London Fashion Week has finally returned this year with digital but also live runway shows. We were all beyond excited to see new trends for the spring-summer season and also welcomed back our favourite designers and models to the catwalk. In case you missed anything, here are the highlights of this weekend.
Vivienne Westwood
The new Vivienne Westwood Spring-Summer 2022 collection entitled ‘Save our Souls’ references their 1998 collection ‘Tied to the Mast’. It explores the age of Queen Elizabeth and draws inspiration from the sea, more precisely pirate activities and the changes their clothes underwent during their travels. With this inventive and efficient collection, produced from recycled fabrics, Westwood also wished to raise awareness about current environmental issues: ‘Buy Less, Choose Well, Make it Last!’ – shared the designer on her Instagram post.
David Koma
Koma’s fashion show took place on the opening day of London Fashion Week and brought back the energy and joy of live fashion shows everyone has been craving for. Combining architecture and design with fashion, the collection featured cut out dresses and stretchy attires that looked both sporty and elegant at the same time elegant. Unlike his previous collections, where the colour palette was restricted to white and black with an occasional pop of colour, this time every look was bright and bold. If you’re thinking feathers with leggings or a stretchy dress, this is your vibe!
Paul Costelloe
Inspired by ancient Celtic art, Paul Costelloe’s new Spring/Summer 2022 collection is a reinterpretation of the illuminated manuscript of ‘The Book of Kells’. Drawn to the scrollwork designs and the microscopic detailing of the piece, the designer used printed and woven linen as a medium to evoke the Celtic culture and tradition. All his works are strictly hand-sewn, making all the dresses a piece of fashion masterpiece: beautiful, elegant, and colourful.
Nensi Dojaka
The 2021 LVMH Prize Winner made her solo runway debut this Spring/Summer 2022 season. The Albanian designer kicked off London Fashion Week with a collection that fully encapsulates her aesthetic and style – a fusion between lingerie and casual daywear. Her signature sheer tops with cut-out details and loose-fitted suits reference the 60’s fashion. For the first time, the designer also derived from her usual black palette and went with lighter brown tones, red and green accents, and even pink coral motifs.
Yuhan Wang
Affected by the recent events in the UK such as Sarah Everard’s murder, Wang’s spring collection is a protest to violence against women, inspired by Victorian-era photographs of North American frontiers women who were armed to defend themselves. The looks include floral and horse prints, her signature lacy draped dresses, famous embroidery slippers, and gun handbags. All these details blend well to reflect her suggesting a possible solution to ending violence towards females.
Erdem
Erdem Moralioğlu’s 15th-anniversary show, this time at the British Museum, did not disappoint! The Spring collection was inspired by British poet Dame Edith Sitwell and artist Lady Ottoline Morrell. With wide-brimmed hats and an array of colourful prints, Erdem suggested a resurgence in hat-wearing and perhaps even the 19th and early 20th-century aristocratic fashion. Some of the looks were made from fabrics used in previous seasons, highlighting the brand’s intention to implement sustainable practices.
Rejina Pyo
Rejina Pyo returned to London Fashion Week this season with a triumphant physical uplifting catwalk. Hosted at the London Aquatics Centre, the show was an ode to freedom. The South Korean designer has been tremendously affected by lockdown restrictions and the events of the pandemic on a creative level. The bright colour palette and sexy see-through fabrics she used explore femininity and suggest a summer free spirit everyone is yearning for.
Roland Mouret
Roland Mouret’s new spring/summer collection is all about female empowerment. Featuring Magaajyia Silberfeld Directed by Elias Borst, the short film ‘TERMA’ is a reinterpretation of the Greek myth Ulysses through the perspective of Hera, the female protagonist. Focused on texture and touch, the looks offer loser fit dresses. They transmit a sense of easiness and simplicity – and can be worn everywhere.
KNWLS
KNWLS’ ‘Adrenaline’ collection featured an array of fabrics and styles – from low rise trousers and waist-snatching bustiers to riffs on underwear worn as outwear and webbed trousers fringed with leather tassels. There was also a visible expansion of their colour palette – from earthy tones to ethereal whites and creams, hot pink accessories, and light blue denims. Held in a car-park in Oxford Circus, where the models walked through patches of light made this collection one of the most thrilling shows at London Fashion Week so far.
Words by Alexandra Yassin
Photo Credit: @davidkoma
