Mood board: ‘I was looking at a period of time where there was a lot of angst going on,’ said Oliver Spencer backstage after his A/W 2018 catwalk show, one inspired by Roxy Music’s 1975 single ‘Love is the Drug’. ‘There is a similar angst now,’ he continues. ‘In times of turmoil, creativity is at its best!’
Spencer’s merry band of models – which for his autumn offering featured Daisy Lowe, Jade Parfitt and Esquire’s Catherine Hayward – were decked out in garments designed as an ode to London during this period. The catwalk buzzed not just with the beat of ‘Love is the Drug’ but also with Spencer’s double-breasted suits, and safari and bomber jackets, in blues, greys and rusty shades, topped off with baker boy hats and a heavy dose of 1970s swagger.
Team work: Spencer knows a thing or two about elevating wardrobe classics with textures. He is a dab hand with twill and corduroy. For A/W 2018, flourishes of velvet were wonderfully louche – as seen in relaxed mustard velvet cropped trousers, stripe-detail bowling jackets and double-breasted suit jackets, which energised the River Thames-inspired grey and blue tones in the collection. The designer also continued his See Now Buy Now collaboration with Vero, on a series of pieces available to buy immediately after the show, also available on the Vero profiles of Isaac Carew, Jack Guinness, Daisy Lowe & Erin O’Connor.
Sound bite: ‘My favourite Roxy Music fashion moment? I suppose it’s Bryan Ferry wearing a leopard skin jumpsuit!’
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Explore the riches of Morse House, the Canadian modernist gem on the marketMorse House, designed by Thompson, Berwick & Pratt Architects in 1982 on Vancouver's Bowen Island, is on the market – might you be the new custodian of its modernist legacy?
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Volvo ES90 brings calm, quiet Scandi sophistication to the electric saloon car marketThe new Volvo ES90 is one of the few contemporary automobiles that could truly be described as quintessentially modernist. We take it for a ride
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This boutique hotel in Seville is an unmissable cabinet of curiositiesLocated in the city’s Jewish quarter, Hotel Casa del Limonero is a modern and contemporary art and design enthusiast’s dream
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‘Dirty Looks’ at the Barbican explores how fashion designers have found beauty in dirt and decayFrom garments buried in River Thames mud to those torn, creased and stained, ‘Dirty Looks’ is a testament to how ‘creativity and new artistic practices can come out of decay’, its curators tell Dal Chodha
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Tyler Mitchell’s London show explores the figure of the Black Dandy, ‘imagining what else masculinity could look like’Originally part of a visual essay to accompany the Met’s ‘Superfine’ 2025 Costume Institute exhibition, ‘Portrait of the Modern Dandy’ goes on display at Gagosian Burlington Arcade in London this week
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Inside Louis Vuitton’s Murakami London pop-up, a colourful cartoon wonderland with one-of-a-kind caféWallpaper* takes a tour of the Louis Vuitton x Murakami pop-up in London’s Soho, which celebrates the launch of a new ‘re-edition’ accessories collection spanning the greatest hits from the Japanese artist’s long-running collaboration with the house
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Get to know Issey Miyake’s innovative A-POC ABLE line as it arrives in the UKAs A-POC ABLE Issey Miyake launches in London this week, designer Yoshiyuki Miyamae gives Wallpaper* the lowdown on the experimental Issey Miyake offshoot
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Margaret Howell London Fashion Week Women's S/S 2019 -
London Fashion Week S/S 2023: Ahluwalia to Martine RoseThough slimmed-down, London Fashion Week nonetheless provided the moments of creative expression the city is known for – from Ahluwalia’s ode to Africa to Martine Rose’s much-anticipated runway return
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Discover these fashion brands at London Craft WeekDuring London Craft Week, fashion brands including Smythson, Bally and Serapian are hosting events across the capital
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Nicholas Daley's multicultural roots celebrated in London
