How London Fashion Week Reclaimed Its Creative Edge and Global Relevance

For a city that has spent much of the past decade being told it has lost its way, London suddenly has something to shout about. This September, its fashion week felt less like an industry event taking place in spite of the city and more like an expression of renewed creative confidence. Laura Weir, who was appointed as chief executive of the British Fashion Council in April 2025, arrived promising to restore London Fashion Week’s purpose and international relevance. For the September 17–21 edit, the schedule finally carried enough weight to suggest that the revival has begun.

Some of the names that once made London impossible to ignore came home. Alexander McQueen returned to the official schedule for the first time in 25 years, with Sean McGirr presenting menswear and womenswear at Lincoln’s Inn Chapel. Its historic, faintly gothic grandeur provided an appropriately McQueen setting for a collection that combined sharp tailoring with rave culture and Renaissance art. A collaboration with Savile Row’s Huntsman added another strand of British fashion history. The return carried symbolic weight, as Lee McQueen staged many of his most important early shows in London in the mid-1990s.

Mulberry returned to the runway after almost a decade, with Christopher Kane making his debut as creative director. Fifteen years ago, Kane and Mulberry were among the most closely watched names on the London schedule. Their joint return felt like a strong vote of confidence in the city. Titled City, Town, Country, Kane’s collection made the connection explicit by incorporating details from the Bayswater bag alongside his familiar taste for provocation and references to the post-industrial Scotland of his childhood.

Encouragingly, London Fashion Week was not simply an exercise in nostalgia. Fashion East and BFC Newgen returned alongside designers including Aaron Esh, Chopova Lowena, KNWLS, Talia Byre and Paolo Carzana. London's true strength lies in the unruly ecosystem connecting art schools, music, nightlife, subculture and fashion.

That rebellious spirit ran through this season’s collections. At Burberry, Daniel Lee worked with Celia Birtwell, whose floral patterns softened and disrupted the house’s familiar visual codes. At Simone Rocha, clothing became protective armour in a collection inspired by Caravaggio. Erdem looked to Barbette, translating his performances and fluid presentation of gender into crystalline, circus-like eveningwear. Roksanda drew on Francoise Grossen’s fibre sculptures, while Priya Ahluwalia combined resistance movements with her Puma collaboration. Harris Reed marked his fifth London Fashion Week with a nearly all-white collection shaped through corsetry and theatrical silhouettes.

Even the high street made a statement. Marks & Spencer staged its first London Fashion Week show to celebrate 100 years in fashion with a democratic, see-now, buy-now collection. H&M also created a show alongside Nick Knight and SHOWstudio, while Dover Street Market, Selfridges, and other retail partners hosted events that extended the experience to the wider public.

The timing also felt significant. Despite pressures from Brexit, the pandemic, and economic challenges, recent indicators like retail sales and GDP growth have provided reasons for optimism. Combined with declining neighbourhood crime rates, London appears ready to take risks again and embrace its creative identity.