What we learnt

HERO’s London Fashion Week SS24 takeaways
By Barry Pierce | Fashion | 20 September 2023
This article is part of Fashion Week – London, Milan, Paris, NYC

Well, it’s done and dusted. Another London Fashion Week has come and gone and we have the blisters to prove it. A heady mix of big-hitters and young designers, LFW always delivers variety – it’s a classically London way of doing things. Encompassing the breadth of the city from the Docklands in the East to the skateparks of West, it may have been somewhat hectic trying to keep up with everything, but don’t fret, the HERO team were out in force over the weekend and here’s just a couple of our takeaways.

The Great Burberry Bake-Off

Whisks at the ready, Burberry were bringing Bake-Off vibes for their SS24 show. Aided by a Mary Berry-fronted campaign drop over the weekend, Burberry set up a suitably checked marquee in Highbury Fields and filled it with more stars than, eh, currants in a scone? Look, it was a busy weekend.

 

It was fast and furious

There has been something of a car obsession in the culture lately, no? From Rosalía’s Motomami to Charli XCX’s Crash, it feels like we’ve been living in the fast lane. Revving up the automobile aesthetic at LFW were Mowalola and Masha Popova who both had shows themed around cars. The Mowalola show was a showstopper of an event, seeing about a thousand people descending on a warehouse in London’s Docklands. Titled Crash, it was based around David Cronenberg’s infamous 1996 film of the same name which was about people who got their rocks off to car crashes.

Meanwhile, Masha Popova’s SS24 collection was inspired by a monster truck show that the designer attended over the summer. Sounds of engines revving and images of monster trucks filled the space. It was intense.

 

It was the end of the world as we know it

If there is any mood that sums up our current era it’s existential dread. And it looks like the designers are feeling it too. LUEDER looked to 1995’s Waterworld, which saw Kevin Costner trying to survive in a flooded world, as an allegory for our very possible future. The clothing was iridescent to be reminiscent of oil spills and outfits were draped to give the impression of flowing water. A bleak future, but also a beautiful one.

Conner Ives brought his usual irreverent humour to the end of days. Taking inspiration from a TikTok he saw of a girl in line for the DSM sample sale in New York whilst the Canadian wildfires engulfed the sky above her with a hellish orange glow, Ives’ SS22 collection faced the forthcoming apocalypse with a shrug and suggested, well, we may as well go shopping.

 

Clay is cool

Forget wild nights and spontaneous adventures, we’ll be at home creating a new wardrobe out of clay à la JW Anderson – starting with the brick of Play-Doh show invite that we’ve carefully crafted into a beautiful heap.

 

The icons were out in force

The catwalk has long been the domain of the hottest young models in the business but, now and again, the legends have to come out and show the kids how it’s done. Take, for example, the absolute pleasure of seeing Debra Shaw walking for Feben, the final walkthrough seeing her stand proudly in the middle of the runway as her fellow models swanned around her.

But, of course, the one name on everyone’s lips this LFW was Twiggy. Walking in the MAC Face Show, the legendary model finger-gunned her way down the catwalk surrounded by outfits provided by Gareth Pugh, Harri, Richard Quinn, David Koma and Chet Lo. Iconic!

 

The Central Line is still the enemy of the people

Naturally, it wouldn’t be LFW if everything went smoothly. But that was still no excuse for the Central Line being dodgy all weekend! It’s not like any of us had to trek around London to get to shows or anything. Thank goodness for the Lizzy Line though, officially our fave new line. #NotSponCon

 

UGGS and Crocs forever

After spending many years as the alleged enemies of taste, UGGs and Crocs had a very haute couture moment this LFW. Appearing at both the Chopova Lowena show and the Ashley Williams show, UGG have actually been a major backer of LFW for a couple of years now, so it’s no wonder why so many designers have taken the opportunity to put their own flair on the 00s boots.

The most stunning glow-up, however, has to go to the Simone Rocha Crocs. Encrusted with Rocha’s signature pearls and embellishments, truly never has a pair of Crocs looked this downright glamorous. Need need need!!

 

Show notes can (almost) cool you down

Look, we don’t usually have to deal with the temperature being over 20 degrees for London Fashion Week but boy was nobody prepared for just how balmy those shows were. The front rows were a flurry of show notes being used as make-shift fans to keep the beads of sweat from falling and destroying the looks. The things we do for fashion!

 

We’re ready for more…

As we jet off to Milan and then Paris, we’re excited for more shows, more events, and more talking points – stay tuned!

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