London Fashion Week concluded yesterday evening with Daniel Lee’s latest show for Burberry: a collection of ‘lived-in imperfection’ that featured a collaboration with 85-year-old textile designer Celia Birtwell, whose prints defined the 1960s and 1970s. ‘Nothing is overly pressed or pristine,’ Lee said. ‘There’s an intentional imperfection: the idea of owning a piece, living in it.’
Elsewhere, the consensus was that this week’s edition has been a success: prior to its start, British Fashion Council CEO Laura Weir, who is now in her third season, promised to bring back London’s reputation as a hub of creativity. ‘The schedule reflects the confidence and momentum of British fashion today, bringing together established houses, emerging designers and industry partners on a platform that continues to shape global fashion,’ she said. ‘Together, they reaffirm London’s position as the global home of creativity and a catalyst for innovation, opportunity and growth.’
This included the return of McQueen and Mulberry, the latter under new creative director Christopher Kane, who is himself showing for the first time since the shuttering of his eponymous label in 2023. His ‘modern, streamlined’ vision for the British heritage house was one of the highlights of the week. ‘For me, heritage is a foundation, not a limitation,’ he said. ‘I want to write my own codes.’
Explore our pick of the best shows of London Fashion Week S/S 2027 below.
Oscar Ouyang
Central Saint Martins graduate Oscar Ouyang chose the sunlit upper floor of Rochelle, a former school in London’s Shoreditch, to show a collection which he described as one of ‘youthful romanticism’. The designer, who was born in Beijing and now lives and works in London, said he was thinking about the way that we ‘assemble’ identity on the journey from youth to adulthood. As such, the collection had a feeling of dress up, combining ‘curiosities’ (pine cone-shaped jewellery, curtain-like tassels, satin hair bands, intarsia swans) with garments which looked as if borrowed or deconstructed (a dinner jacket with its arms cut away and its lining on show, waistcoats which flapped open at the front), or worn in playful combinations, like slouchy sweaters with embellished silk shorts, or ruffled shirts and evening jackets with insignia track pants (he described it in the collection notes as ‘the uncertain interval between adolescence and adulthood, when familiar objects, clothes, and gestures suddenly acquire new meanings’). Knitwear, as ever, remained central – Ouyang began his career working primarily in the medium – but there was plenty more on show here. A series of safari-style jackets, cut in satin and nipped at the waist with a tassel fastening, or the white blouse and waistcoat which cleverly twisted across one shoulder, felt like the promising young designer was breaking new ground.
A Letter
There was a graphic simplicity to A Letter’s debut runway show which made it one of London Fashion Week’s best shows (other designers should note that choosing a location with natural light and bright white walls, as the Rose Easton Gallery has, can sharpen the audience’s view of a garment – and make for much better pictures). The designers Matt Empringham and Freddy Coomes are alumni of JW Anderson and Loewe respectively, and there are certainly traces of their mentor Jonathan Anderson’s work here in the way he oftentimes repeats a look or idea in a collection, and revels in the strange and offbeat. For their part, Empringham and Coomes described the collection as ‘exciting clothes with a hint of something slightly off,’ via the Dal Chodha-written press release.
The starting point for this S/S 2027 outing was ‘a pile of British clothes’ – among them ‘a Ben Sherman gingham shirt, a St Michael’s underwear and day dress, a nightie, a sweater, a mod shift’ – which in their hands felt radically simplified, and often hung away from the body, giving them a paper doll-like quality (indeed, last season, their entire collection was made from paper). Versions of the day dress or pinafore, with single flap pockets and a homespun feel, were reiterated throughout, while other garments were cleverly constructed to reflect the folds that remain when you remove clothing from its packaging. Most intriguing, though, were a series of PVC dresses with a degradé effect which made them appear like fabric on their front and sheer along the back, revealing underwear beneath. ‘A naivety – an unsureness – is the thing,’ read Chodha’s notes. ‘A new kind of eccentricity lurks in plainness.’
Fashion East
Lulu Kennedy’s Fashion East took place once again this season in Manor Place, a community space created in collaboration between skatewear brand (and guest editors of Wallpaper’s October 2026 issue) Palace and sportswear behemoth Nike. It is fitting, and not just because of the longstanding support Nike has given Fashion East, but the way that – over 20 years since its founding – Kennedy continues to foster a thriving community that makes her shows feel like a back-to-school moment (they typically happen on the first full day of London Fashion Week). This season, there were two returning designers, Jacek Gleba and Goyagoma by Traiceline Pratt – participants in Fashion East tend to show for three seasons before transitioning to Newgen or other support programs – as well as new arrival Mé Mé, a label helmed by Central Saint Martins MA Graduate Mie Mie, who has previously worked at Alexander McQueen and Maison Margiela.
