The festivities took off with a foreword by a former football star and a forever style icon, David Beckham, who serves as the President of the LFW ambassadors. He opened the fashion celebrations on Friday morning with a passionate speech about London-based designers and their creativity. The weekend, full of intense panel discussions at the Insitute of Contemporary Arts about the future of the industry and the impact of the Black, South Asian and queer communities on the London fashion scene, was filled with catwalk shows in the most unexpected locations (think Wapping Power Station or the Swiss Church), exhibitions, showroom appointments at the private Groucho club, a reading from the Standard’s editor Dylan Jones’ new memoir, a fashion pub quiz, a Sunday roast, and a guided tour to the most treasured location of the British menswear, Savile Row.
CHARLES JEFFREY LOVERBOY’S 10TH-ANNIVERSARY SHOW.
For his 10th anniversary show, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy is back to his roots and the city, that birthed his brand. Hosted at the courtyard of the Somerset House, home to Loverboy’s studio since 2016, the show was an ode to the British designer’s favourite subject: Love. Delicate shirts, nightwear, but also arrows of Love and signature ears beanies and Warholian banana motif were omnipresent in the collection. There was also a Converse collaboration and a life performance by Somerset House Studios choir. The show’s finale featured Beth Ditto, singing Patti Smith’s hit “Gloria” and dancing with Loverboy’s dreamy gang.
HARRI X NEMO.
For his fourth instalment, HARRI invited his guests to the Benjamin West Lecture Theatre of the Royal Academy of Arts. The Indian-born artist and designer doesn’t do catwalk shows for the sake of showing the clothes, he loves to prepare cultural moments instead, pushing the boundaries of creative thought. This time, he asked the Eurovision 2024 winner Nemo to perform their song “The Code”, dressed impeccably in a full latex ivory couture gown that took Harri and his team 22 days to assemble.
DENZILPATRICK’S ODE TO LONDON.
Each season, the creative duo behind the Denzilpatrick label, Daniel Gayle and James Bosley, celebrate the diversity of London, of all its people and everything the city stands for. This time was no exception. The show took place in the Swiss church and featured iconic donkey-jackets, stay-pressed trousers and shirts, tracksuits in delicate fabrics, jelly shoes, and an array of London-inspired prints. All styled with brass instruments: trumpets, trombones and tubas.
QASIMI TAKES ART TO A NEW LEVEL.
Taking place at Wapping Power Station, the first show of Qasimi under Hoor Al Qasimi, sister of the brand’s founder Khalid Al Qasimi, who died in 2019, will be remembered for the most exciting cuts, gentle colour combinations, unexpected collaboration with acclaimed artist Kambui Olujimi inspired by his impactful “When Monuments Fall’ series, and eye-catching hand-blown glass jewellery by Freya Douglas Ferguson.
DI PETSA LAUNCHES MENSWEAR, BRIDAL AND SWIMWEAR.
“Eros in Pain” is the name of the new SS25 Di Petsa collection featuring not only elegant and sexy womenswear but also menswear, swim and bridal selections introduced for the first time, and looking as stunning as possible in all hues of white. Conceived in the signature wetlook technique, the men’s collection features shirts, tops and trousers, and swimming briefs. For a festive wedding weekend and beyond.
CRAIG GREEN IS BACK.
After a two-year hiatus from fashion catwalks, one of the leading designers in the men’s fashion scene, Craig Green is finally back. He (unofficially) opened London Fashion Week on Wednesday morning with an off-schedule showing at his East London studio. Filled with references to his childhood memories (think naive tractor, fire engine and flower prints), intricate patchworks, and XXL version of checked handkerchiefs, his SS25 collection was a reflection on complex relationships between fathers and sons and a powerful style statement.
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