London Fashion Week S/S 2024 was notable for its sparse schedule, with just a handful of designers choosing to show at the event, which went co-ed last June – headline names included Daniel W Fletcher, Martine Rose (as has become tradition, the designer chose to show off the official schedule) and Saul Nash, who will close out the event on Monday evening (12 June 2023).
Despite this, the weekend’s heady weather gave a celebratory air to proceedings, providing a particularly fitting setting for SMR Days’ London Fashion Week debut (the resortwear brand is known for its effortless warm-weather wardrobe). Talks, launches and parties completed the line-up, comprising the usual amalgam of emerging young emerging names – in particular, graduate shows from Ravensbourne and Westminster universities – and those who have longed called the city home.
Here, in an ongoing round-up, is the best of London Fashion Week S/S 2024.
The best of London Fashion Week S/S 2024
Saul Nash
Woolmark Prize-winning designer Saul Nash said that this season was an exploration of what he called the ‘intersections’ of his identity; namely, the heritage of his parents. His mother was born in Barbados and is of Guyanese heritage, while his father is of English and Mauritian descent, born and raised in the United Kingdom. ‘I look at everything through a lens of growing up in London,’ the designer said. ‘When you visit these places, you’re wearing Western clothes, such as your tracksuit or shorts that you would wear in the city. But in these countries, you’re wearing it on the beach. This collection is about that misfitting of identity in places we identify with.’ As such, the space at London’s ICA gallery had been transformed into a simulacrum of a tropical beach inspired by memories of travelling to Mauritius as a child. Intersection came too in the garments themselves, which saw Nash’s signature high-tech knitwear meet Speedo-style swimming trunks and wetsuits. Fish embroidery and a vibrant oceanside palette – turquoise, sea blue and ultramarine – continued the uplifting beachside mood that Nash said was inspired by ‘island life’. Other pieces had more subtle resonance for the designer, like an homage to the river goddess Ganga which appeared on a trouser and track top set, nodding to his grandfather’s Hindu faith and its power as a symbol of migrant influence (particularly, he noted, in Guyana, Trinidad, Suriname and Mauritius). ‘I realised these elements are what shaped the cultures I have known, and that they were formed by people migrating throughout the world,’ he said.
Martine Rose
Martine Rose marked her return to London – last season she showed as part of the Pitti Uomo menswear fair in Florence – with an intimate show at a community centre-cum-social club in north London (the setting came complete with branded beer mats, pints of Stella Artois and bags of Tayto crisps). Rose said that the choice of location was purposeful; after taking over an old marketplace in Florence’s grand, historic city centre for her last outing, she sought the intimacy and community such spaces have traditionally encapsulated across Britain (from discos to subcultural gatherings). As is typical of Rose’s work, there was an off-kilter, subversive approach to traditional tailoring and streetwear which teetered between strangeness and sensuality: oversized suiting was constructed from terry-cloth with devoré motifs, diaphanous slip tops and low-cut technical shapewear made for men and women, and hi-vis workwear appearing scuffed with use. The collection – which elicited cheers from the gathered crowd – also featured upcoming collaborations with Clarks and Nike, including a new take on her now-ubiquitous heeled Nike Shox MR 4 sneakers.
Av Vattev
‘Sweet Summer Sweat’ was the evocative title Antonio Vattev gave his Spring/Summer 2024 collection, which looked towards the swaggering 1960s style of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger for inspiration. In particular, a white dress the musician wore to perform on stage in 1969 – Vattev noted the influence the outfit continues to have on the ‘androgynous look of today’ – and the check-on-check tartan suiting Jagger sported on London’s streets in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These reference points were melded with the Bulgarian designer’s eye for sharp, graphic silhouettes – often his work features idiosyncratic cuts and sliced-away elements – like an open-front suit with ‘keyhole fastening’, warped toggle-fastening tops, or lace-up point-collar shirts with a gentle peplum at the hem. Other pieces simply channelled Jagger’s sense of abandon: shimmering sequin mini-skirts, frayed denim and skimpy mini-shorts provided a loving ode to his inimitable on-stage style.
