London Fashion Week: The Dilemma Facing Our New Generation of Designers

By Selena Wu

London Fashion Week has long held the reputation of being arty, wild and more unconventional when compared with the other main fashion weeks. But over the past few seasons, more buyers have given London a miss, the big established names have decided to show elsewhere or not at all, and the BFC have decided to focus on consumers. As we face this paradigm shift, a new crop of designers are coming through but are facing the difficult task of marrying commercial sensibilities with their urge to be unorthodox.

We see those that are successful: Yuhan Wang who manages to embody the whimsical art student and vintage thrift stores, but built on solid, classic shapes – and with all the lace, florals and pastels, this is a collection that very much reflects her strength in the East Asian market. Amy Molyneaux, previously of PPQ, returns to LFW collaborating with sustainable menswear brand ToBeFrank, to create a joint womenswear collection which carried a strong sixties theme throughout her beautifully wearable pieces— all with a strong focus on environmentally friendly materials and production.

Yuhan Wang

Amy Molyneaux x ToBeFrank

We also see those who have firmly decided to stay one side of the divide: Di Petsa have a created a beautiful statement, but one that only reads when the clothing is soaked, more art than fashion, contrasting with EFTYCHIA – exquisitely crafted tailoring, with subtle details.

This season, we are seeing the start of a period where sustainability and diversity are considerations that all brands must undertake, as this is what the consumer demands. As even the newest brands wrestle with what this means for them, we must ask another question – how sustainable is the concept of LFW itself? For the brands who are at the unconventional extremes, eschewing commerciality – does participating in one of the largest consumer marketing events make sense? And for those who are less unconventional, consider the current confused identity of LFW, with BFC targeting consumers but shows still only accessible to industry – how does participating in London allow you to effectively target one or the other? 

Whilst London Fashion Week goes through a painful reassessment of its own purpose, we see the more establish brands leaving – eventually new brands may also decide that it is not worth the investment either, further risking London’s reputation for the new, the exciting and the innovative.