Models displaying clothing by Oliver Spencer
Oliver Spencer A/W 2018. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

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!’

Models displaying fashion by Oliver Spencer

(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

Models displaying fashion by Oliver Spencer

(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

Models displaying fashion by Oliver Spencer

(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

Models displaying fashion by Oliver Spencer

(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)