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Hi, Vogue Club! I’m Alice, British Vogue’s Senior Shopping Writer. Day-to-day, I write trend stories, interview designers, and curate shopping edits, and during fashion month I scour every corner of London in search of both new talent and wish-list-worthy items. I also contribute to Vogue Runway, so between shows you’ll find me writing reviews in the back seat of a car—a skill I’ve really mastered over the seasons.
Here’s a play-by-play of what I got up to during the recent London Fashion Week.
Pre LFW:
In the week leading up to the madness, I attempted to (loosely) plan out what I was going to wear—with the help of a couple heroes: eBay’s style director, Amy Bannerman, and pre-loved stylist and archivist Phoebe Schurings, who talked me through some of the key pieces in the platform’s expansive archive (Vivienne Westwood, Molly Goddard, Jil Sander, and some excellent unbranded vintage all feature) and lent me a Louis Vuitton Croissant bag to carry.
I also racked Amy’s brains for some top tips for Vogue Club about shopping pre-loved pieces on eBay. Her advice? “Mix up your spelling, shop out of season, be the better bidder, and use eBay’s Authenticity Guarantee initiative.” As Amy notes, investing in pre-loved is “a guaranteed way to ensure true individuality.”
Further outfit inspiration came courtesy of a pop-up hosted by Lisa Lingenti of It-girl-approved Parisian vintage store Nuovo, where I found an incredible distressed-leather jacket and cropped military blazer, both of which I wore to the shows. “It’s more than a curation now—it’s a vision, artistic direction,” she explained to me, talking of how Nuovo has become its own brand with a niche blueprint. “You have to propose something new.”
Also before the schedule got into full swing, I caught up with industry peers at Studio Nicholson’s 15th-anniversary dinner at Rochelle Canteen, where fashion fuel included smoked haddock croquettes, grilled chicory, labneh and za’atar, saffron risotto, and burnt cream and rhubarb. I was well and truly fed and watered for the busy weekend ahead.
Day 1—Thursday:
After a relatively normal day in the office, I headed off to the Mainline:RUS/Fr.CA/DE show at Charing Cross Sports Club––I have my eye on the bomber jackets and giant bags. Then it was time for my first cross-city trek of the weekend—from Baron’s Court to Talia Byre’s studio in Hackney—for a Vogue Runway preview. The BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund nominee takes pride of place in my wardrobe, and I was excited to see what her new collection beheld (and it didn’t disappoint)! On my wish list: her new slimline Bolter bag, the striped-jersey version of her signature bomber jacket, and an iron-hued shell tracksuit. Swoon.
After bidding my farewells, I headed to 180 Strand for the Central Saint Martins MA show, which showcased an exciting new guard of design talent, before Tube-ing home to cook a quick dinner and make a start on my Runway reviews. (Kudos to my CurrentBody LED face mask for helping me multitask well into the small hours.)
Day 2—Friday:
Armed with the knowledge that this would be one of my busiest days, I started with a good breakfast at home: Greek natural yogurt with banana, coconut, granola, honey, and seeds, with a matcha and a green juice. I also drank a load of water and did a face mask before picking out my first outfit: a striped top, fitted jacket, and shearling bolero from Talia Byre worn with vintage shell pants, vintage Prada biker boots, and the Louis Vuitton Croissant I borrowed from eBay. The finishing touch? Panconesi swirl earrings.
Then I stopped off at Talia’s intimate salon-style show at Incubator Gallery on Chiltern Street—models brought the collection to life as Talia talked through her inspiration—before enjoying a deli lunch with colleagues and filing my Runway copy. Our Mercedes-Benz driver for the weekend, Liam, then took us to see Debi Mazar’s rousing performance at Completedworks and, afterward, on to see emerging designer Abigail Ajobi, where my colleague Joy Montgomery and I sheltered from the rain under a giant umbrella. The brief pause between showers meant we could stretch our legs and walk to Mark Fast, another show I reviewed for Runway, before hopping back back in the van to venture to Shoreditch for Fashion East and back in again to zip off to The Standard for dinner and dancing hosted by Feben (with a beautiful performance from Jorja Smith). I was home by 1am, luckily with no copy to file.
Day 3—Saturday:
By day three, I was in a state of disbelief that it was all passing by so quickly, but I managed to catch up with my flatmates before heading to shows––each season, we joke that we’re like ships in the night during fashion week, since I arrive home later and wake earlier than both of them for five days in a row. (See below for my outfit of choice.)
Joy and I had an appointment to see Feben’s autumn/winter 2025 collection, which featured new takes on her trademark puckered “twist” dresses alongside new prints and silhouettes. We had a rare gap to take in lunch at Farmer J, one of our favourite LFW spots, and then headed to the office to chat with the wider fashion team. Liam whizzed us over to The Dorchester, where I did a preview with Huishan Zhang before his show; back to 180 Strand for Sinead O’Dwyer; and then to East London for Jawara Alleyne. We stayed east and dropped in to see Stefan Cooke’s new collection––those leather minidresses stole my heart!––and ate slices of a huge cake, then headed to dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant on Kingsland Road. In case we hadn’t already been back and forth enough, my colleague Daniel and I went back to central London to experience an intimate performance at the ICA, hosted by Kiko Kostadinov, then had a few drinks with friends before calling it a night.
Day 4—Sunday:
Kazna Asker was an incredibly lively Sunday opener: The designer filled the BFC NewGen show space with her new collection alongside an array of bustling stalls. Afterward, we walked to the Royal Academy of Arts for Toga’s show, after which we had a delicious sandwich and glass of wine before heading back to 180 Strand (the epicentre of fashion week, as you can tell by now) for Chet Lo; a quick layover in the BFC buyer’s lounge for a tea; to a nearby pub for a Sunday pint; and then to Erdem at the British Museum. Back to 180 Strand (!) to see the talented Tolu Coker, who staged a presentation in the NewGen space complete with a live band, then to the Holy Tavern in Farringdon for a packed show by Paolo Carzana—a very Sunday mood. To round off a busy day, we nestled in for dinner and karaoke at Koko hosted by Aaron Esh, who launched a capsule collection in the presence of friends and press in lieu of a runway show.
Day 5—Monday:
The final day of fashion week is always a blur of positive delirium. You’ve been overstimulated and inspired all weekend, and now it’s somehow… Monday? The weather was completely unpredictable, and I started the day in Marks Spencer buying a new umbrella to protect my very impractical outfit—which, of course, turned out to be fine when the sun eventually came out. Following a breakfast bite and tea at 66North’s 99th-anniversary celebration at its Regent Street store, we made our final visits to 180 Strand to see the BFC NewGen designers, including Johanna Parv (who I reviewed for Runway) and Yaku, another talent who took over the space with a installation of his latest work. After a quick bite at Farmer J, we headed back to the office to decompress—and to attempt to remember how we operated outside of fashion week. It will take time to get back to normal, but I feel very grateful and inspired.
