghost – monsters ranging from the nightmarish to the ethereal. Capaldo often designs his clothes with fearlessness in mind, to enhance the confidence of its wearer. So there’s no better homage to make than to convention-breaking Madonna, whose ​“I’m not sorry, it’s human nature” quip from her 1995 track is the title of this collection. Express yourself, don’t repress yourself, right?

In a song?
Come on. It’s gotta be Madonna – Human Nature.

What?
Fashion East’s AW24 talent showcase which got the party started with drinks (many tequila-based drinks) served up by East London’s favourite hangout spot, Bistrotheque.

Who was showing this season?
Returning to the schedule for her third and final collection with the talent incubator was Estonian womenswear designer Johanna Parv, while menswear designer Olly Shinder was back for his second. Plus, this season’s special guest: Sosskyn by Samara Scott Studio.

Tell us about the clothes.
Kicking things off was Johanna Parv, with her latest mission to revolutionise the way that women dress. Her collections are always informed by the pace of the city, designed with technical know-how and feature nifty hacks to bring about a sense of ease when the day doesn’t go as planned. With much consideration of her wearer – busy women on-the-go – Parv is pushing tight, lightweight technical layers for the colder months, and functional suiting that she has been developing in the background for some time. Think: formal blazers that take their silhouette from cycling jackets and miniskirts with just the right amount of padding to provide warmth and comfort on the saddle when cycling to work. In a mostly monochrome palette, with the odd rush of ice-cold blues, Parv’s final collection with Fashion East was a fast, furious ascent to the future of day-to-night wear. Game, set, go, go, go.

What Olly Shinder delivers on the Fashion Week circuit is what makes London a stand-out city for raw, unadulterated talent. His latest, attitude-laden collection was a ballsy, brilliant extension of his interrogation of masculinity, with familiar, traditional workwear styles such as pocketed shirts, heavy-duty trousers and factory aprons taken on a wild ride. Rubber is stretched onto a muscled torso, and later used to make a wipe-clean parka and sleeveless dress, while traditional tailoring, such as a salmon pink shirt, has its collar tweaked upwards in a fun play of motion. Shinder subverts the banal, taking the erotic tropes of queer, pulsating dancefloors and delivers a knock-out exploration of vulnerability, sexuality and, above all, toughness that feels like a progressive subculture of its own.

What?
A day at the office with the radical Irish designer.

The office, you say?
Beyond her rave-ready, criss-cross tights and neon-coloured stretchy dresses, Sinead O’Dwyer’s collections have often included tailoring by way of fitted shirts and trousers. But this season, O’Dwyer took her tailoring skills to the next level, with a full wardrobe fit for life in the corporate lane. But it was never going to be your standard 9 – 5‑wear: instead, O’Dwyer subverted traditional desk garb with full-length tailored skirts, a champagne coloured trench coat, wide-leg trousers split down the side for ample room and satin-backed waistcoats. Far more exciting than anything you’ll see on the DLR morning commute to Canary Wharf.

Why should we care?
Earlier on, we described O’Dwyer as radical. And that she is; the designer is continuing her size-inclusive mission, as well as using models with disabilities. And this season, she invited visually-impaired fans and featured an audio-description of the show. For an emerging designer to do more for inclusivity than any luxury house ever has, is pretty groundbreaking.

What?
The first show of London Fashion Week, courtesy of the Ukrainian designer with a penchant for denim.

Tell us about the collection…
Masha Popova has made no secret of her affinity for Y2K. Her designs are often rooted in the dancefloor hedonism of super low-rise jeans, cut-out crop tops and butterfly motifs. This collection, titled GLI$TEN, fast-forwards slightly to the 2010s, which were formative years for the designer. Popova looked to celebrity culture and paparazzi shots of the time, but also key youth culture references such as Skins character Effy Stonem’s dishevelled grunge and Emma Watson’s wannabe It girl uniform in Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring. Here, Popova reimagines it as a smoky hotbed of animal prints, maximalist jewellery, wet-look UGG boots and even the long-lost jeggings that defined her – and many of our – teenage years.

In a song?
Crystal Castles – Alice Practice

A big thank you to the generous team at Mercedes-Benz, who treat us to our very own chauffeur-driven car season after season, taking our spoilt rotten bums to all the shows, parties and fancy dinners. Until next time!