Is it too soon to start planning for next summer? In her SS22 collection, unveiled today, Victoria Beckham made a compelling case for doing so. ‘When thinking about this season I was drawn to the elegance of a European summer; linen suits, slip dresses and sunsets,’ she said in the show notes. ‘The way a trip like that can make you feel almost detached from reality, like it’s another era. It’s quite romantic.’
Also quite romantic was Beckham’s decision to take inspiration from her husband’s wardrobe. VB knows how to please her loyal fans – in lieu of a physical show this London Fashion Week she gave us a different type of David Beckham, not front row but on the catwalk. ‘A masculine silhouette is part of our DNA. There was quite an eclectic mix of well-dressed men that came to mind when I was thinking about this season...Leo in linen, Ray Liotta in Goodfellas – the string vest and unbuttoned shirt – then of course Mr Beckham himself,’ she said. ‘I liked the idea of a couple sharing their holiday wardrobe. Your partner’s shirt thrown over your swimsuit or slip dress, a shacket tucked into tailored trousers’.
Certainly you could see a swish of David in the languid grey suiting, the oversized chambray shirt, the khaki coat – and don’t those printed maxi skirts call to mind a certain sarong from 1998?
But it’s testament to Mrs Beckham’s strength as a designer, her innate, instinctive knowledge of her customer (and herself) that it read thoroughly like one of her collections rather than David cosplay or a copy-and-paste of his greatest hits. The languid, slinky slips, the unexpected colours (burnt orange, ice blue), the neat skirts: those are all hers. Continually evolving, there is an ease to this collection – her first since merging the Victoria Beckham and Victoria Victoria Beckham lines – that is indicative of her quiet confidence. When the clothes are this good, you don’t need the razzmatazz of a catwalk show to make an impression. As it said in the show notes: ‘Embracing the uncomplicated’.
SEE: The Highlights From London Fashion Week SS22
16Arlington
Death Becomes Her, and an ultra-glam take on the gothic, was the starting point for 16Arlington, who produced a collection that showcased, 'a lethal female attitude; vampiric self-assuredness'. Their 'Modern Morticia Addams' wore languid slip dresses, twisted halter tops, floor-skimming maxi skirts and spangled gowns, all in a delightfully 'off' colour palette of powder pink, frog green and black.
16Arlington
16Arlington
Harris Reed SS22
For his first salon-style show, Found, Harris Reed presented exquisite 10 looks that were entirely black and white. The reason for the striped back colour palette was a very good one: the entire collection was made from upcycled bridalwear and groomswear sourced from Oxfam. For their rebirth, Reed and his team meticulously unpicked seams and reconstructed garments out of lace veils, waistcoats and morning jackets, liberating each piece from the binary of 'his' and 'hers' in the process. The results, complete with his signature hoop headpieces, were nothing short of magic.
Harris Reed SS22
Harris Reed SS22
Richard Quinn SS22
Richard Quinn's front row was the most star-studded at London Fashion Week - and his catwalk didn't disappoint either. Kate Moss clapped and cheered as her daughter, Lila Grace Moss Hack, swished past in a firetruck red jumpsuit, and then Bimini Bon Boulash, wearing a pouffy-sleeved purple gown and thigh-high yellow boots, arrived. The collection proved that the designer has reached a new maturity, while still delivering on his signature house codes (florals, quilting, full body immersion) that his fans so love.
Richard Quinn SS22
Richard Quinn SS22
COS SS22
The fashion editor's favourite high street shop has taken a new direction this autumn. For the first time, COS put on a show at London Fashion Week, taking over the iconic Roundhouse Theatre. Loyal fans will still recognise the brand's easy and luxurious take on getting dressed, only now it's even sharper, with covetable winter coats, floor-skimming silk dresses and slick accessories. With the collection now available in stores and online, we've got the mohair vest and the leather bomber jacket in our basket.
COS SS22
COS SS22
Maximilian SS22
It was the Caribbean Sea - its colours, sounds and what it represents for so many people, 'a sense of homecoming, nostalgia, and freedom,' - that informed the latest collection from Maximilian Davis. The naval military uniforms worn in Port of Spain, as well as 1962's Dr No, were on his moodboard for SS22, both references lending themselves to the high-voltage drama of cut-out bodysuits, fringed minidresses and wet-look gowns - clothes for 'moonlit island evenings'.