As ever, the three designers were singular in their approach. Gleba continued to reference the sinuous line of dance wear through asymmetrical folds of jersey and leotard-style dresses which fell away into looping handkerchief drapes (shoes were also a tottering heeled take on the dance slipper). This season, he took his waifish protagonist on holiday, leading to more romantic flourishes: romper shorts and criss-crossing vests were edged with lace, which Gleba said were inspired by the ‘beach pyjamas’ of the 1920s and 1930s. Through it all, a focus on the human form: ‘the clothes fall down and around the body,’ read the collection notes, capturing the feeling of motion that the Polish-Spanish designer puts at the centre of his work – a reflection of his own adolescence as a dancer, and continuing fascination with figures like Pina Bausch and Vaslav Nijinsky.
Goyagama, meanwhile, was more rooted in the quotidian wardrobe – polo shirts, utility jackets, roomy leather trousers and the like – albeit interspersed with a series of ceremonial column dresses adorned with ropes of beads and shells, which Pratt described as ‘exaltations of summer elegance’. The various looks drew inspiration from the figures he encountered in the Bahamas, where he grew up; through them, he hopes to ‘assert a new language of luxury’. Mé Mé, also looked towards ideas of luxury: designer Mie Mie grew up in Hong Kong and said that she was thinking about the ‘1980s glamour’ of the city, albeit reimagined as a series of purposely frenetic, deconstructed looks. Playful elements sat throughout: tiny flies appeared to have ‘landed’ on models’ faces, while headpieces reimagined the smoke from a cigarette in folds of tulle.
Aaron Esh
The London-born designer Aaron Esh began his tenure as creative director of British high street brand All Saints earlier this month, revealing a collection for men and women which reflected the insouciant, morning-after-the-night-before dress codes of his eponymous label (he has shown on the London Fashion Week Schedule since 2023). With All Saints now the outlet for his more quotidian designs – riffs on the leather biker jacket, checkered shirts, torn jeans and the like – it felt like there was new freedom to his latest Aaron Esh collection, shown on Friday evening at the Electric Ballroom in Camden (Esh channels a hedonistic, rock and roll attitude in his clothing; the venue has long hosted such live performances).
Much of this freedom was found through colour: vivid pinks, oranges and reds all featured, oftentimes clashing, providing a counterpoint to the monochrome black which has become Esh’s signature (which did continue to feature alongside, like the body-contouring black leather jacket and pants worn by model muse Kiki Wilhelms to close the show). ‘[This collection] feels electric,’ he said. ‘The colours are bright, almost aggressively so. They collide rather than coordinate: unexpected shades sitting beside one another, things that shouldn't belong together somehow making perfect sense. There is a feeling of excess without being excessive.’ It was also nice to see the return of the more experimental silhouettes which defined his early collections, like a leather jacket which fell away into a narrowed, waterfall hemline and came with a sized-up fireman’s-style hood, or his play on the safari jacket which was narrowed in proportion and entirely covered in pockets. Because, with his collections at All Saints covering his customers’ wardrobe foundations, Esh fans will now look to his own label for something a little more special.
Talia Byre
The big news from Talia Byre was that its designer, Talia Lipkin-Connor, will be working with British high street label Topshop in the coming months. It comes as such high street brands are currently in the midst of a revival: M&S held a runway show as part of the fashion week schedule this season, while All Saints recently appointed buzzy London designer Aaron Esh to breathe new life into the label (see above). Topshop – which once ruled the high street – will be hoping that Lipkin-Connor can bring similar energy. And, though there was only footwear from the collaboration on show for now (apparel will follow later in the year), the news nonetheless set the stage for what Lipkin-Connor hinted was a shift in direction for the label, which until now has revelled in its nicheness (its previous shows have been held in bookshops and tiny galleries, with room for just a handful of people watching on).
Held at Marylebone’s Hellenic Hall, it felt like her most typical runway show yet, the bright white space adorned with an artwork by Dillwyn Smith. His practice – which is defined by translucent fabric stretched across frames – also inspired the collection, which this season had a lighter, more romantic bent (Lipkin-Connor said a use of whites and creams came from the success of her recent bridalwear launch). Largely eschewing the bold, graphic stripes that were her signature, this season she opted for softer moiré, sheer jersey and lightweight cable knits, though the garments still had the easy glamour which has won Lipkin-Connor a dedicated legion of fans.
