From Basement To Ballroom, Fashion Week Looks Good On London
In the 40 years since the first London Fashion Week, thousands of the city's spaces have been transformed to fashion show venues for one-night-only. From Shoreditch to South Kensington, no area of London has been left without an arrival from the 'fash pack' to get a glimpse of what's new and what's next.
The SS25 shows were no different. From Thursday to Monday, fashion shows lit up the capital proving that it's not only the clothes that come out of London that are creatively expansive but so too is the breadth of architecture they're shown amongst. Think of fashion week as the ultimate tour of London, but an open-top bus is swapped for an electric Mercedes-Benz town car. We went to The Royal Geographical Society, The Truman Brewery, to the banks of The Thames and back and forth to 180 The Strand like a funny fashion yo-yo.
Simone Rocha invited us to the The Old Bailey, London's criminal court, where it's grandiose interior was an exquisite backdrop for an exquisite collection. Shortly after, it was over to the steps of The British Museum, where its 43 Greek temple-style columns backdropped Erdem's emotional collection that was festooned in its own history as the designer drew inspiration from Radclyffe Hall’s 1928 queer love story 'The Well of Loneliness.'
Roksanda showed her voluminous, colourful collection in a yet-to-be-occupied office block with a circular catwalk that made the most of the crisp September sunshine as models veered to an outside balcony overlooking the city. Labrum too showed outside, uprooting the fashion crowd to Arsenal's Emirates stadium, where models - including midfielder Declan Rice - walked the edge of the pitch.
Once-classmates Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena-Irons of Chopova Lowena and Charlotte Knowles and Alexandre Arsenault of KNWLS breathed new life into really old venues. At both Chopova Lowena and KNWLS the music boomed so loud that the already-crumbling ceilings caused dust to fall from above. It added to the atmosphere of the Shoreditch Town Hall basement and the old Central Saint Martins (their alma mater) building on Southampton Row.
Yet, for us much as these spaces are chosen for their aesthetic brilliance, they also speak of fashion's important role within the city's landscape. The latest statistics tell that fashion contributes around £60 billion to the UK economy and London has a steadfast reputation and history as a city of expansive style.
When designers choose to show at art institutions, it's a nod from that exclusive industry that it welcomes fashion as a creative medium, proud to show it in within its hallowed halls. This idea comes most into play when its independent designers whose own work already sits on the fringe of the art world. Consider then 16Arlington that traded in the Barbican of last season for The Royal Academy. The room's stark white walls might have been somewhat anonymous and yet the context of showing at The RA was brought back into focus with an installation by British artist Jesse Pollock sitting centre stage. Just a few days before, S.S. Daley had also shown in the Piccadilly location, with a room of florals inspired by the work of Constance Spry.
Things can also work the other way, too. Burberry, London's tentpole big brand, did away with the tents in the park to show in the foyer of the National Theatre. The house has long had a commitment to supporting Britain's creative culture with this choice of location playing exactly into that.
It's safe to say that fashion week looks good on London, with plentiful buildings wanting and willing to host these elaborate, over-in-a-second shows to add to their own creative clout. So, if you ever needed proof that a collective appreciation of creativity is at the beating heart of London, take fashion week — this one, the last one and no doubt the next one — as proof.
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