A model presents a creation from the Sprayground runway show at London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2026. Photo: AFP
London Fashion Week, which is under new leadership after 16 years, opened Thursday (Sept 18) with hopes of reinvigorating its runway schedule and easing the financial woes of its young designers.
"This season marks... the beginning of a new era for British fashion," said Laura Weir, former creative director of luxury department store Selfridges, who replaced Caroline Rush as the head of the British Fashion Council (BFC) in April.
Weir faces an uphill battle to allay concerns about the relevance and international standing of the fashion week, with the departure in recent years of big fashion names to its star-studded counterparts in Milan, Paris and New York.
"My main objective is to ensure London Fashion Week remains the ultimate platform to showcase and celebrate the very best of British creativity while continuing to support designers who have built the foundations of British fashion and forged paths internationally," Weir said, ahead of London Fashion Week.
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London Fashion Week's June edition, initially launched to focus on menswear, was cancelled this year and replaced by a simple commercial showroom in Paris.
After a lacklustre schedule in February, marked by several absences as some designers opted to put on just one show a year due to the high costs, the BFC is hoping for a more exciting programme this time.
Weir said that membership fees have been waived to make the platform more accessible to designers.
The former Vogue journalist said the BFC had also "curated a schedule that speaks to London's cultural relevance", and doubled its investment in the international guest programme to ensure heavyweight buyers, media and cultural voices are there in London.
Since taking the helm, Weir has increased scholarship funding and secured a three-year funding commitment for the NewGen programme for emerging young designers, according to British Vogue.
Fabric scraps, crinolines
Despite its recent woes, London Fashion Week has remained a hub for discovering new and exciting fashion talent, partly with the help of the NewGen incubator.
Several designers have launched successful fashion careers off its back, like Irish designer Simone Rocha, known for her Victorian-style dresses adorned with lace and crinoline, or London-based Richard Quinn, whose elegant designs received a nod from the late Queen Elizabeth II.
London Fashion Week kicked off Thursday (Sept 18) with up and coming British designer Maximilian Raynor, who has been recognised for his commitment to sustainable fashion with his designs often featuring fabric scraps.
That runway was followed by Harris Reed, the young British-American designer and creative director at Nina Ricci, whose gender fluid designs have bewitched London Fashion Week attendees since he burst onto the scene five years ago.
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In other good news for London Fashion Week, JW Anderson returned to the schedule after skipping the February edition.
But the label is foregoing the runway in favour of a scaled-down dinner this year, as this summer, Dior entrusted the artistic direction of all its collections including men's, women's and haute couture to the prodigal son Jonathan Anderson.
After stepping down earlier this year as creative director of Spanish brand Loewe, the Northern Irish designer has refocused his own label on a "lifestyle" concept to include furniture, tableware, craft objects and even honey.
Also presenting their Spring/Summer collections are British fashion icons such as Paul Costelloe and Burberry – which weathered the storm of a difficult year for luxury fashion and US tariffs – and London runway regulars Roksanda and Dilara Findikoglu. – AFP