KNWLS
Staged in the circular assembly hall of The Ark, a school in South London’s Elephant and Castle, KNWLS’ S/S 2027 show signalled a shift in direction: though Charlotte Knowles and Alexandre Arsenault’s woman certainly still had plenty of attitude, the garments themselves move away from the corseted jackets and body stockings that had become their signature. Lingerie was still an inspiration, though in a more languid manner: one reference was Chambre Close, a book by photographer Bettina Rheims which captures women in states of undress. As such, garments often looked to be in a state of removal – straps slipped off shoulders; vests were turned upside down – while new baggy denim jeans were turned back to front. The designers said it was the KNWLS heroine ‘coming undone’, though that didn’t mean she was out of control. ‘[It’s about] remoulding [feminine] conventions on one’s own terms,’ they said. ‘Rather than a mark of dishevelment or decline, it’s a reflection of an exacting self-possession and control.’
Chopova Lowena
The designers Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena are known for their riotous runway shows, which often feature playful runway sets (last September, guests sat on a menagerie of different chairs, from giant shells to toad stools) and a cast that reflects their own eclectic community (an editor or two have also taken their turns on the Chopova Lowena runway). This season, it was to the Bloomsbury Bowling Alley for a show which used its lanes as the runway, though the designers were thinking less about ball games than something altogether more mystical. ‘There was a time when the worst thing a woman could be was a witch,’ said the pair, who have often drawn of folkloric elements – particularly from Chopova’s native Bulgaria – in their collections. ‘Maybe that is true still. But harnessing your magic is what makes you a special and beloved CL girl.’ Cue a darker twist on Chopova Lowena’s stacked-up, more-is-more look: from their signature carabiner kilt reworked into an inky blue cape, to a witchy black tulle shirt and skirt adorned with torn-edge flowers and a requisite black-stained lip. Elsewhere, there were still plenty of moments of levity and play: a duo of dogs took to the runway (one needed treats to encourage it to make its full runway walk), while T-shirts were printed with pigeons, horses and slogans like ‘Help Me Chop Ova Lowena’, complete with three knife-wielding schoolgirls.
Simone Rocha
In 1990, Caravaggio’s ‘The Taking of Christ’ was discovered in the dining room of a Jesuit house in Dublin. This idea of finding beauty in unexpected places inspired Simone Rocha’s latest collection, which was presented at London’s historic criminal court, The Old Bailey, on Sunday morning. Finding the extraordinary in the ordinary is familiar ground for Rocha, who has drawn on christening dresses and bomber jackets, military attire and religious vestments across her career, reimagining them in her distinctive style, which often sees them adorned with layers of embellishment and reworked into blooming new forms. But the influence of Caravaggio added new richness to her work: ‘Old Master blue’ ran throughout, forming into twisted roses – another recurring motif of the collection – while shroud-like tops, which cocooned models’ heads, added a Renaissance flair. Other familiar garments, particularly those particular to Rocha’s world, like the baby-doll dress or slip, had been ‘tucked and touched and pushed’: a lace-edge camisole appeared pulled off the shoulder and hung skewiff on the body, while gowns were ruched into jaunting ruffles – a reflection of the way Caravaggio was so adept at capturing fabric in motion. The occasion marked her first womenswear-only show in some time: earlier this summer, Rocha presented her first men’s standalone show at Pitti Uomo, which would usually be shown as part of the collection in London. Rocha said the shift allowed her new focus: ‘I wanted everything to feel a bit more personal,’ she said.
Erdem
Erdem has long been fascinated by historical figures who defied the gender norms of their era, leading to collections which cleverly meld masculine and feminine tropes, as well as an influence of historical dress. This season, it was Vander Clyde Broadway, who performed the high-wire trapeze as Barbette, his female alter-ego, in the 1920s and 1930s (only when he had performed the high-wire act did he remove his wig and reveal his gender; later, he became a muse to Jean Cocteau, who described him living between genders in the ‘supernatural sex of beauty’). It made for one of Erdem’s most liberated collections yet, swaying between masculine tailoring, nipped circus body suits, and showgirl feathers, before mixing up these elements into single looks: a mannish dinner jacket erupted into a lace and tulle bustle; military parkas sat over sweaters and embellished underwear; while other tuxedo jackets were underlaid with twists of satin and enormous feathers. What was most impressive, though, was the extent of craft that goes into each look: it is little wonder he is doing great business with bespoke creations – these pieces are a British alternative to haute couture.
