London Fashion Week says goodbye (for now), celebrating its 40th anniversary with a season of creative powerhouses and rising talent – it’s a potent mix that sets London apart. There was a lot to take in, so don’t panic if people around you are discussing JW Anderson’s love of M&S vests and you’re stood there confused AF. Here’s a cheatsheet to impress your mates.

Burberry shows that fashion week is a walk in the park
Since joining the heritage house, Daniel Lee has drawn a vision of Burberry Britishness that celebrates all things wacky, quacky and wonderful. This season, inside a giant black festival tent in East London’s Victoria Park, Lee span our minds back a couple of decades: an Amy Winehouse medley echoed through the tent and Rochdale’s finest Agyness Deyn opened the show in a slate grey trench. An Autumnal scent wafter through the venue and matted grass lay underfoot as Lee celebrated Britain’s outdoorsy spirit of getting proper stuck in.

Read the report here.

JW Anderson‘s nosy neighbours
“We wanted to do something a bit psychological this time,” Jonathan Anderson said backstage after his FW24 show, “This idea of the grotesque and the pragmatic.” Taking place in (where else?) a leisure centre near Marble Arch, Anderson eschewed his usual Roundhouse show for something a bit homelier. And it all made sense for the collection. What followed was a collection that celebrated British colloquialism: blue-wash perms, slipper boots and vest tops inspired by M&S classics.

Read the report here.

Conner Ives presented his own Capote swans
This season saw Ives wave goodbye to Y2k and take a leap into high society, transforming his low-rise jean-loving girlie into a fully-fledged party-hopping socialite. The designer’s cast, which featured the likes of Alex Consani, Alva Claire, Precious Lee, Tish Weinstock, Grace Burns and Ella Richards, embodied their roles perfectly as each paraded the runway with an air of drama that raised a glass to Truman Capote’s famed swans.

Read the report here.

Dilara Findikoğlu serves us her Sunday best
“OMG Dilara is doing a satanic orgy at a London church!” was the headline on one of the newspapers held by a model during the Dilara Fındıkoğlu show at Mark Street Gardens in Shoreditch. Having skipped last season, which left a palpable absence on the London schedule, Dilara’s FW24 show needed to be a grand return. And that’s exactly what it was, with models twisting and twirling down the runway wearing leather lingerie, skirts caught in a never-ending gust of wind, and even a headdress made from thousands of vintage, metal keys.

Read the report here.

16Arlington: We’re Crazy for You
Opening the second day of London Fashion Week inside Barbican’s Curve Gallery, 16Arlington quickly turned morning to night as guests were guided into a pitch-black show space. Inviting us to step inside a house of beautiful horrors, Marco Capaldo asked the question: what makes a monster? Often a word associated with an ostracised other, a freak or an outcast, Capaldo turned the word on its head and imbued it with a sense of wonder, ensuring his woman could find comfort in the otherworldly.

Read the report here.

Olly Shinder takes fetish to a whole other level
It is difficult not to consider Olly Shinder the next big name on the London schedule. When he came out for his customary wave at the end of his show at Fashion East this season, it was like a rock star had arrived at the Truman Brewery. The crowds love him and it isn’t hard to see why. Many of the silhouettes this season consisted of traditional labour uniforms rendered in latex and leather – bringing a sense of fetishwear to the workplace.

Read the report here.

Aaron Esh served cigs, champagne and 00s glam
Guests to Aaron Esh’s FW24 show at East London’s Sarabande Foundation (the designer has been based there since November 2023) were greeted by a bowl of Marlboro Golds and a glass of Moet. This designer knows what the people want. Having cut open and reimagined Kate Moss for Topshop jeans as part of his process, Esh brought back the heady days of Britain’s 00s indie scene, set to Brian Jonestown Massacre and an attitude of don’t-give-a-fuck.

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Simone Rocha knows how to throw a proper wake
Simone Rocha’s FW24 show finished off a triptych of shows that began with SS24. That show, The Dress Rehearsal, was followed by the Gaultier couture show, dubbed The Procession. Now we have The Wake which was inspired by Queen Victoria’s 40 years of mourning after the death of her husband Prince Albert. If you’re going to mourn, you should probably do it wearing Rocha’s exquisite Victorian-style corsets, brocade shoulder suiting and ghostly sheer dresses.

Read the report here.