The sun’s out and so are the style set — this weekend sees the return of London Fashion Week (Men’s) during its 40th anniversary year. And while the June offering is slimmer on physical fashion shows, there is still plenty going on to get involved with.
“This Fashion Week is so important as it’s an opportunity to highlight the city’s point of difference during men’s fashion month by celebrating British menswear in all its breadth, depth and glory,” says Caroline Rush, British Fashion Council CEO. “The programme will ignite a cultural moment to platform everyone from emerging brands to Savile Row, showcasing the tie-makers, milliners, shoemaker and independent, direct-to-consumer brands including Labrum, Maharishi and Oliver Spencer.”
It all kicked off with Craig Green’s runway return after two years with a catwalk on Wednesday afternoon, which will be followed by fashion pub quizzes, a host of talks you can book now, not to mention a very chic 5k run (fashion people don’t just drink champagne, everyone!). “This is a city of creativity and culture,” says Rush. Hear, hear — this what you can expect:
The talks
On Saturday, the ICA will be taken over by a string of fashion-focussed talks which are open to the public — and worth booking now. They begin at 11.15am with A Conversation on Diversity hosted by Maliha Shoaib, diversity journalist for Vogue Business with artist and performer Darkwah, writer and creative Simran Randhawa and Lea Ogunlami, presenter at i-D. Next up, the Evening Standard’s own fashion director Victoria Moss will host fashion designers Charlie Casely-Hayford and Rejina Pyo in a discussion about “how to create, build and sustain a fashion brand” (12.45pm-1.30pm) before Kemi Alemoru, culture journalist for the BBC, Dazed and Vogue, model and activist Munroe Bergdorf, model James Corbin and disability campaigner Victoria Jenkins tackle the question of “performative activism in the fashion industry” (2.15pm-3pm). A highlight, and must-visit for arts students, will then be designer Charles Jeffrey in conversation with writer Raven Smith at 3.45pm. Chic food for thought. (£6, eventbrite.co.uk)
The shows to know
The showstopper this season is set to be Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY, who celebrates his 10th anniversary with a blowout SS25 show at Somerset House. For those keen to know more about the label, which was born out of Central Saint Martins and East London’s queer club circuit, Somerset House are hosting a retrospective exhibition, The Lore of Loverboy, from this Saturday until Sunday, September 1. Also presenting this year is HARRI, the upcoming latex-label best known as the mastermind behind Sam Smith’s inflatable 2023 Brits outfit, as well as catwalk shows by denzilpatrick, QASIMI and Peruvian designer Genaro Rivas. The schedule is polished off with events counting model Kai-Isaiah Jamal’s Afternoon T party, for the trans+ and non-binary community, a South Asian exhibition by photographer Tami Aftab, and a music lounge profiling black artists curated by broadcaster and presenter Clara Amfo. Something for everyone there.
The street style hacks
How to stand out from the crowd? Embrace the animal print summer, says influencer Edie Liberty Rose, who boasts 297k Instagram followers. “Leopard print, zebra print, cow print — the more the better I think,” she says. “Wear lots of colour. Lots of jewellery and a cute kitten heel will elevate every look, and I am also very into booty shorts,” she says. As for the boys, Magnus Ronning, who runs his own brand Ronning (and has an 162k-strong fanbase) thinks “summer is about sexy. I love showing some more skin now it’s warmer. A slightly more fitted top, with some flowy trousers really breaks up an outfit and accentuates your body”. Model and DJ double act The Flag Twins add: “Go big or go home, and summer is a time for expression — lightweight textures like cotton, silk, lace. It’s also Burberry summer this season. If you see us in our Burberry shirts, it’s time for the pub.”
The fashionable 5k run
You can be sure eyebrows were raised by the fashion pack when Labrum’s invite arrived. “We are excited to invite you to the London Fashion Week 5k chilled community run,” it read, to mixed reviews. Founder and designer Foday Dumbuya explains: “I set it up in Sierra Leone because there’s a younger population that wants to get into fitness. The idea is to get people together to run, hang out, chill and just make new friends.” He continues: “I’m gonna show the 100-or-so crowd around the city. My favourite places to go to when I run, and the places that I used to find inspiration from.” These places include the Tate, Millennium Bridge… does this actually sound tempting? The run kicks off at 9am on Saturday from Soho (see @labrumlondon for more details).
The new Savile Row rules
It’s a Savile Row open house! Menswear aficionados should head down to the epicentre of suiting to immerse themselves in the well-tailored worlds of Gieves & Hawkes, Richard James and The London Academy of Bespoke. The Row’s first bespoke streetwear tailor, Clothsurgeon, beloved by Riz Ahmed and A$AP Rocky, is the must-visit. Founder Rav Matharu says: “On Saturday we will have an event at our store titled Clothsurgeon Bespoke: A Contemporary Lens where we will take attendees through our unique approach to men’s tailoring. Our aim is to merge the two worlds of British tailoring and street culture. Savile Row is a British institution that needs to be celebrated for the craftsmanship and heritage.”