Chet Lo SS22
For Chet Lo's debut with Fashion East, his collection, Splash, was inspired by the mystical romance found in the film of the same name and celebrates the beauty of holiday life. His signature spike-knit swimwear and body-clinging cover-ups came in saturated shades of a just-mixed cocktail and were accessorised with playful pool noodles, transporting the show-goer to a tropical haven. The Asian American designer only graduated in summer 2020, but with fans already queuing up to wear his clothes (including Kylie Jenner), it won't be long before these spiky designs go stratospheric.
Goomheo SS22
Last season, Goom Heo's collection was a meditation on the fear of what might be lurking in the darkness. But this season, her fourth with Fashion East, that fear gives way to a wholehearted embracing of 'the unexpected, the eerie and the weird'. There was a grungy sense of havoc to the barely-there chain tops and interlocking trails of jersey, flaunting the body with an almost exhibitionist flair, and exploring the tension between nakedness as a source of subversion and nakedness as a natural human state.
HRH SS22
For her second collection for HRH, Hannah Hopkins made her first foray into swimwear, inspired by the way athletes decorate themselves and thinking about the poise of Simone Biles, the fighting spirit of Naomi Osaka. 'I actually loved the purposeful change of name from 'synchronised swimming' to artistic swimming taking effect this year, as I feel it celebrates the incredible creative presentation in this event while honouring the endurance behind it,' she said in the show notes.
Jawara Alleyne SS22
Jawara Alleyne made his entire collection, his second for Fashion East, from his bedroom in East London. Growing up in Jamaica, and then the Cayman Islands, his idea of fit is informed by a childhood spent wearing hand-me-downs and baggy clothes to suit hot temperatures. 'So I've always developed a feeling when I'm approaching clothes that it should always feel comfortable, almost like you're not wearing any clothes at all, breaking free from the current thinking about sizing and how we feel in clothes,' he says in the show notes, emphasising the beauty of draping, a technique that isn't often found in menswear. Key pieces include the Cuban guayabera shirt, which is roomy but has drawstrings if you want to cinch it closer to the body, and scarves, a favourite of Alleyne's. 'I am obsessed with scarves, because in the Caribbean you just wear scarves by wrapping them around you, and I always find it surprising that people don't do that here. I have made scarves sewn together in parts and then safety pinned in others, that you can drape around you however you want. I want to give the wearer agency – it's their choice how they wear it,' he says.
Osman SS22
Aware of the environmental and social impact of the fashion and textile industry, Osman Yousefzada grappled with the question, 'What happened to last season's clothes?' For SS22, he wanted to create a collection with meaning, not something to solely satisfy commercial demand. With this in mind, he created 15 looks out of TENCEL™ Luxe*, a luxury filament from the Lenzing Group, made from sustainably sourced wood pulp that is transformed into an endless filament with properties that are comparable to silk. The designer's tailoring and draping skills were brought to the fore, from the sheer catsuits with flaring pant legs to a particularly flirtatious red-ruffled playsuit, as was his attention to detail when it comes to fabrics, some of which were woven on hand-looms that have been passed from generation to generation in India and Pakistan.
Osman SS22
Osman SS22
Simone Rocha SS22
Simone Rocha's show notes, usually a collection of musings that encapsulate her seasonal thought process, made it clear that motherhood was on her mind. 'Communion dress, embellished breast, distressed,' and ,'Baby teeth & lack of sleep,' lingered in the mind as her signature dresses, overlaid with cardigans, bra tops and, this season, thigh-high boots or ballet pumps, walked, or rather stomped, past.
Simone Rocha SS22
Simone Rocha SS22
Roksanda SS22
Roksanda made a glorious return to the Serpentine Pavilion, showing her collection inspired by motion and the informalist art movement in the structure designed by Sumayya Vally, the youngest architect to be commissioned by the Serpentine. Roksanda's house codes of colour, contrast, architecture and female narratives were ever-present at yesterday's show, where the clothes were brought to life through movement, choreographed by artist Holly Blakey, in a whirl of colour and billowing volume.
