London Fashion Week has just wrapped up, and here are the shows that grabbed our attention this season. As always, the city was brimming with creativity, so much so that even King Charles was in attendance at British-Nigerian designer Tolu Coker’s show. 

Here’s what our contributor Caelan McMichael got up to during the week.  

DAY ONE: MATERIAL WORLD 

Set in a woodsy enclave, Agro Studios’s pieces mirrored their surroundings, featuring organic materials such as Icelandic sheepskin, leather, rich knits, and denim. These natural hides and heritage fabrics were juxtaposed with contemporary textiles developed in-house from tinsel and crystal—a technique that has captured the attention of RAYE, Naomi Campbell, and PinkPantheress, who have worn the brand in the past. 

Later that afternoon, Ksenia Schnaider presented looks synonymous with the brand’s signature silhouette: oversized and disproportionate denim. In collaboration with Ukrainian vodka brand Nemiroff, a standout piece was an over-the-shoulder bag designed as a vodka holder. It friskily transformed something typically hidden deep within a bag into the bag itself. 

DAY TWO: MAXIMALISM IS BACK

I began day two—the busiest one yet—with a brand I’ve admired from afar for a long time: Italian label Fiorucci. Walking into the presentation at Somerset House felt like stepping into a Scarface-era living room. Models played pool and chatted on cherry-red handline phones while lounging on Dalmatian-printed couches with dramatic headpieces completing the opulence of the setting. 

At Clara Chuin Hackney, models playfully hissed and mock-fought, providing some comical relief amid the stress and seriousness of fashion week. The brand focuses on DIY accessories made from household objects—think turning mundane, mass-produced items into something new through play and experimentation. The presentation was bright, colourful and tactilely fulfilling; all senses were heightened 

After a much-needed Americano, I arrived at Sinead Gorey, a recurring London Fashion Week favourite for its wild-child expressions of girlhood. Here, pool tables were set in the middle of the runway to emulate the inside of a pub. Models sashayed beside the tables, using them as props for posing. Attendees were seated with pints of beer in hand, truly getting into character as pubgoers. Custom Desperados bottle-cap accessories were reworked into jewellery, and hardware details adorned garments like charms. It felt like a love letter to British girlhood and the spaces that shape it.

DAY THREE: IT GIRLS ONLY 

I skipped the Saturday shows and closed out Fashion Week with the Lucila Safdie presentation, hosted at the Argentine Ambassador’s Residence, where grand pianos and chandeliers set an opulent tone.

Another standout of mine (and a cult favourite amongst it girls like Addison Rae), the collection showcased lace bodysuits, tweed boleros, pleated mini skirts, pink satin, chiffon frills, and floral cotton jersey. Together, these elements merge to tell a story of glamour and rebellion, equally polished and provocative.   

And that’s a wrap! Now onto Milan Fashion Week.

Feature image by Carina Kehlet Schou.