There’s no point ignoring the dark cloud that looms over this fashion season. Corona virus has made the whole affair a little quieter than usual, however London Fashion Week was still full of many exciting moments, from Burberry to Richard Quinn to a personal favourite Charlotte Knowles. I’ll admit, the combination of the famous flu and Storm Dennis worked in my favour as it freed up some of those hard-to-get FROW seats! But I must say, schlepping through the torrential rain in heels and a Saks Potts coat was not my first idea of a fun day out, and the train strikes were just the icing on the cake. Thank god there were some incredible shows, eh.
The week kicked off on a very breezy Friday, with big names including Shrimps, Vivienne Westwood and Richard Malone setting the bar high for Autumn/Winter 2020 LFW. VW’s tartan patterns, asymmetric boyish fits and not-so-surprising political statements proved she’s a designer who knows how to keep in the now, whilst sticking to her classic style. Shrimps were everything you’d expect from Shrimps, with their faux fur and sweet (yet maybe a bit too same-old) puffy midi dresses dominating the catwalk, however it was nice to see a flash of more fitted silhouettes in there. As for Richard Malone, I loved every piece, but I cannot help but think I’ve seen the collection before. In fact, (and maybe I’m bias because I’m fan-girling over her so much right now), there were some strong similarities between his runway and Charlotte Knowles’ previous collections. I’m a little suspicious, just saying. Speaking of Charlotte Knowles, her runway was everything I’d hoped for and more. The sheer flared leggings were back, but were so much better this time around. A lot was going on in each look, but I just wanted to take it all home. It was my dream wardrobe in a collection – although, as much as I want to overlook it, I have to call out her continued use of teeny tiny models which made me look like I was plus size. The one curvy model won’t cancel out the few that looked worryingly underweight.
But onto some more positives: we need to talk about Molly Goddard. Her style is becoming a lot less repetitive, and I honestly believe everything she creates is basically made of gold dust. Whilst I loved how she’s not relying on her staple looks, I always fall back on her vibrant puffy tulle dresses, which are every princess-gone-rogue’s dream. I’m just desperate to own one and pair it up with some biker boots and head into work with zero f*cks in the world. Her runway shows always make me happy, and I vow one day to get a ticket to watch it in the flesh, as she’s continuously an exciting name to keep an eye on. Richard Quinn also delivered his signature, modernised floral looks in one of his strongest shows yet – I’m already putting bets on which outfit I might see at the Met Ball (or some other big celebrity fashion event). He never fails to deliver an exciting show, that’s for sure.
A quick fire round of other names that caught my eye before I wrap it up: loved Simone Rocha (gave me both the dreamiest wedding and chic funeral vibes at the same time), loved Christopher Kane (I mean, the bold colours, the ruffles, the prints, it was all enjoyable), loved TOGA (futuristic, OTT workwear and I’m here for it), loved Victoria Beckham (which is a first actually – I usually find her catwalks a bit meh but this time she’s given it some edge). Last but not least, Burberry was amazing. For someone who wears a LOT of beige, it was nice to see Burberry sticking to their classic checks and muted colours but also giving their looks a contemporary and even sultry lift. It was a very British runway, which is a huge reason as to why I loved it – it was spot on.