Roksanda SS22
Roksanda SS22
Emilia Wickstead SS22
Emilia Wickstead took the themes of the Last Year at Marienbad, a fashion-forward film from the French New Wave, as her starting point for SS22. The collection itself was a refined and restrained take on elegance that the designer has made her signature, with beautiful wraps that encased the body and a sequence of striking blood orange and blue prints, hand-painted in the atelier, with lovebirds, fish and wreath motifs to 'evoke the romance of a summer holiday from a bygone era'.
Emilia Wickstead SS22
Emilia Wickstead SS22
Supriya Lele SS22
Supriya Lele, who spent her holiday wearing a men's tank top, developed a fascination with classic clothing silhouettes over the summer. Bomber jackets, capri pants, button-down shirts, all were reinterpreted, emerging with sequin-adorned embroidery, voluminous sleeves and ties around the navel, inflected with the designer's '90s/early '00s sensibility.
Supriya Lele SS22
Supriya Lele SS22
Erdem SS22
For his 15th anniversary collection, Erdem Moralioglu mined the wardrobes of two of the Bloomsbury Set's most illustrious members: Edith Sitwell and Ottoline Morrell. Fitting, as the collection was shown in the columned environs of the British Museum, which brought the exquisite nature of the designer's clothes - from a sparkling green floor-sweeper to the floral-printed saucer hats - to life.
Erdem SS22
Erdem SS22
Richard Malone SS22
Richard Malone presented his collection in the V&A, with guests taking their seats amid the storied Raphael Cartoons, and cleverly mirrored the concept of 'old' and 'new' with clothes that explored the tension between 'good' and 'bad' taste. What Malone expressed, to great effect, was that art is entirely subjective, dependant on the viewer's emotion. And that's something that can also happen with clothes. Yesterday's show also saw the unveiling of the designer's collaboration with Mulberry, available as of today, as part of the heritage label's 50th anniversary celebrations. Malone has reinterpreted two of the most iconic bags in its stable - the Bayswater and the Darley - transporting interior details to the exterior to brilliantly modern effect. Both brands are advocates for sustainability and, as such, the bags use an eco-version of the brand's signature Scotchgrain, which is crafted from innovative bio-synthetic materials.
Richard Malone SS22
Richard Malone SS22
S.S. Daley SS22
For his first solo catwalk collection, Steven Stokey Daley worked closely with members of the National Youth Theatre, an institution that he joined after leaving high school in 2014, and used their stories of school, both private and state, to explore education and elitism in Britain. While it contained references to uniforms - rugby shorts and a suit that references rowing jackets, for example - the collection was a tour de force in sumptuous fabrics - Daley sources everything from the UK, very often using deadstock fabric, as well as upholstery materials - and took the audience on a journey through the schoolground, the sports fields and the dorms.
S.S. Daley SS22
Rejina Pyo SS22
Rejina Pyo took us swimming, staging her show at the London Aquatics Centre, complete with professional divers. There was a strong note of nostalgia running through the collection, which featured collage prints of photographs taken by Pyo while travelling in New York and Seoul. Mostly, Pyo proved that she still understands exactly what women want to wear, with glorious day dresses, relaxed short suits and elegant, easy-to-wear tailoring.
Rejina Pyo SS22
Rejina Pyo SS22
Roland Mouret SS22
Roland Mouret decided to reimagine the ancient myth of Ulysses for spring/summer, telling the story from the perspective of Hera, the female protagonist. Working with Magaajyia Silberfeld who produced, co-directed and starred in Terma, the short film made alongside the collection, the clothes themselves include easy-to-wear dresses, comfortable trousers and effortless tops. 'The collection meshes with every moment of a woman's day, to uplift any instant as an opportunity to feel good in yourself,' said the designer.
Roland Mouret SS22
Roland Mouret SS22
Labrum SS22
With styling by Ibrahim Kamara, and a gloriously exuberant set design from Yinka Illori, Labrum was a triumph of culture and creativity on Saturday. Embodying the label's mantra, 'Designed by an immigrant,' this collection was a homage to Caribbean and African migrants in '70s Britain, weaving together music, politics and community in a display that 'brings history to life'. For this collection, Foday Dumbuya collaborated with the Madam Wokie Skills Development Initiative, an organisation that provides women with practical skills and economic empowerment in Sierra Leone, to create the tie-dye prints in saturated colours. He also gave new life to hand-drawn prints that depict village life in Sierra Leone, as well as motifs of tribal masks. 'Labrum's goal is to not only create work that embodies the modern day members of the African diaspora, but to converse fluidly the stories of those who came before them too,' read the show notes.
