A particularly warm September welcomed the spring summer 24 shows to London last week, and the street style cognoscenti have taken full advantage of the balmy weather. Whilst A-listers are mostly chauffeured between their invite-only shows and parties, innovative style peacocks are providing a spectacle and photo opportunities in the city streets where everyone’s invited.
Before Sunday’s torrential downpour, London Fashion Week has felt like one big summer garden party; shows have taken place beside the Barbican’s water fountains (Roksanda), among the flowerbed of St Cyprian’s Curch courtyard (Mithridate) and under the glass dome of The Royal Horticultural Halls (Paul Costelloe). We’ve spied whimsical one-pieces and vibrant tartans, while neon green and no-explanation-needed-pink have also been popular choices for those trying to grab photographers’ attention.
Skirts won over trousers, with kilts and pleats enjoying a moment — the result of the growing appeal of Chopova Lowena, who proved again in their SS24 showcase that tartan can never stop being reinvented. To keep cool, others in the capital are going for micro-minis, paired with collared shirts or high necks.
Whilst power-walking is inevitable for fashionably late show-goers, they are nonetheless ditching trainers and laces, opting instead for kitten heels and buckles. The ballet-pump frenzy, courtesy of Miu Miu, is not over yet, but as the weather turned, more boots joined the parade. Another hit were Ancuta Sarca’s pointed toe heels, crafted from trainers and presented during fashion week on Friday.
Others had a love-affair with mesh, ruffles and ruching, especially apparent on Sunday as fans flocked to the English National Ballet for Simone Rocha’s show. This romantic aesthetic continued in the queues of off-schedule shows by burgeoning London designers, Elisa Trombatore (Dreaming Eli) and Taylor-Bea Gordon (T-Label). Pearls at these events were de rigueur.
And on Monday afternoon Highbury Fields stole the street-style spotlight as celebrities and fashion fanatics crowded for Burberry’s runway – the second since Daniel Lee took the helm. Fans could be seen embracing the heritage label’s fresh colour palette; beige was barely visible in the sea of vibrant, mostly electric-blue, checks. The occasion’s forecast was unpredictable in true British style, helping one garment prove it’s worth: the trench coat is sticking around for Autumn.
