London Fashion Week –
A Celebration of Body Positivity and Gender Neutrality London Fashion Week is one of the four biggest fashion weeks in the world, and it’s also a pioneering show for body positivity and gender neutrality. The week-long schedule is held twice a year and features both menswear and womenswear designers.
The week’s most notable shows include the debut of Burberry’s creative director Daniel Lee, plus collections from a host of BFC members like Christopher Kane, Erdem and Roksanda. The schedule is also filled with new talents like Nensi Dojaka and S.S Daley, and a special tribute to one of the most influential designers in the history of British fashion, Vivienne Westwood.
Top trends:
The moody grandeur of gothic glamour was back with a vengeance, best seen at Simone Rocha and Erdem. Box pleated midi skirts with peek-a-boo embroidered lace slits at 16Arlington, single-button relaxed satin coats at Emilia Wickstead and mixed media lace and chiffon denim at Nensi Dojaka all caught our attention.
Favorite show format:
The moody setting at Burberry — checked blankets and hot water bottles set a very British tone, as models sauntered solemnly past seated guests to a soundtrack of water dripping slowly from a tap. A style that’s suited to the label’s heritage and it ties in with Lee’s interpretation of modern British fashion.
Gender-neutral and size inclusivity are both a hot topic at fashion week and this season it was particularly evident on the runways. From the debut of plus-size model Sophie Dahl in 1997 to Christopher Kane’s CSM students walking on the runway, designers have been addressing these issues for a long time now.
ASAI, the Fashion East alum who went above and beyond the Hot Wok dress we all know and love, showed up at NEWGEN with an opulent collection that explored East Asian-inspired designs in bold hues like red and yellow tie-dye. With stylist Harry Lambert on board, it was an exciting reimagining of his patchworked aesthetic, with models strutting down the catwalk in skin-tight, sheer frocks and oversized outerwear.
In a more subtle way, the designer jarred uncanny tech with picturesque landscapes reminiscent of her Negresti-Oas hometown. Athletic winklepickers with quilted nylon metallic and faux-fur uppers were a recurring theme on the catwalk, and fuzzy yeti boots adorned with pointed toes and kitten heels also made an appearance.
Not a Man’s Territory:
Turkish designer Dilara Findikoglu explored bodily autonomy in her AW23 collection, evoking female power dynamics and weighted by the recent devastating earthquakes in Turkey.
Pentagram’s fourth campaign with the BFC continued to deliver a shared sense of purpose that promotes gender and style fluidity and an accepting view of all cultures. These brand’s latest iteration of the campaign is centered around diversity includes models from across world sizes.