Labrum SS22
Labrum SS22
KNWLS SS22
'There's something to her that borders on brash,' read the show notes for KNWLS, and there was a delicious kind of brazenness to the earthy colour palette, the leather breastplates, the handkerchief-hem dresses and the 'motor grease-daubed' jeans that were worn with cowboy hats and marbled stone jewellery made in collaboration with Marco Panconesi. It was a collection that exuded confidence, sex appeal and a 'libertine spirit': 'And just as you've had the time to take it all in, she's off, leaving little else behind than a rising trail of dust.'
KNWLS SS22
KNWLS SS22
Feben SS22
X-Pression, Feben's SS22 collection and debut on-schedule presentation, was conceived as 'a concise wardrobe that is celebratory and protective in equal measure' after full spiral of human emotion that has been the past year and a half. This explains why wide-leg trousers created from fused strips of jersey - their wavy silhouette echoing the hair extension packs stocked in the designer's local Afro beauty store - are juxtaposed with shirred-panel tailoring in hot pink and harness silk dresses. 'It's an invitation to wear what we damn well feel; it's a call for unbridled X-Pression,' read the show notes.
Feben SS22
Elleme SS22
Elleme's SS22 show was set in a sand quarry outside Paris, the perfect backdrop, as it turns out, for its second collection of ready-to-wear, which took on the beach colours of coral pink and starfish orange, and where 30% of the materials are recycled, biodegradable and certified sustainable. As an accessories label, the handbags naturally took centre stage - and there's plenty to get excited about, from the slender shoulder bags that can be grabbed or carried to its canvas-and-leather totes.
Elleme SS22
Molly Goddard SS22
Molly Goddard had one thing on her mind when she set about designing her collection for SS22: baby clothes. The designer was eight month pregnant and, naturally, was thinking about what her future child was going to wear. 'I was fixated on smocked dresses, tracksuit bottoms and ballet pumps. I enjoyed the repetition in this collection and the familiarity, it is nostalgic and visceral,' she said in the show notes.
Molly Goddard SS22
Molly Goddard SS22
Palmer // Harding SS22
Palmer // Harding took the dual themes of reflection and rebirth for SS22, taking us on a journey that addressed 'the pain of new norms' as well as 'the joy of recovery and discovery'. The collection was one of their most polished to date, with their signature shirting taking a back seat (though still appearing in many alluring iterations) to beautifully wearable dresses that will have women queuing around the block whenever they drop.
Palmer // Harding SS22
Yuhan Wang SS22
When designing this collection, Juliette Has a Gun, Yuhan Wang found herself thinking about the vulnerability of women around the world especially when, following the murder of Sarah Everard, Jess Phillips MP read out the names of all the women killed in the previous year during a debate in the Commons, stating, 'Killed women are not vanishingly rare, killed women are common.' Wang's signature themes of femininity and strength were this time inspired by valiant female figures such as American ranchers and Victorian adventurers, and realised in ruched dresses and leather corsets, some of which were accessorised with leather holsters covered in spriggy prints. 'The collection is about women's power, mentally as well. We are stronger minded than many men.'
Yuhan Wang SS22
Yuhan Wang SS22
Vivienne Westwood SS22
Vivienne Westwood went back into her archive once again, taking inspiration from her spring/summer 1998 'Tied to the Mast' collection. The lookbook features the likes of Georgia May Jagger and Lily McMenamy surrounded by various maritime objects, with all the best elements from that original offering 23 years ago transposed to make the clothes feel entirely modern. The fact that Westwood is responsible for one of TikTok's viral trends of the past year is testament to the fact that she consistently produces something timeless and, as ever, sustainability is a key factor. 98% of the materials are low-impact and cruelty-free, and there are no virgin synthetic fabrics. All of the wool used also comes from "regenerative agriculture" farms, in which as much attention is paid to the health of the soil as to the welfare of the sheep.
