London Fashion Week (LFW) kicks off on Thursday with a slimmer season after a number of brands have dropped out or changed formats last minute. It’s a sign of the times, as brands from emerging to multinational corporations have suffered under the luxury slowdown.
Many brands are having to reconsider whether they should show every season. There are a number of independent brands who have turned showing once a year into a success story, including Conner Ives (who is returning this season) and Chopova Lowena and Knwls (which shows in September).
Marques Almeida, Bobby Abley, Carlota Barrera and Patrick McDowell were included on the initial schedule but have since dropped out. McDowell hosted an intimate dinner at Aqua Nueva rooftop instead, in partnership with mycelium innovation company Ecovative. “We wanted to take a step back from the traditional format and instead create a space for meaningful conversations and shared experiences. Fashion is as much about the people who wear it as it is about the garments themselves, and we are excited to celebrate this moment with our extended family of collaborators, supporters and friends,” says McDowell.
Likewise, 16Arlington, Aaron Esh and Feben are hosting dinner events instead of shows this season. Johanna Parv and Ancuta Sarca dropped out of the initial schedule, opting for a digital show instead. Masha Popova, Karoline Vitto and Derrick are showing digitally rather than in person this season. Priya Ahluwalia is also missing from the schedule. The designer is continuing her collaboration with Pandora and has designed six sketches that can be engraved onto Pandora jewellery in-store and online.
Nevertheless, there are a number of brands that are on the radar. 2024 LVMH Prize finalist Pauline Dujancourt will present her sophomore collection along with Yaku Stapleton, who is among the recipients of the Paul Smith Foundation’s residency programme.
SS Daley was a welcome last-minute addition to the schedule and is presenting a womenswear and menswear show on Friday. In September, eponymous designer Steven Stokey-Daley launched womenswear for the first time after winning the Queen Elizabeth II Award — part of his plans to expand the brand after receiving investment from Harry Styles in January 2024.
“I’m especially looking forward to where SS Daley takes his womenswear following its debut last season and Duro Olowu’s always-inspired art references and how he weaves them through his articulate approach to print and design,” says Laura Ingham, deputy director of Vogue’s global fashion network. “I’m also looking forward to Marco Capaldo’s dinner with friends, and the romance and connection of a Simone Rocha show, something I feel we need more than ever.”
With the changes to the fashion month calendar, there has been a nine-day gap between New York Fashion Week and LFW, which Ingham says the industry has felt. “London Fashion Week always brings a dynamic energy, and this season, with the break between the end of the New York shows and the start of the London collections, you can feel the gear shift as we accelerate into the weekend,” she says. “This season’s approach seems to embrace storytelling in a way that moves beyond just the runway, with a mix of on and off-schedule shows, presentations and smaller, more intimate curated events. That blend of fashion, music and the arts not only defines LFW, but also reinforces its role as a cultural force.”
“London has always been more than household names; it is the shows of incredible creatives who define new styles for the season ahead and dominate the red carpet. LFW stands out because the shows here are about excitement, anticipation, unexpected collections, new perspectives, everything the fashion industry needs — the best and most brilliant creative moments are always the ones you can’t predict,” adds Caroline Rush, outgoing CEO of the British Fashion Council (BFC), which organises the week.
“I’m always excited to see what our [talent incubators] BFC Newgen and Fashion East designers have come up with — London is the home of new talent, and it’s a joy to watch these brands grow,” adds Rush. “I’m also looking forward to shows from our British fashion staples Burberry, Erdem, Roksanda, Emilia Wickstead, Ashish and Simone Rocha.”
It’s Rush’s last season as CEO — she announced her plans to leave the position in September. In April, incoming chief exec Laura Weir will step in, with a two-month handover period. “As I step into my final season as CEO of the British Fashion Council, it’s bittersweet. I am, of course, reflecting on the extraordinary evolution of this industry: where we’ve come from, and, most importantly, where we’re headed next — and what we need to get there,” Rush says. “We all know that the industry is facing huge challenges. But I firmly believe that creativity flourishes in difficult times. Our designers are hugely resilient. London Fashion Week is always innovative and thrilling, and this show season will be no different.”
