London Fashion Week (LFW) ended last week. It was showcasing its Autumn/Winter 2022 collections. It's been a part-virtual, part-physical event so there's some photos and videos to see on their website: https://londonfashionweek.co.uk.
As in previous years, there were three fashion categories for submission at the London Fashion Week: menswear, womenswear and gender neutral fashion. The Council of Fashion Designers of America only introduced the category of unisex/non-binary fashion as recently as 2018 for New York Fashion Week. This brought fashion labels, which focus on non-binary fashion for all genders, to our attention, such as, Vaquera and Telfar. That year, there was also a rise in taking an inclusive approach to choosing models, resulting in more non-binary and trans models than ever before, which I think is great!
I think this is great progress. This move, which has continued ever since, begins to make gender diversive people visible, meaning trans, gender non-conforming and non-binary people can see trends and models they can identify with, rather than only being able to look at cis gender stereotypes that leave them feeling alienated. Non-binary fashion also challenges people's preconceived notions of what clothes and which faces and bodies are deemed beautiful in the fashion and beauty industry as well as mass media. 💪 And anything that challenges pre-conceived ideas is good! Besides, isn't this what all women have been waiting for, regardless of their gender identity, ever since some feminists, decades ago, pointed out the unrealistic feminine ideals and stereotypes that have been constantly reinforced by fashion and mass media?
I'm surprised it's taken the fashion world this long to officially recognise non-binary fashion. It's nothing new in society. There are countless examples of women in the past who dressed, lived and 'passed' as men.
My initial passion for creating fashion designs of my own was sparked by seeing punk rock fashion (some of which we would perhaps now term as potentially non-binary fashion items) at a Vivienne Westwood exhibition at the V&A in London in my late teens. I posted some of my designs I drew in my sketchbook in 2004 on Instagram (September 2020), you can view them here:
I drew/created these because I felt menswear was so tedious, conformist and uncreative that there might be a lot of scope for new and exciting fashion designs that could free up gendered fashion ideals and trends. Since the only two categories I kept hearing about back then was menswear and womenswear, I nominally named it menswear but in reality it was non-binary fashion before it's time.
I think a lot of people assume that non-binary fashion (and inclusivity) is some new fangled trend that has recently taken off with teens and 20 somethings on social media in the last few years. No! Non-binary gender identities and fashion is something I, and people of all ages, have felt and connected with all their life. It's simply that now we have more awareness and access to online educational resources to express our thoughts and feelings through specific gender identity labels and descriptions to better convey our perspective on ourselves and life.
So What's On?
There are two schedules listed on the London Fashion Week website: one digital and one in-person list of events so head to the digital schedule for online content. Also, check out the list of designers tab to learn about fashion designers and find their social media profiles. There seems to be more designers listed than put forward a catwalk show. For instance, Victoria Beckham is listed but, although she attended LFW, she did not submit a runway show. Apparently runways are extremely expensive to do so even major British household names such as Burberry didn't participate in them! In which case, why don't they submit more videos and online material? Surely this would be more cost effective and at least we can all see the latest looks online and learn more about the fashion houses.
During the pandemic, a range of online content began to be shared as part of fashion weeks, such as designers' diaries, podcasts, webinars, virtual showrooms and so on. I think all the footage from Fashion Weeks around the world, whether it's online content or runway shows, should be made available online. A list of invitation only events that we only hear about second hand from fashion journalists is unsatisfactory. We don't all have an invite! Mine never came in the post, I blame the high winds 😂. I'm all for in-person events and think it's high time London Fashion Week returned to business as usual after two years! However, releasing plenty of online fashion week content should not be a temporary pandemic substitute for runway shows. I think it should become part of the future so we can all participate. It should be both.
Surely the whole point is generating interest in fashion. If we are not interested and excited about the fashion world then who is going to follow what's hot 🔥 and buy some fashion label items or something close to its style off the peg? Fashion should be for everyone, not a closed shop, outside of the real world for a select few. What's the point of that?
So I searched around to see the latest looks at London Fashion Week online. Here's a quick look behind the scenes and you can feast your eyes on some of the most fabulous styles at London Fashion Week:
British Fashion Council on YouTube
Hot Up-and-coming Fashion Designers
There was an emphasis on up-and-coming fashion designers, comprising of new labels as well as graduate shows organised by Fashion Colleges. I think it's a great idea for Colleges to showcase their students and recent graduates.
This YouTube video shows you a runway displaying the designs of London College of Fashion MA graduates: click here to see their runway show and here for their digital presentation.
Academic subjects don't showcase their students at all, and even PhD students are often expected to show they have the approval of their supervisor/s before even being allowed to submit an abstract to a conference! Talk about lack of academic freedom! Yet these fashion design graduates are submitting to London Fashion Week which is so much more prestigious and fabulous than any academic conference - and it's headline news! I really loved some of the designs from the MA students.
I think London Fashion Week has shown how young people starting out do not need to be dismissed and sent to the bottom of the pile for being too inexperienced or somehow not capable. That's disrespectful and unnecessarily holding them back when they need exciting opportunities to dive into! And such submission opportunities should not be restricted by age, qualifications, affiliation or how recently they have graduated.
Returning to LFW: There were also some stunning and innovative new fashion labels and designers that are making their mark generally. Vogue wrote an excellent report on standout runway designers:
https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/gallery/london-fashion-week-aw22-highlights
For me, just judging by the sample photos of the fashion styles of these labels in this article, my favourites here are the first two featured:
Designers Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena's skirt suit with a sporty twist, worn by a male model of colour;
Richard Malone's skirt trousers - I used to have a pair of trousers with an in-built skirt around them which I loved wearing! Which is why I later designed a skirt-trousers item myself but with a stronger non-binary twist (see skirt-trouser link to my Instagram above). I don't think we see enough of the trouser/skirt in fashion! ❤️ This article terms his style wearable art, which is exactly how I see fashion! He is quoted as aiming for appreciation, individuality and experimentation. I really identify with this outlook!
A young designer who is quite new on the fashion scene is Harris Reed. He has already designed for Harry Styles and is making a name for himself by rocking non-binary fashion design! Click here for an article on him and a photo gallery of 6 of his latest genderfluid fashion designs.
Hot Trends to Look Out For
This is a handy article which summarises what the latest trends are to have emerged from this London Fashion Week:
This is a useful guide because, although there are overall colours and designs that are declared to be all the rage throughout 2022, you don't always see these trends prolifically within the latest collections across all the seasons or across all new and top designers.
Here's a summary of the top looks they have listed from London Fashion Week:
- Lavender/Lilac: it's been all the rage for London Fashion Week and I think it's a beautiful, timeless colour that should never be out of fashion
- Halternecks: this doesn't feel especially 'now' to me because I have been wearing them since my early teens! But it's always a classic look and fun to wear and style with other items
- Denim outfits: a timeless look although difficult to keep finding new and creative interpretations of it
- Suits: I always love a good suit! I have several women's jacket and trousers suits, waist jackets. I also have a collection of ties and even a dickie bow tie
Nevertheless, I can't say that all these trends feel especially recent and, to me, some versions feel a little tired from trends in previous years. However, it does give me an excuse to dig out some of my favourite clothes I've loved for years, rewear them (rewearing is a fashion trend in itself now) and give them a new twist for 2022!
I've started with London Fashion Week because I'm in London.
Now Fashion Week has moved on to Milan! And tomorrow Paris!
Given the war in the Ukraine I've been impressed with Armani's response to it by putting on a silent catwalk in Milan. That speaks volumes and is poignant!🇺🇦 #standwithukraine #istandwithukraine
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