Vivienne Westwood SS22
Vivienne Westwood SS22
Nensi Dojaka SS22
As the winner of this year's LVMH Prize, Nensi Dojaka went into her debut show with all guns blazing. What she presented was a collection that marked her 'sartorial manifesto of womanhood.' Of course in Dojaka's world, this meant a celebration of duality, with her signature sheer pieces that walked the tightrope between being supple yet structured, armoured yet exposed. 'This season is a wardrobe for the new world,' said the show notes.
Nensi Dojaka SS22
Nensi Dojaka SS22
Nicholas Daley AW21
Nicholas Daley's dynamic short, Forgotten Fury, brought his last collection, AW21, to life on screen as part of yesterday's digital proceedings. Daley practices karate himself and this film, directed by Pizco, was an ode to the Black martial arts tradition, featuring two stars of the taekwondo world: Lutalo Muhammad and Christian Mcneish.
David Koma SS22
David Koma's fan club of the fashion world's 1% - Jennifer Lopez, Hailey Bieber and Beyoncé - would have lapped up today's show, set underneath the diving boards in the Olympic Park's Aquatics Centre, designed by Zaha Hadid. Wonderfully atmospheric, if not slightly humid, it provided the perfect setting for his wet-look models who wore clothes inspired by Annette Kellerman, the legendary synchronised swimmer.
David Koma SS22
David Koma SS22
Rixo SS22
Rixo's presentation, Bon Voyage, was typically fun-filled, with rum shacks and piña colada bars to revive those weary after one day of shows. Inspired by vintage postcards, tourist souvenirs, holiday deckchairs and parasols, the collection features an extended size collection for the first time, now ranging from 6 to 20. 'We wanted these pieces to make people feel amazing – and happy,' Henrietta Rix toldGrazia.
Rixo SS22
Rixo SS22
Bora Aksu SS22
Bora Aksu, who set his show in a lush and tranquil courtyard just behind Pall Mall, wanted his spring collection to celebrate exuberance and a life lived to the fullest. He was inspired by Mathilde Willink, Dutch socialite and muse to Chinese-Dutch designer Fong Leng, and mixed '70s stylings with the maximalist tailorings of 18th century Europe.
Bora Aksu SS22
Alice Temperley SS22
Alice Temperley took, as her muse, the 'woman who trusts and follows her own raw creative soul', citing Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile, one of her most celebrated murder mysteries starring Hercule Poirot, and Maria Schapiro, the famous collage artist as the starting point for her interpretation of the 'forceful feminine id'.
Alice Temperley SS22
Halpern SS22
For evidence that a digital show can do 'wow moments' just as well an event staged IRL, don't miss Halpern, whose short film paid homage to the dancers of the Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet who, next month after a year on standby, will be performing Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet at the Royal Opera House. Paying homage to their homecoming, Halpern presented a collection that celebrated movement and the physicality of ballet, with flying fringing on a multi-coloured viscose gown worn by Fumi Kaneko, and a fantastical orb-shaped plume dress worn by Celine Gittens.
Halpern SS22
Halpern SS22
Sabirah by Deborah Latouche
Deborah Latouche took lost portraits of Black Victorians, unearthed seven years ago, as her starting point, imagining these women of colour flourishing in today's world and wanting to blend the fine clothing of that age with the flair of Sabirah. The result is a finely-tuned collection of modestwear in the most sumptuous shades of gold lemon, aqua and cerise, which, in the film directed by Esme Moore, can be seen on a group of women gathering to enjoy one of the finer things in life: a tea party. That scene was very important to Latouche, celebrating, as it does, a 'very British' pastime that is rarely portrayed with people of colour.
Sabirah by Deborah Latouche
Sabirah by Deborah Latouche
Saul Nash SS22
For SS22, Saul Nash was inspired by his school years. A bus stop was erected in the middle of the show space, and his models hung out on its red plastic bench - chatting, joking and, rather ingeniously, showing the functionality of their 'uniforms', inverting their jackets and pulling pairs of trousers out of their backpacks to create multiple looks for class and gym. 'So much of my inspiration comes from my teenage years, but when I left school, I swept my memories of that time out of my head. I remember school in fragments, and this collection is about piecing them back together, facing the past and, by doing so, being able to move forward,' says Nash.