Expert Eye: All Our Favourite Looks From London Fashion Week

While we don’t want to lean too much on geographical cliches, there always seems to be an air of whimsy, heritage and punkish attitude at London Fashion Week, and this season’s London Fashion Week was no different, though with a decidedly fresh energy.

It makes sense, really. Creatives reference and react to where they come from. There’s a lot to react to right now — especially in the UK — with everyone looking back and forward all at once, and it makes for a heady mix of fashion.

And in the wake of Vivienne Westwood’s passing on the eve of 2023, her presence was felt on many runways, as designers paid homage to her influence, canon and culture-defining subversion of British dress codes.

There were lots of uplifting ideas for getting dressed presented in the British capital, with shows from established designers like Christopher Kane and Erdem, emerging names like Ahluwalia and Sinéad O’Dwyer, and re-vamped heritage brand Burberry, with new creative director Daniel Lee revealing his first collection for the house.

Also inspiring was more size diversity on the London runways than in New York, and the approach felt more like one of “nothing to see here” matter-of-fact-ness, rather than theatrics or tokenism. Jolly good.

S.S Daley, Look 1

What is it with the British and their love of anything pantomime? The camp national pastime is something that has woven its tentacles into the designs of several great British designers over the years, and it’s a theatrical sensibility that’s found a safe space with young 2022 LVMH Prize winner Steven Stokey-Daley. It’s a generalisation, of course, but paying close attention to his previous four collections, there’s a sense of both whimsy and irreverent Britishness that comes through in his work. Nautical undertones prevailed in this collection, as legendary thespian Sir Ian McKellen opened the show reciting a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, dressed in this voluminous interpretation of a navy peacoat and a pair of great navy bootcut trousers. It was also great to see some plus-size male models on his runway, a reminder that fashion’s ongoing conversations around size inclusivity shouldn’t always be the burden for womenswear designers to be answerable to. — Dan Ahwa, creative and fashion director

Sometimes the best looks are the sum of their parts. A favourite combination of mine is shirt, sweater, skirt and boots, and it’s a framework that can be applied to numerous different moods and aesthetics. It’s deployed well here, interesting but not overdressed (a fine line that not everyone navigates well) and I like the combination of blues and pastel pink. You could go anywhere in this outfit. — Emma Gleason, commercial editor

Molly Goddard, Look 13

I’ve been enjoying seeing the elegant restraint of designers at the moment, and, yes, there’s a running theme of austerity, but nothing depressing. In fact, there’s something hopeful about this grey dress. There’s power in quiet fashion, too, and for a designer who has made a name for herself as the queen of frothy, extroverted frocks, this look was a fresh surprise that proved she’s no one trick pony.” — Dan Ahwa, creative and fashion director

READ: All Our Favourite Looks From New York Fashion Week

Dilara Fındıkoğlu, Look 24

While drawing from historic references (lingerie, corsets, kink), Fındıkoğlu’s work feels very now, and the Turkish-British designer’s trajectory has been an interesting one. In 2015, she was part of the guerrilla show by Central Saint Martins who didn’t make the cut for the grad show, and has gone on to dress Bella Hadid and Madonna. Her latest collection is full of dark, romantic ideas. I really like how this look plays with texture, transparency and layers — the corset over the sweater, with latex gloves, multiple slips, fishnets and veil — paired with a very good-looking, delayering afterthought of a coat (she’s on her way out the door, or perhaps just arrived).” — Emma Gleason, commercial editor

Daniel Lee’s debut collection for Burberry was no mean feat with so many stakeholders to keep happy, and if the collective moans on the internet are anything to go by, this collection was not popular. So, it’s important to look at this with impartial eyes. There’s some hope if you take away the lack of editing; those T-shirts, for example, weren’t necessary. This look was maybe one of the purest shown in a show of 55 exits — an olive-green trench with a faux fur trim collar and an essential hot water bottle with a plaid cover. Cosy and irreverently British, a feeling that is very much on-brand and perhaps was lacking in the streetwear-heavy focus from its previous creative director Riccardo Tisci. — Dan Ahwa, creative and fashion director

Pronounce, Look 6

This is a great sweater; there’s dimension and generosity to it, and it’s felted-looking (like it went through a wash) with a great rope motif — there was a tide of nautical references at London Fashion Week. Paired with equally fuzzy cargo pants, the effect is comforting and robust. The yellow-painted clogs are a nice touch. I would wear all of this very happily, and the rest of Yushan Li and Jun Zhou’s collection is lovely, too, with blanket-stitched details, artistic flourishes and lots of brown. — Emma Gleason, commercial editor

Talia Byre, Look 3

Frayed edges, a school mäm silhouette turned on its head with a pair of red heels and tights — a look that feels completely unhinged in the best way possible. This relative newcomer is only four seasons in, but already has a confident design approach that makes her one that’s truly worth watching. — Dan Ahwa, creative and fashion director

Sinéad O’Dwyer, Look 6

Another great outfit for real life (there’s certainly a theme of practicality with designers this season) though this was unexpected from O’Dwyer, whose avant-garde work usually relishes, delightfully so, in revealing and clinging to bodies of all shapes and sizes. The Irish designer has been a vocal champion of sizing inclusivity; she leads by example — talking to UK Elle last year, she revealed that her brand’s sample sizes are between 18 and 22 — and unique to her approach is not seeing bigger bodies as a problem to solve, hide or cover, and instead enhancing the features of shape and size while twisting tropes of femininity. Paloma Elsesser, Björk and drag star Aquaria have all worn her creations, though there’s no need to be in the public eye either. This is a great coat, and the wellies are a lovely touch. I also appreciate a thumb-hole sleeve. — Emma Gleason, commercial editor

Yuhan Wang, Look 21

I really enjoy seeing Yuhan Wang’s work, and the designer has created distinctive handwriting over the past few years; romantic but not saccharine, there’s an edge, but it’s rather like a butter knife than a cleaver. This look is one of my favourites from her new collection, with a dress-up-box quality (and a dash of Dame Viv) that’s very appealing to me right now — although I’d leave those shoes in the carpeted safety of home. — Emma Gleason, commercial editor

SS Daley, Look 18

A brilliant look from a brilliant collection. I’m really enjoying seeing a younger generation of designers twist and mine British-isms. With overtly nautical references — ahoy! — rendered in decidedly un-seaworthy silks and satins (though there were peacoats, knits and practical garb too) designer Steven Stokey-Daley’s collection is a fabulous jaunt, also brimming with sensuality and overt eroticism, as you can see here, and just a lot of great clothes. — Emma Gleason, commercial editor