London Fashion Week 2021: What You Need to Know

London Fashion Week (LFW, Friday 19  to Tuesday 23 February 2021) will be going ahead with its first season of the year – this time as a digital-only event due to Covid-19.

The UK’s sartorial extravaganza is one of the biggest platforms for fashion and apparel industries. Its online hub will stream a host of shows, presentations and multimedia content for a global audience to feast on. And feast on we shall, for during these troublesome times it is imperative that we can all come together and celebrate a worldwide love of things that enrich us.

So allow me to be your usher for the week ahead – sit back in the comfort of your home and bask in the joie de vire of all that is chic. LFW’s content will be streaming here.

The Basics: LFW’s main schedule will showcase 95 designers, featuring 34 womenswear, 22 menswear, 29 menswear and womenswear, and 10 accessory brands.

Tokyo Spotlight

For lovers of Japan, the Tokyo Fashion Award are showcasingtheir 2020 winners for the first time to global fashion consumers.

Recommendation

Meanswhile – A visionary brand with an almost space-ageattitude in its disregard for flummery, instead opting for adurable and utilitarian style. With high performance materials and design-driven details, Meanswhile reimagines the likes of outdoor and military attire for everyday wear.

DiscoveryLAB

This section of LFW’s digital platform amplifies the voices ofmany emerging designers who do not quite meet the schedule’s criteria. There are 12 showcasing slots throughout the week.

Recommendations

Ingrid Kraftchenko – Her avant-garde designs challenge bourgeoisie luxury and take inspiration from Punk and experimental counter-cultures. Her flair for the subversive can be found in ‘the Suitaloon’ – a garb that features wearable technology, incorporating multiple functionalities in its vision for the future, from personal safety devices to embedded LED screens. Her clothes are envisioned for cities, with a dash of espionage in their disregard for high surveillance.

MASHA POPOVA – Her subversive sportswear collection celebrates psychotropic colours that blend vintage 90s tracksuits and jeans with traditional late 20th century tailoring techniques. An overall feeling of liberty will be gained from her idiosyncratic use of colours and materials.

London Show Rooms

27 designers are confirmed to take part, available to stream.

Recommendation

Harem London – Dee and Begum Ozturk create in East London but retain and reinterpret traditional clothing techniques from Turkey. Sustainability and ethical production are key principles to the brand when creating a wonderful marriage between London and Istanbul – the Ozturk vision is something quite unique.

British Fashion Council’s Podcast

Diverse detailed discussions of creativity in the fashion world.

Recommendation

Qasimi – Founded in 2015 by Khalid al-Qasimi, this is a brand with a Middle Eastern heritage that adopts the idea of ‘an urban nomad’ whose endeavours take you on adventures across the Arab world, whilst seeking to unite allcultures through the inspiring vessel of fashion.

Bonus

Vanish is a cautionary film that investigates the devastating impact of clothing waste and our landfill culture. 5.15pm, 23rdFebruary on LFW’s Website.