This week London Fashion Week returns to town and with it comes the feelings of intense FOMO. Watch with envy as the big-name designers and models rub shoulders with the chicest of the A-list, while the rest of us are left craning our necks for a glimpse of the good life. But while there’s usually only a handful of truly great fashion parties in town — most off-limits if you don’t know someone who knows someone — there are plenty of ways to get involved. And why not; 2024 celebrates 40 years of fashion week and of the near 120 official LFW events, about a third are open to the public, meaning this mysterious and elusive world is accessible like never before. Beyond the red velvet ropes and impossible-to-catch catwalks, London Fashion Week continues in the capital’s top bars, hotels and restaurants with a glut of glamorous after parties. Here then, is our bluffer’s guide to LFW.
The shows to be seen at
While the public are generally kept away from the headline acts at 180 Strand and Somerset House —home to the British Fashion Council — some smaller shows offer a glimpse of the glam life. The Conde Nast College of Fashion & Design’s private view of graduate exhibitions should be a good place to start, scouting the next generation of artistic talent in this hallowed design school. Get in quick. Elsewhere, at the Tate, resale giants eBay and the BFC host Endless Runway, which made a debut at New York Fashion Week on September 5. Model Leomie Anderson and eBay style director Amy Bannerman host the event which, as with a number of shows at NYCFW, will also be simultaneously live-streamed.
Swiss brand On recently announced a partnership with FKA Twigs and on September 16 the brand and artist will come together for a unique show, said to “explore the way we train and move through an immersive art experience”. Given the hype we saw with On’s “spray on shoe” at the Paris Olympics with fellow ambassador Zendaya, this one will be packed.
Otherwise, a number of evening events, exhibitions and catwalks are on throughout the week, with the best of these including Brazil Creating Fashion for Tomorrow (September 12); Medusa X Fashion Week and the City Runway (September 13) and Oxford Fashion Studio x Upstairs at Langan's (September 14). These hard-to find-evenings are intentionally elusive, but RSVP via the officialLFW schedule online and you’ll soon be mixing with those in the know. Elsewhere the Standard Hotel is launching a CÎROC vodka residency in partnership with KNWLS, the studio founded by Charlotte Knowles and Alexandre Arsenault, both Central St Martins’ graduates. KNWLS has designed a series of in-room merch and collectibles and the hotel is hosting parties in Sweeties, Decimo and a few of the top terrace suites, including a book launch from Law Roach for his debut “How To Build A Fashion Icon”. Details for all of this are at londonfashionweek.co.uk.
The celebs to spot
Every September, film stars appear on the Frow but, as NYFW has shown, there are likely to be plenty in attendance this season. With everyone from the Jonas Brothers to AJ Tracey performing in London before or during fashion week we can expect to see them gracing the Frows of London’s top shows. Last year we saw the likes of Kate Moss, Cara Delevingne, Adwoa Aboah, Paloma Elsesser, and this year with 40 years of LFW, don’t be surprised to see Naomi Campbell, FKA Twigs, Stormzy, Maya Jama, David Gandy, Edie Campbell, Charlie Casely-Hayford and more. And on the topic of celebrity, if you’re the type to hang outside somewhere in the name of an A-list sighting, put Supriya Lele, Holzweiler, Mains, 16Arlington, JW Anderson and Aaron Esh on your list.
Party like you were invited
The key to really feeling like you’re living a fashionista life is to do it all day; you might not be chauffeur-driven from show to show, but you can Uber between bits. LFW events have been confirmed at the Standard (WC1H, standardhotels.com), the Hoxton (EC2A, thehoxton.com), and with rumoured afterparties everywhere from One Hotel Mayfair (W1J, 1hotels.com) to the Twenty Two (W1K, thetwentytwo.com), there’s a lot to see and do over the week.
Unlike last year, there’s not been an official closing party announced, and with the location of the LFW40 Icons party strictly under wraps, the best bet is to head to the Silk Road Fashion event at Chelsea Old Town Hall (September 16, SW3, eventbrite.co.uk). You can RSVP to the runway and follow the cool set for a night out on the tiles. Across the UK, the celebrations will continue with City Wide Celebrations. For the first time the programme of events, laid on with help from the British Fashion Council, extends to Manchester and Newcastle with over 1000 experiences and activities open to the public from more than 350 brands throughout the month (across the UK, britishfashioncouncil.co.uk).
High-style drinking and dining
Much of the joy of LFW is the chance to blend with the right people — which means knowing where they’ll be. No guarantees here, but five-star hotels are unsurprisingly a good place to start. The Rosewood London (WC1, rosewoodhotels.com) has long been known as a low-key A-list hangout (Brad Pitt has been spotted many times). Head to the hotel’s Scarfes Bar and keep your eyes peeled. Otherwise, our money is on the likes of the Broadwick (W1F, broadwicksoho.com), which has already seen a glut of celebs frequenting it since opening, At Sloane (SW1W, atsloane.com) and while the NoMad (WC2E, hilton.com) was once a favourite of the fashion set, it’s since been bought by Hilton, which might put a damper on its street cred. Instead, you could try the new one from the Maybourne Group (Claridge’s et al), the Emory (SW1X, the-emory.co.uk) or the London Edition (W1T, editionhotels.com).
As for restaurants, try Rita’s (W1F, ritasdining.com) — Dua Lipa loves it — LPM (W1K, lpmrestaurants.com) — said to be Harry Styles’s favourite — the Dover (W1S,thedoverrestaurant.com) — everybody’s favourite — and new the party palace Ambassadors Clubhouse (W1D, ambassadorsclubhouse.com), before heading downstairs into the new clubby bar space (it stays open till 3am).
Each year Perfect Magazine hosts a knees-up, and this year Dovetale (W1J, 1hotels.com) is set to be the venue. The guest list is officially closed but with the the likelihood for a swanky Mayfair after-party pretty high, heading here on Sunday night feels like a good plan. Elsewhere, the Dorchester’s elegant Vesper Bar (W1K, dorchestercollection.com) has kept up a steady flow of A-list names popping in for a drink and if you’re a member, Annabel’s (W1J, annabels.co.uk) and the George (W1K, georgeclub.com) are always busy with celebs and fashionistas.
Nearby Nipperkin (W1J, 20berkeley.com) is also ideal for getting close to the glamour and round the corner, the Prada-owned Marchesi 1824 (W1K, pasticceriamarchesi.com) draws a stylish set. Otherwise, try Viajante87 (W11, viajantebar.com), the Red Room at the Connaught (W1K, the-connaught.co.uk) and Stormzy’s House Party (W1F,thehouse.party), which with a bit of luck may host an under-the-radar rave. See you there.
