Richard Quinn
→ London’s hottest fashion whiz kid totally dedicated his Spring/Summer 2023 collection to Her Majesty the Queen, Elizabeth II. or rather the attire for the mournful event of her burial. Saying that “she touched him among so many others with her grace and kindness”, the show opened with an entirely black series of regal gowns, paired with veils and crowns, as vintage footage of the Queen played on screens in the centre of the catwalk. Not to forget the Queen’s iconic surprise appearance in 2018 when she actually attended one of his shows. After the tribute to this great monarch of England, the show continued as typically dramatic as we know Richard Quinn for. With exaggerated silhouettes walking the runway, he designed part two of his collection for Spring/Summer 2023 to “embody an exquisite futurism”. But see for yourself and let yourself drive into the bold patterns in a world as Richard Quinn creates for us.

JW Anderson
→ Fashion designer Jonathan William Anderson hit the home run. After leaving England’s fashion capital London to showcase in Milano, he came back for one of the most intimate runways of the season. Beyond glaring neon nights and many more dazzling show guests, JW Anderson took over a whole casino crusade, the Las Vegas Arcade in London’s Soho. The bright lights that decorate the streets outside were emulated inside, with slot machines and big-winning games shining their intoxicating glimmer onto the makeshift runway. The energy was pumping in the room before we’d even seen the clothes, in turn gearing us up for one of the standout shows of the season. JW Anderson fused fashion with fun in its purest form, including dresses complete with plastic bags of pet fish, selfie-inspired shimmering orbs, and retro keyboard keys. Offering a general sense of juxtaposition throughout, JW Anderson’s SS23 was equal parts oversized and form-fitting, dramatic and subtle, unhinged and incredible. The show ended with a tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Check out the final look of his SS23-collection for this!

Simone Rocha
→ Simone Rocha also dared to do the daring. Menswear it is. Right after her huge commercial sell-out success with H&M last year, she sent male models down the runway under the domed ceiling of the Old Bailey for the first time. Mixing frills with utility details across women’s and menswear, oversized bomber jackets, and petticoat frills worn as both skirts and veils were her central theme. The Irish fashion designer spent her time outdoors seeking inspiration. The resulting collection represented the healing of the earth, featuring floral motifs - chamomile, daisies, tulip coats - blended with Rocha's signature deconstructed designs and disrupted proportions. Simone Rocha described her SS23 show as “a reaction to distress” as well as “fragility, remorse, and anger”. Unusual trailing harness straps were used with ruched-up skirts and shirting and hung from oversized backpacks. Intricate sequin flowers and bow embroideries appeared on dresses. The verdict? A tour de force and the largest round of applause of the week.

Molly Goddard
→ Molly Goddard’s SS23 collection was a love letter to contrasts. Dresses and skirts as we all know and love them from her started the show. Next came the return of the dress-overjeans trend, seen here styled with bold cowboy boots - an interplay the way we love it. As the undisputed ruler of British babydoll dresses, Molly Goddard surprised everyone with her unusual shapes. For the first time, she showed fan-favourite tulle pieces as well as clean lines in suits and retro-collared cardigans, even jeans. Followed by a neon tulle takeover with slip dresses paired with clashing bee stripe undergarments and the most divine contrasting red top and lilac skirt, the show finished with a classic bridal ending showcasing a larger-than-life tulle dress fit for a modern fashion bride. Molly Goddard gave us everything we expected and delivered, even more, injected with a sense of quirk and fun thanks to her poppy color palette, which screams “It’s a Molly Goddard” even from far away.

Erdem
→ Even from far away, you could already see the long queue at the British Museum. Once to be distinguished from the tourists to fashion folks attending the Erdem Show, the show guests took out their favourite pieces designed by Creative Director Erdem Moralıoğlu. Together with his studio team, the designer spent time with restoration experts at the British Museum, Tate, V&A and National Gallery. And that is exactly what this collection is about. Erdem’s latest creations explored the theme of the skill and dedication of art restoration. His Spring/Summer 2023 collection was based on the behind-the-scenes work of museum conservators exploring the undone, the stages of reconstruction created surprising details such as frayed hems, unexpected forms that came from studying understructures, and gowns created using fragments of different fabrics seen in the museums. Erdem Moralıoğlu’s SS23 collection examines the space between care and obsession in the pursuit of preservation. He also dedicated his Spring/Summer 2023 show to Her Majesty the Queen.

