It really is unbelievable to think that only ten years ago Grace Wales Bonner graduated from Central Saint Martins. So central has she been to the story of British fashion over the last decade that it is so easy to forget just how incredibly new to the game she still is.

A designer for whom tracksuits and trainers are her version of haute couture, it very much tracks that the theme for Wales Bonner SS24 was “Marathon”. A tribute to the legendary long-distance runners Haile Gebreselassie, the Dibaba sisters, and Eliud Kipchoge, Wales Bonner mixed athleisure with ancient crafting techniques to create a show that felt like a joyous celebration of human endeavour. There were tibeb fabrics woven by artisans in Addis Ababa and raffia hand-embroidered on skirts and vests in a disrupted animal print motif. Intricate stud and bead stripes detailed womenswear tailoring, and macrame net vests and skirts crafted from beads in Ghanaian artisanal glass and silver.

Unveiled, too, was Wales Bonner’s collaboration with UGG, a sheepskin-lined loafer. Also on foot was another collaboration with Adidas, a pair of Originals in fluorescent yellow and a replica pair of Neftegnas worn by Gebreselassie when he won the Berlin marathon in 2008, adorned with his world-record-breaking time. Elsewhere, Savile Row tailoring made an appearance, decorated in raw silk and woven gold buttons in tribute to Abebe Bikila’s legendary win at the 1960 Olympics, which made him Africa’s first-ever medal winner.