What I Saw and Almost Bought in London
A fashion girl's mini guide
Long before getting on the 7-hour flight to London, Vogue Runway was my portal to experiencing the fashion scene there. I excitedly opened the app during Fashion Week and watched as a new crop of British designers (from Grace Wales Bonner to Nensi Dojaka), armed with rigorous training and a firm grasp of fashion history and pop culture, were transforming the look du jour. Their body of work helped shape my understanding of London as the industry’s incubator for innovation, a place where tradition informs—rather than replaces—new ideas, and where commerciality is balanced with creativity. Learning that many of the greats such as Alexander McQueen, John Galliano and Phoebe Philo graduated from Central Saint Martins also cemented the idea in my mind. So when I arrived at Gatwick Airport on a rare sunny day full of promises, during the 40th anniversary of London Fashion Week no less, my only goal was to lose myself in the kooky, provocative, esoteric and intellectual world of London fashion.
The street style was as unpredictable as I anticipated, combining every trend into interesting, if not convincing ways of dressing. Jolts of head-to-toe red and pink outfits brightened the cloudy days. Plaid skirts were styled over deconstructed jeans or paired with destroyed sweaters in a nod to the city’s punk spirit. Not surprisingly, black was a go-to color and Demna’s influence was unmissable in the many sharp-shoulder jackets and voluminous silhouettes I spotted. Elsewhere, some people liberally combined leopard and check prints with sheer tights and loafers, and others piled on the bows (as seen on fishtail braids, socks etc.) It all felt unapologetic, personal and anything but boring, a refreshing departure from what I saw in Paris.
Yet London Fashion Week could be so much more. Despite the city’s reputation as an epicenter of global culture, the powers-that-be are failing to create the infrastructure for young designers to thrive (Dilara Fındıkoğlu has told New York Times as much). But this isn’t a story unique to The Swinging City (just ask Carly Mark who recently abandoned her dream of making it in New York).
Beyond Fashion Week, anyone who loves clothes will find their time in London inspiring. Here’s how I spent most of my time:
Visited Dover Street Market
A fixture of London’s retail scene, Dover excels at visual displays. Whether you enter the transporting world of Grace Wales Bonner or the cerebral universe of Comme des Garçons, there will be plenty to feast on! Few multi-brand stores get me this excited about shopping; this place is up there with SSENSE in Montreal.