“What’s Fashion Week really like?” It’s a question I’m often asked by friends and family outside the industry. “It’s a lot of running around the city with blistered feet, showing up late to shows from train delays—and when you finally arrive, they’re over in 15 to 20 minutes.” I always reply. But what I rarely explain is why we keep returning. It’s not just for the opulence of the clothes. It’s for the fleeting moments when fashion feels like art, surprise, and talent—all at one.

Day One: Emerging Designers and Late Arrivals 

Images courtesy of The Ouze.

This season at London Fashion Week, it was emerging designers who captured my attention. My first stop: a presentation by The Ouze. Upon arrival, I’m welcomed by the mystery of a pitch-black room. The jewellery was uniquely presented by being hidden in everyday moments—nestled atop vegetables in a fridge, draped over a bathroom sink, or scattered around the dining table. Pieces bore fingerprints and imperfections typically polished away—here, left intentionally as evidence of the maker and the process.

Images courtesy of Dreaming Eli.

Next, I rushed across the city to Dreaming Eli’s runway show. I barely made it, and as I frantically entered the gothic church, the first look was already slowly prancing down the catwalk. The calming effects of the live harp music instantly grounded me. I was grateful to have made it. The show ended up being one of my favourites, thanks to its intimate sensuality expressed through embroidery, corsetry, and a colour palette echoing skin, blood, and love.

Images Courtesy of Mark Fast.

I ended the day with a runway show by Mark Fast, a knitwear visionary. Eye-catching pieces were the dresses spun with rope-like knits that contoured and coiled the body like armour, transforming them into sculptural, emotional forms.

Day Two: Feminine Playfulness and Party-Girl Energy 

Images courtesy of Yuhan Wang.

The next day, I attended Yuhan Wang’s Mulholland Drive inspired show. The collection felt made for me—hyper-feminine with playful touches of lace, roses, bows, and ruffles.

Images courtesy of Sinead Gorey.

Then, I concluded the evening with a transformative presentation by Sinead Gorey, who channels the messiness of party-girl dressing with a festival-inspired presentation. Here, the models literally danced the night away in grass-stained Converse, much like what would happen at a festival.

Day Three: The Circus of Girlhood 

Images courtesy of Ashley Williams.

Images by Carina Kehlet Schou.

Sunday was a whirlwind. At Ashley Williams, models walked with Starface pimple patches, toilet paper roll bracelets, and crowns. Then came Lucila Safdie, a personal favourite, both for her themes of girlhood and her female-director-only film club. Her introspective presentation truly resonated with me because of its simplistic yet relatable depictions of girlhood and obsession.

After a hot chocolate break and catching up with a friend, my day continued with some Canadian talent. Edeline Lee’s show took place in a fog-filled ballroom at The Peninsula London. To get there, I weaved through tourists enjoying high tea in the lobby. Once inside, Lee drew from the theatricality of the travelling circus, blending luxury and drama with voluminous, exaggerated proportions, ruffled collars, and sequins.

Lee describes the beauty of the circus as being ephemeral and transient, “one night of glittering madness and in the morning it had vanished,” she says. Much like how I would describe Fashion Week.

Final Day: Exaggerated Proportions and Reflections

Images courtesy of Ksenia Schnaider.

I closed my London Fashion Week schedule with Ksenia Schnaider’s debut. Upcycled, distorted denim, combined with deconstructed shapes, patchwork, and reworked silhouettes, all came together to reimagine a new approach to dressing.

After my Google Calendar blocks disappeared, reflection was in order. There was a consensus that this Fashion Week felt different from previous seasons — and I’d agree. While I admired shows like Erdem’s 20th anniversary or Turkish designer Dilara Findikoglu’s dark fantasy from afar, the ones I attended reminded me why I keep returning: for the chaos, the art, and the care each designer pours into their craft.

Feature image courtesy of Sinead Gorey.