Debuts and returns
There are a handful of exciting debuts. Genderless brand Bloke is hosting its first presentation on Sunday. The label was founded by Faith Oluwajimi (who is based between London and Lagos, Nigeria) in 2015 and was a semi-finalist in the 2023 LVMH Prize.
Keburia, founded by George Keburia in 2010 and based in Tbilisi, Georgia, will also debut in London on Monday. “My label has been established in other markets for a number of years now. This would suggest I’m old in the industry, but London has always been a hub for ‘young’ designers and creatives to showcase their talent, and honestly, I think this is what is driving me to show in the capital,” says Keburia. “It’s also an insecurity that I want to finally overcome. I am super anxious about the debut but already feel like London will truly understand the Keburia mindset.”
Jawara Alleyne, who has been showing off-schedule since graduating from Fashion East, is debuting on the official schedule on Saturday for the first time. “Showing on schedule felt like the natural next step because the brand has evolved, and I felt like it was the right moment to align,” says Alleyne. “In the past, my focus was on creating something uncompromisingly honest, and sometimes working within the system can blur those intentions. But after using the last few seasons to refine our vision, we’re ready to step forward.” Alleyne’s upcoming collection, titled ‘Construction’, explores the process of garment-making through deconstruction.
Aside from debuts, there are also a few returning designers: Dilara Findikoglu (who did not show season), Ashish (who last showed in London in September 2023) and Conner Ives (who only shows once a year).
“I miss doing shows,” says Ashish Gupta. “It can be financially quite challenging if you have a small business like I do, and it’s a positive thing how the industry has changed, and you aren’t expected to do a show every season. But it’s so great to be able to work with amazing creatives, models, hair and makeup teams to create this incredible magic that just lasts a few minutes, and then it’s gone forever, never to be repeated. And we move on to the next season.”
Ives says it feels good to be back in London. “It’s a testament to the network I have built up here, the support I have received. While not being British, London feels like home to me,” he says.
Ives’s show is taking place at the Beaufort Bar in The Savoy hotel, with which the designer is maintaining a partnership. The collection, ‘All That Jazz’, takes inspiration from the 1979 Bob Fosse musical about a director on the verge of a nervous breakdown who is attempting to put on a Broadway show. “[That’s] sometimes what this job can feel like, but it never stops me,” says Ives. “I think this show was about acknowledging those very human traits of being overwhelmed, in anguish, at your brink, but still making it all sparkle. It feels like there has been a collective anguish over the last few months that we have all felt. I wanted to offer some escape from that.”
BFC activations and sustainability criteria
As part of its city-wide celebration, the BFC is opening the LFW Shop from 22 to 24 February. The “shop” is an archive and discovery space curated by Ida Petersson, former Browns buying director and co-founder of brand strategy and creative agency Good Eggs, and Lewis Bloyce, creative consultant and former menswear buyer at Hypebeast. Presented by sponsor 1664 Blanc, the shop will feature some of LFW’s most iconic brands, from 16Arlington and Ahluwalia to Bianca Saunders and Saul Nash.
LFW’s other major sponsor, Inditex-owned fast fashion retailer Pull Bear, has launched the Canvas for Creativity collaboration initiative, which will feature limited-edition capsule collections from “guest designers” Chet Lo and Johanna Parv, available for purchase exclusively at Selfridges and online at Pull Bear.
In January, the BFC announced that it would introduce sustainability criteria for Newgen brands from January 2026 onwards, which are being piloted throughout this year. The criteria have been developed based on Copenhagen Fashion Week’s framework. Rush says she’s received encouraging feedback from designers and the wider industry so far. “Everyone understands how imperative it is to adapt to a future-proofing sustainable business model,” she says. “By working together with Copenhagen Fashion Week, we aim to set a new global standard for sustainable innovation in fashion and strengthen London’s position as a leader in this space.”
This article has been updated to reflect changes to the schedule (20/2/25).
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