For the past few seasons, 16Arlington has forgone its usual spot on the fashion week calendar, but last night, Marco Capaldo returned to the runway with a characteristically glamorous affair. The brand hosted an intimate off-schedule salon-style show in their East London studio, transforming the concrete space with blinding spotlights and a thumping sound system. Guests were seated on individual white cubes or raised plinths dotted around the show space, with constant flutes of champagne in circulation. 

Capaldo marked his runway comeback with a unique made-to-order collection in collaboration with legendary designer Antony Price. As a standout visionary of the 1980s, Price quickly became synonymous with transforming the visual identities of Roxy Music and Duran Duran, as well as dressing the likes of David Bowie and closely collaborating with Phillip Treacy. Price favoured the world of excess, specialising in silhouettes steeped in glamour, brought to life by corsetted gowns and shoulder-padded suiting. Despite his impact, Price is arguably one of Britain’s most overlooked designers. But Capaldo found a fellow admirer of allure, continuing his ever-evolving foray into the world of ultra-feminine dressing – feathers and crystals essential. 

On the runway, Capaldo debuted sixteen demi-couture looks. Each one embodying the spirit of a character, every garment was given a name, ranging from ‘Heavenly Solaria’ to ‘Avenge’, “Glamour here is a frame for an expression of the self, looks chosen to echo the personalities, loves, lives, of the women who inhabit them,” read the show notes. While most brands like to leave their A-List spotting to the front row, 16Arlington’s friends were on the runway, with Lily Allen making her first catwalk appearance in a velvet gown, smoking a skinny cigarette. Alongside Allen, Adwoa Aboah, Kit Butler, Alva Claire, Kai-Isaiah Jamal, Paloma Elsesser, Edie Campbell and Lila Moss, twirling and dramatically posing at each corner of the winding runway. 

As for the clothes, it was all about craft and silhouette – each garment expertly hugged the body, whether built from leather, chiffon or feathers. Taking cues from Price’s archive, gowns were entirely embellished in shimmering silver sequins, built from rippling trompe l’oeil treatments of animalier print, or crafted in rippled satin in warm gold or icy navy. Meanwhile on foot, each garment was paired with a collection of stilettoes designed exclusively in partnership with Manolo Blahnik. In a meeting of generational talents, 16Arlington once again proved why it holds such a vital place in London’s fashion calendar, casting a spotlight on the city’s unmistakable glamour – past and present.