How do you stage a fashion show during a period of national mourning? It's not a question designers expected to have to answer as they prepared their new collections to show during London Fashion Week, which began on Thursday evening. While parties and non-essential business events have been postponed until October, designers are still able to showcase their new work and have all illustrated the agility of London's creatives as they've adapted their shows and presentations to include appropriate tributes to Queen Elizabeth II.
One such brand who had to react to the news of the Queen's death at lightning speed is Rixo, quickly changing plans for its typically celebratory presentation. After all, this is the label loved by the new Princess of Wales, so it was always going to honour its royal connection.
'We were all extremely anxious and thought that the whole of London Fashion Week would be cancelled,' Henrietta Rix, one half of the duo behind Rixo, tells me. 'We started thinking about what we could do that feels like a really nice tribute without taking away what we want to represent, the collection and the six months of hard work everyone has put into it. Because it's not just us, there's a whole team who have been working so hard on this and it's a huge investment for our brand.'
We've dressed the models in vibrant block colours that are a nod to the Queen... it was always so exciting to see what she was going to be wearing to an event.
Indeed, without investors, Rix and her co-founder, Orlagh McCloskey, are solely responsible for a large team. London Fashion Week, Rix explains, is the biggest investment of the year for Rixo and so cancelling the presentation would have been disastrous.
Instead, the pair decided to pay homage to our longest-reigning monarch with bright colours, the Queen's favourite music and Victoria Sponge cake. 'We've done what we think are some really lovely things,' Rix said ahead of the presentation. 'We're serving sparkling English breakfast tea, which we thought was a nice nod to the Queen. Orlagh and I will be wearing black and we will raise a toast and hold a minute's silence. It's to mark our respects for what an amazing and incredible woman she was. Her leaderships is really inspiring to us – a woman was there at the helm, a constant all the way through.'
As always, there are many prints running throughout Rixo's new collection, many of which were inspired by ceramic tiles that McCloskey saw during a trip to Goa earlier this year. This translates to hand-painted suns, sea horses and shells decorating midi dresses, minis and matching sets, which are a significant focus for spring/summer 2023.
For the fashion week presentation, however, Rix and McCloskey decided to let their prints take a backseat. 'We've tweaked the pieces we were going to show and instead have dressed the models in vibrant block colours that are a nod to the Queen, when she used to wear her brilliant greens, yellows and pinks. It was so exciting to see what she was going to be wearing when she turned up to an event.'
Aside from the Queen, Rix and McCloskey are now paying particular attention to the new Princess of Wales's outfits,as she has twice worn Rixo dresses this year. Most recently, she wore a brown polka dot shirtdress to drop her children off at their new school near Windsor.
'Catherine always looks so elegant in our clothes,' Rix says. 'She's always worn our dresses in the daytime, which is so nice as we want people to know that Rixo isn't just for 'best'. We're often known as a wedding guest brand – don't get me wrong, we do cater to that, but it was so great to see the Princess of Wales wear Rixo to drop off her kids at school.'
We have a meeting with Kate's stylist who selects pieces but we never know if it's going to happen or not
Interestingly, Kate has worn the same dress in two different prints this year, both of which have unsurprisingly sold out immediately. The pink Izzy dress, which she wore during a visit to The Bahamas in March, is now back in stock in some sizes, while the polka dot iteration is coming back in November.
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Do Rix and McCloskey know when Kate is going to wear their creations? 'We only knew the day before. We have a meeting with [Kate's] stylist, who selects which pieces she wants to buy. But you never know if it's going to happen – half the time they send stuff back so you don't know if she's going to wear something. But it's just so exciting, my family WhatsApp group blows up more than anything – we've bought every single newspaper!'
As well as day dresses and party pieces, Rixo has expanded its offering for brides, too. Launched during lockdown, its feather-trimmed white gowns and hand-beaded dresses have been a particular hit with modern brides either looking for more low-key wedding options or those in need of a second outfit. One of the new styles includes a glittering mini dress that was recently worn by McCloskey during the evening of her own wedding.
Having started Rixo in the student house she shared with McCloskey, Rix says it's a 'dream' to see the Princess of Wales now wearing their clothes. And as for the changes they had to make to their London Fashion Week presentation, Rix pays tribute to her hard-working team.
'I'm so proud of them. Everyone's thoughts really carefully about it. I think being agile and just making sure that you can do something that feels respectful is nice. I just hope that everyone sees that, we wouldn't want to upset anybody. But this feels like a time to let the world know what you stand for as a brand.'
READ MORE: ‘Regal And Elegant’: What Alice Temperley Makes Of The New Princess Of Wales’ Style