Mulberry
Mulberry’s S/S 2027 marked a new chapter for Scottish designer Christopher Kane, who is the British heritage brand’s new creative director (he shuttered his own eponymous London label in 2023, much to the disappointment of his many fashion-world devotees). Speaking to Wallpaper*, he said this opening gambit was about creating a ‘streamlined, modern, and stripped-back’ vision of Mulberry, rooted in its codes of leather craft but not restrained by them. Two motifs came to the fore: one was the axe, which inspired the shape of narrow, blade-like handbags and the collection’s razor-sharp, unadorned line (he said he was thinking about the idea of a tree surgeon cutting away the extraneous to encourage growth; fittingly, the Mulberry symbol is also the Mulberry tree). Another was the construction of the flap of the Bayswater handbag – Mulberry’s most enduring and bestselling bag – which inspired the notched detailing on jackets, shirts and sweaters. Elsewhere, a supersized version of the Piccadilly bag looked particularly appealing, while footwear was adorned with Mulberry’s signature Postman’s Lock. ‘For me, heritage is a foundation, not a limitation,’ he said. ‘I want to write my own codes.’
READ: Christopher Kane debuts his ‘modern, streamlined’ vision for Mulberry
Roksanda
This season, Roksanda Ilinčić chose the rooftop of London’s National Theatre, a serene garden that caught the late-afternoon sun, to stage her latest runway show. The designer once again looked to a woman artist as a starting point: this season, Switzerland-born, New York-based textile artist Françoise Grossen, who is known for her twisting, braid-like sculptures. It set Ilinčić thinking about the idea of intimacy: ‘[her] rope is twisted, knotted, braided and transformed into sculptural forms, becoming a language for the collection: soft yet powerful, intimate yet monumental,’ she said. As such, these ideas became motifs in the collection: bags and shoes were adorned with raffia-like streamers, while tailoring was given shape with knotted detailing across its back (another fabric used throughout the collection appeared frayed and undone). Despite its more dramatic silhouettes – like a series of dresses which jutted out from the front of the waistline like a turned-around bustle – this collection also saw the introduction of a dedicated daywear line, including blousons, safari jackets, silk blouses and satin trousers, a clever counterpoint to her more outré designs.
Lovebirds
Last season, Indian label Raw Mango made its debut at London Fashion Week at Victoria’s Horticultural Hall; this season, it was the turn of wife-and-husband duo Gursi Singh and Amrita Khanna’s New Delhi-based label Lovebirds, who also chose the venue for their own London debut. And, while both labels are distinct in their design language, they share a desire to expand the preconceptions of what Indian fashion is: ‘It is not the India we are introducing to the world; it’s the India we already know. We are just looking at it through the contemporary fashion lens,’ says Khanna, who established the brand with Singh in 2014. One inspiration was the classic Indian chintz fabric, which was here ‘disrupted and re-layered’ and used – alongside handwoven silks, tussar, dupion and brocade – to make free-flowing shirts and breezy, oversized tailoring. These sat alongside clean-lined 1990s-style skirts, embroidered denim, blousons and vest tops, which encapsulated Lovebirds’ brand of ‘minimalism, precision and restraint.’
Burberry
‘Lived-in imperfection’ is how Daniel Lee described his latest collection for Burberry, which was shown in a purpose-built space at Chelsea College of Art and marked the final act of London Fashion Week (and by far the most star-studded of the week, with Skepta, Gemma Chan, Lila Moss, Fiona Shaw and Romeo Beckham all front row, while Central Cee walked the runway). Washed silk and cotton iterations of the signature trench coat were designed to feel ‘worn-in and loved’, as Lee described, while trompe l’oeil details evoked utility and military attire (a new exhibition at the V&A charts the history of the trench, which began as part of the uniform for the British Army). ‘This is classic Burberry utility made easy,’ he said.
The collection also featured a collaboration with textile designer Celia Birtwell, who sat front row. Known for her vivid prints which defined the 1960s and 1970s – as well as being a friend, muse and subject of David Hockney – she created a gingham version of the house’s signature check, as well as playful faces and florals designed to ‘bring joy’. It made for an uplifting collection from the British heritage house, which was enlivened with embellishment, like a series of coats adorned with colourful beaded and studded flowers. ‘Nothing is overly pressed or pristine,’ Lee said. ‘There’s an intentional imperfection: the idea of owning a piece, living in it.’