16Arlington
→ The day before the world prepared to say goodbye to Her Majesty the Queen, 16Arlington showcased a collection that was fittingly titled ‘Forget Me Not’, inspired by “the wildflower with petals of dusty pink and faded lilac-blue; a symbol of true and eternal love, devotion and remembrance”. Even though Elizabeth II.’s demise came at such short notice, this collection is actually designed in tribute to the brand’s co-founder Federica ‘Kikka’ Cavenati, who passed away suddenly in November 2021, at the age of 28. Marco Capaldo, the current label’s lead, made the 16Arlington universe so tangible, as they both always dreamed it would be. Only now, one of them is watching from the other side of their shared universe. Whereas the previous collection featured beading and crystals applied in light splashes to recall teardrops, here Marco Capaldo looked to the forget-me-not flower as his point of departure, deliberately working with more minimalist silhouettes cut from icy blue and lilac raw-edge silk satins in order to balance out his signature Swarovski crystals and faux fur, marabou-trimmed party dresses.

David Koma
→ For Spring/Summer 2023, star-favourite David Koma found his inspiration on the streets of London surrounding his Shoreditch studio, shortly after becoming a British citizen and still living each day with open eyes as if it were his first after the Georgian finally immigrated to the United Kingdom. It is the “everyday enchantment”, that gave him the drive to create a collection full of black cocktail dresses and cut-out designs inspired by the oily, iridescent colour formations of petrol on the pavement – and the more otherwordly landscape that lies deep under the sea far apart of river Themes, with its shimmering shells and starfish. And it was exactly there, where he was inspired by, where he staged the runway spectacle. Outside of his studio on the streets of the Theatre Courtyard Gallery, a location that just so happened to be where William Shakespeare put on his first play, Koma-Girls and Boys instead mixed up the neighbourhoods colour game. “This season, a conversation between accidental and environmental beauty informs a collection founded in the clash and harmony between the natural and the cultural”, explained the show notes.

Nensi Dojaka
→ It’s always tricky when a breakout designer has a “signature look” because how can they go forward while still making what people want? For this season, however, she reinterpreted her own signature lingerie-like pieces and played with fluidity and structure. Nensi Dojaka has figured that out by boosting her famous twist-and-cup bra tops with paper-thin evening slips and lurex metallic bodysuits, along with a pair of truly excellent wide-legged jeans. It was a true ode to the designer’s “eternal inspiration”, the flower, as sequins gently embellished dewy evening gowns and her signature slip dresses, in silver, lilac and pink fabrics shimmer down the runway. Subtly touching on eroticism, the collection married lurex and lace sculpted into bra cups, while leopard print and denim nodded to the 1990s, but, if we’re being totally honest, having Emily Ratajkowski close the show in a merlot cling-wrap corset gown was a pop culture freeze frame on its own.

Christopher Kane
→ Back on the London fashion week schedule with a bang, Scottish fashion designer Christopher Kane riffed on some of his own past collections for Spring/Summer 2023. Highlights included subversive twinsets, lingerie, floral stickers, skeleton-like PVC-straps, and crystal chainmail. Science, nature and the human body were cited as inspirations, and there were anatomical cross-section drawings (symbolic of power and strength) of hands, arms, and legs to decorate dresses looking like minimalist nurse and physician uniforms. Sexy dresses were everywhere in London, from bodycon to lingerie-inspired. Kane’s were some of the best in show - think clear vinyl body straps with inset lace bra cups. He also had a cozy dose of oversized knitwear and wowzer cutaway Chelsea boots, because sometimes, we just wanna get dressed and feel cool without having to think about it.

Daniel W. Fletcher
→ Following a one-minute silence opening his show with a solemn tribute to Her Majesty the Queen, Daniel W. Fletcher paid homage to figures past and present who have made London their home - from King’s Road punks to Savile Row tailors. But also the initially very dark designs are reminiscent of the mourning for Elizabeth II.’s passing, especially the all-black morning suit worn with an armband to tribute to the Queen, opening his Spring/Summer 2023 show. Ever since Netflix’s hit series “Next in Fashion”, we have appreciated his skills. His craftsmanship is truly exceptional. No question the tailoring-focused SS23-collection referenced past and present silhouettes by mixing corsets and pyjama shirts with classic suiting. This was Fletcher’s most sustainable collection to date, working with deadstock fabrics through Nona Source, which sources waste fabrics from LVMH to repurpose elsewhere. A big yes from us!