London Fashion Week brands offering fun, democratic and wearable collections – WWD

London Fashion Week is waking up. The city has been dubbed the “Creative City” among his four fashion hubs, but this season, the designers who survived the pandemic have put on their commercial hats, focusing on sustainability and the physical. We embraced diversity.

This long game of fashion has made designers realize the importance of creating collections that are democratic and inclusive.

Paul & Joe’s Sophie Albou unveiled her collection in The Langham Hotel’s Grand Ballroom, a perfect match for the Twee Cottagecore collection of bright pastel hues and pretty florals. She was inspired by the children’s novel The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Albou’s work of light tweed and handkerchiefs in her checked dungarees fit the film’s adaptation to fit the wardrobe of a wealthy young woman and her daughters.

Rixo co-founders Henrietta Rix and Orlagh McCloskey present their Spring 2023 collection in UK sizes 6 to 24. your design. With over 100 looks in the collection, it’s a pain to scroll through, but it’s exactly what our UK customers want. Popular items are Blake & Apple and Kamilla, featuring bohemian prints reminiscent of her vintage Biba pattern.

Maintaining a quiet profile in the industry, Phoebe English is busy creating beautifully cut clothes in her own words. Despite being dropped by some, the slow road has led to well-fitting, no-fuss, sustainable separates for men and women. Could be the next Margaret Howell who had a brand worth £150m a year.

Feben Vemmenby of the new generation of designers, Feben, managed to strike the right balance between wearability and creativity in his first physical runway show. Her collection takes its cues from spirituality by printing tarot her card references on form-fitting dresses made in collaboration with artisans in Accra, Ghana. Benmenby was helped by veteran stylist Karen Binns, whose clients include Bianca Sanders, Afrobeat artist Wizkid, and Tori Amos. Feben is stocked at retailers like Browns, Farfetch and Ssense, a testament to her promising future.

Temperley London’s Alice Temperley has jumped hurdles, including moving her studio from Notting Hill to the countryside. She had to deal with the pandemic and stop shipping her to Russia.

“It was serious enough to matter, but we actually redirected it [Russia-bound] Stock to other places where there was demand,” she said. But her rich bohemian appetite for design has continued, and now she’s expanding it with more shimmering Art Deco-inspired pieces: Temperley’s glittering tuxedos and shimmering gowns were worn by the brand’s British aristocrats and Tatler is sure to impress her tofu customers.

House of Sunny founder Sunny Williams has been making noise with Gen Z audiences for quite some time now. Launching off-schedule during London Fashion Week, the brand has built a community of psychedelic knitted cardigans and dresses, and fans of the label include Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner.

Since launching the line in 2011, Williams has focused on creating two small collections of units per year.

His Spring 2023 collection was also about slow movement. He titled it “Take Your Time” based on the modest pleasures of his vacation. A pink sunset on an oversized shirt. A gradation of green and blue reminiscent of the crystal clear ocean.

In her first solo presentation, London-based Romanian footwear designer Ancuta Sarka, a finalist at this year’s Andam Fashion Awards, presented stylish and well-made shoes that stay true to the brand’s repurposing and upcycling ethos. I offered a pair of shoes.

Models showed off upcycled Nike sneakers, aqua shoes, thong sandals, backless pointed heels made from clogs next to macho motorcycles, and donned specially crafted skims bodysuits. . Sarca also unveiled loafers made from Vans’ signature checkerboard slip-ons and his Sk8-hi style parts as part of a partnership with the VF Corp.-owned brand.

Paria Farzaneh took the fashion crowd to Phoenix Gardens in central London for her first runway show in two years. In her final show, she blasted the fields of Amersham and sported a military-inspired look, this time Farzaneh as she turned to the many nomadic tribes of Iran, where her parents are from. , she seemed to be in a calmer place.

She also drew on the bold colors and patterns used by this group of people who still reject mainstream versions of modern society to build a collection about diversity, inclusivity and courage. , a red top with side cutouts, layered blue shorts, and a round neck lace shirt.

South Korean fashion designer Goom Heo, a finalist for this year’s LVMH Young Designer Prize, presented his Spring 2023 men’s collection in lookbook form during London Fashion Week. The designer offered denim in a highly sexual acid wash, as if it were made for Spartans and Lil Nas X.

Heo was inspired by the subversive work of Swiss photographer Karlheinz Weinberger. The raw, rebellious attitude Weinberger captured in the 1950s and his ’60s was also reflected in the lookbook, whose homoerotic fantasy energy was off the charts.

Calypso, an Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago in the early to mid-19th century, was the starting point for Nicholas Daly’s Spring 2023 men’s collection. He took a look at how these calypso music artists dress and gave it a personal and modern twist.

Key pieces this season were high-waisted trousers, open-collar shirts, five-pocket vests, and paisley, floral, and zigzag patterns. The color palette is inspired by Belafonte’s iconic tanned album his artwork, and the lookbook pays tribute to Irving’s “Small His Trade” series of pens.

While a handful of designers crafted commercial strategies for London Fashion Week’s heaviest schedule, Turkish-British designer Dilara Findikoglu is gearing up for her comeback runway show after taking a hiatus. I did my best. Her shows are often whimsical fun with music and theatre, while at the same time getting you hooked on the clothes her characters wear.

This season, the only silence was the ringing of shoe bells and the occasional creak of fabric dragging against old floorboards. After the show, Findy Coggle said she wanted to reflect “the trapped emotions throughout the collection.” In fact, after a pandemic with a global recession and cost of living crisis, the last thing no one needs is to reflect on how tough it is.