London Fashion Week: Weird is wonderful

This season’s London shows have been moved to Soho – and the district’s colourful past is reviving designers’ anarchic spirits, writes Susie Lau.

It’s been a noisy few days in London’s Soho, with the constant blare of car horns in the air. That’s because fashion week – or specifically, fashion week cars – are clogging up these narrow streets. Opinions on the British Fashion Council’s decision to base London Fashion Week in a car park in the West End district are mixed. But once you get past the logistical difficulties and the bemused disgruntlement of Soho’s office workers, LFW’s move to its new home has been a positive one, not least by encouraging the rebellious spirit in designers, something that London is known for and should be mindful of maintaining. 

Freak Street, W1

Walk around Soho these days and many of the seedier spots have been replaced by trendy restaurants and boutiques. Yet the Soho in designers’ minds is one rooted in fantasies of its ‘80s nightlife, when Blitz club kids fell out of Le Kilt or Billy’s in the early hours. Those were Gareth Pugh’s reference points, as he sent his models out in a glut of sequins, bows and helter-skelter stripes with faces dramatically painted and roughed up with latex masks. This was a joyful celebration of Soho sleaze and a blatant criticism of the area’s rampant gentrification. It was Pugh’s second show back in London – where his ideas as a designer were formed – and it’s clear the city suits him. The three young designers of the Fashion East line-up took over various venues on Greek Street, which was turned into Freak Street instead.  

Le Kilt designer Sam McCoach (who named her brand after the Soho club) also looked back to an era of Soho nightlife. She took over the historic 100 club – recently saved from closure – with an homage to her heroine, Shirley Manson of Garbage. Designers were fighting back against the changing face of the city with their work, which happily re-affirmed the renegade spirit that London is known for. 

All grown up?

There’s always a narrative at London Fashion Week that says the city’s designers are ‘growing up’ – which can be patronising for the designers in question. However, when a designer reaches a new milestone in their careers, you can often see it in the work. Jonathan Saunders has recently gained a new investor and CEO, and that seemed to show through in his latest collection. Light came flooding in through the clear tent and shone through his finely tuned prints and vivid colour compositions. 

Simone Rocha also upped the ante in her show to neatly coincide with her brand new store in posh Mayfair. Inside the grand rooms of Lancaster House, Rocha showed a personal view of the Japan she knows and loves. Yes there were kimono floral prints and obi-esque bows but when paired with plastic macramé harnesses inspired by the photographer Araki, you can be sure that this was no straightforward bout of Japonaiserie. Rocha’s collections are at their best when she puts something personal into them. She happens to be heavily pregnant at the moment: a new chapter in her own life along with a debut flagship store are clearly spurring on her creativity.   

More is more

Maximalism is never really a trend in London. It’s a constant. Designers go for it without fail: it’s how you get love-or-hate reactions. JW Anderson had puffed up shoulders the size of footballs on his blouses, sometimes adorned with in-yer-face squiggles. Fame was on Anderson’s mind as the soundtrack oscillated from Justin Bieber to audio of Fran Lebowitz talking about celebrity culture in the Martin Scorsese documentary, Public Speaking. “Everything all at once,” is how Anderson summed up his collection and you either accept it or you don’t. We all left giddy with Anderson’s generosity.

Young designer Molly Goddard presented more of her tulle frilly frocks. It’s brilliant how Goddard has carved out a signature style in such a short period of time with an abundance of frills, gathers and pleats on voluminous dresses that will stop most in their tracks. Mary Katrantzou has been shying away from prints for a few seasons now and this time round, her embellishments were ramped up a notch. Her dresses sparkled, glittered and dripped with embroideries and crystals. Katrantzou no longer has to spell out her theme with a pictorial representation; instead, she can go abstract and still manage to say a lot. 

Susie Lau is a fashion journalist who blogs at stylebubble.co.uk. She is covering New York, London, Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks for BBC Culture.

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