Daniel W Fletcher
Daniel W Fletcher united with Huntsman Savile Row – a bespoke tailor on the historic street that inspired the setting of the Kingsman movies – for a collection that the designer said was an ode to Britain’s rich history of craft and making (‘precision, integrity, nuance and a forever future-facing drive’, described the collection notes). Presented in the ornamental salons of RA Burlington House, the collection saw Fletcher’s sharp, minimal silhouettes elevated with Huntsman’s 174 years of expertise in a process which took six months of close collaboration. Nine bespoke suits – which will be available at Huntsman Savile Row – and 12 ready-to-wear styles drew inspiration from the tailor’s archive, including a stitched motif that recalls the basting stitches used in the creation of a suit. A feeling of fluidity defined the collection’s strongest pieces: lightweight, diaphanous wool trousers, oversized dress shirts and tie-neck blouses astutely married a feeling of heritage with Fletcher’s distinctly modern touch.
SMR Days
Founded by industry veterans Adam Shapiro, Dan May and Gautam Rajani in 2020 – their combined expertise includes creative direction, styling, marketing and public relations for some of the world’s most well-known brands – SMR Days promises a comprehensive warm-weather wardrobe elevated with moments of craft (in particular, traditional technique from India, where Rajani is from). Fittingly presented on the sun-soaked Saturday afternoon, models lounged on colourful boxes stacked on a Marylebone terrace in the new collection, which continued the trio’s exploration of holiday staples – from signature fluid shirting to easy riffs on eveningwear, ‘albeit with a barefoot sensibility’. New additions to the offering included jewellery (a collaboration with Luis Morais), knitwear (lightweight, loose-weave cotton), and a much-expanded bag offering made in collaboration with ethical and fair-trade Bangladesh brand Maison Bengal. ’We are thrilled to be showing for the first time in London,’ say the trio of the decision to show at London Fashion Week for the first time. ‘SMR Days is based on our love of travel: we're from all over – New Orleans, Mumbai and Cape Town – but London is our home, and where the brand was born and based.’
Qasimi
Hoor Al Qasimi, creative director of Qasimi, noted that this season she drew inspiration from the works of Sudanese artist Kamala Ibrahim Ishaq. ‘I have had the pleasure of working with Kamala on many occasions, and we have known each other for a very long time. It has been a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with her this season as she has worked with using her own designs on traditional Sudanese thobes in the past,’ she said, noting that she hoped working with an artist from Sudan would help shed light on the current violent unrest in the country. Ishaq’s ‘Women in Crystal Cubes’ (1984) served as the starting point for the collection, mirrored here in the collection’s rich, earthy palette. Craft was also central to the creation of this collection, with Qasimi’s minimally designed, gently oversized pieces lent richness by traditional silk printing and embroidery. Alongside, Qasimi showed the work of two designers from its ‘Qasimi Rising’ fashion incubator, Omer Asim and Salim Azzam.
Browns x Crenshaw Skate Club
Founded by Tobey McIntosh when he was a 14-year-old in Los Angeles, Crenshaw Skate Club has evolved into a cult skating label – ever-growing, but still defiantly underground. A collaboration with British retailer Browns – part of the Farfetch Beat initiative – was revealed at London Fashion Week, showcasing an exclusive new collection from the streetwear prodigy, who has undertaken previous partnerships with Nike, Lacoste, LA Clippers and more (he also uses the brand to amplify the work on young creators and entrepreneurs from LA’s Crenshaw neighbourhood). ‘This collaboration is very special and symbolic of Crenshaw Skate Club’s next step into the world of cut and sew, which has been a goal of mine ever since I was a kid,’ he says of the pieces, which span tie-dye workwear jackets, shirts printed with the ‘Crenshaw Square’, and coordinating denim sets. ‘With this exclusive we’ve been able to take Crenshaw Skate Club’s message international, which is to represent and empower inner-city skaters. The origin of [the brand] is hyperlocal, but the message can be applied to kids all over the world.’
Stay tuned for more from London Fashion Week S/S 2024.
