Mood board: What Margaret Howell doesn’t make isn’t worth worrying about. There are a great number of those who humbly subscribe to her reductivist, functional mantra: her winter clothes will keep you warm and her summer clothes will waft to the balmiest of breezes. For S/S 2019 the designer showed pressed linen button down dresses, crisp high-waisted culottes shorts, pleated cotton skirts in fresh white, good heavy cotton drill separates. It all felt at once familiar but somehow vital; classic, but gently updated.
Best in show: There’s a lot of talk about the immense pressures faced by designers working in the age of social media. How, for example, do you make clothes that are readable on a screen? What’s going to pop out of the feed? What will garner as much attention as possible? But fascinatingly, every season the throng of street photographers who line the pavements outside the shows are ignoring the bold and the beautiful and are instead zooming in on gentle, natural elegance. The kind that Howell has been pushing since the 1970s. Good tapered cotton trousers, fine wool pinstripe suits, polka-dotted collar skirts, indigo denim suits and fisherman jumpers rendered in lighter weave. It is all easy. And smart. Contesting the differences between menswear and womenswear feels crude here – the women looked gamine and relaxed; the boys looked elegant.
Finishing touches: Howell showed white cotton plimsolls – and a single white bomber – which are part of a collaboration with British brand Fred Perry. A range of steel-grey athletic vests, swimwear and cycle shorts, made in collaboration with the Japanese sportswear company Mizuno formed part of the collection too. Last season, Howell debuted a nylon running shoe manufactured in Japan by Mizuno – this time it was back in faded black suede.
Margaret Howell S/S 2019.
Margaret Howell S/S 2019.
Margaret Howell S/S 2019.
Margaret Howell S/S 2019.
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Kim Jones to exit Fendi after four yearsFendi has announced that Kim Jones is leaving his role as artistic director of womenswear and couture at the Italian house, though will remain at Dior Men
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‘Natural gold’ straw weaving by Hanny Newton wins the inaugural QEST Sanderson rising star award'I have been passionate and driven to champion straw embroidery as an exquisite, sustainable “natural gold”’: rising star Hanny Newton on winning the inaugural award
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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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New short film takes you behind the scenes at Margaret HowellA Working Space provides a behind-the-scenes look at 34 Wigmore Street, Margaret Howell’s London headquarters, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year
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Annemarieke van Drimmelen’s photographs capture the spirit of Margaret HowellDutch photographer Annemarieke van Drimmelen has captured Margaret Howell’s A/W 2022 collection in an evocative series of black and white images. Here, Van Drimmelen and Howell tell Wallpaper* how the project came together
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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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London Fashion Week S/S 2022: eight important insights to know nowFashion brands are back with a bang in The Big Smoke. Here’s everything you need to know from London Fashion Week S/S 2022
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Nicholas Daley's multicultural roots celebrated in London -
Margaret Howell celebrates the joy of modernist toysThe London brand's Marylebone boutique explores the midcentury educational designs of Abbatt Toys
