Street styles, neon kick off London Fashion Week

LONDON 

Fashionistas braved gale-force winds in London on Feb. 18 to attend the first Fashion Week shows, with a schedule dominated by up-and-coming young designers.

Gusts ripped through the streets of the British capital as crowds, wrapped up in coats and hats, flocked to the week’s first live shows with attendees, which make up about half of the five-day event’s timetable.

It kicked off with sustainable label SOHUMAN, created by Spaniard Javier Aparici, who promises “radical transparency” on the factories used to make his garments.

He showed an ultra-feminine collection of cocktail dresses in red and black featuring applique flowers, sheer panels and giant bows.

Young British designers then came under the spotlight, with Saul Nash showcasing a relaxed but luxurious streetwear collection of merino wool tracksuits, hoodies, puffer coats and scarves, many emblazoned with his Saul logo.

Another British brand, Poster Girl, known for ultra-revealing cutaway shapewear-style dresses worn by celebrities such as Kylie Jenner and Dua Lipa, held its first catwalk show with an apres-ski theme.

Poster Girl designers Francesca Capper and Natasha Somerville, who studied at the prestigious Central Saint Martins fashion college, showed their neon-hued creations in a freezing building due for demolition.

Models in tube dresses and leggings wrapped up in fake fur coats and puffer jackets. There was even a ski suit, accessorized with bright pink high heeled sandals. Fans took pictures on their phones and whistled in approval.

S.S. Daley, a brand based in Liverpool in northwest England recently founded by Steven Stokey Daley, went for classic unisex tailoring, featuring wide baggy trousers and Sherlock Holmes-style checked overcoats.

Meanwhile Matty Bovan, another northern designer from the city of York, showed an Americana-themed collection with models wearing eccentric assemblages melding baseball jackets, gingham, denim and colorful crochet.

The event, which showcases autumn/winter 2022 collections, was held entirely virtually a year ago as it coincided with a national lockdown. Live catwalk shows resumed last September.

This time there are nearly 40 such shows including Simone Rocha, Molly Goddard, Roksanda, Erdem and Rejina Pyo.

Other designers are sticking to digital formats, such as punk icon Westwood, who will present her latest creations in a video.