Each year, London Fashion Week is a consistent thrill—a real joy, an exercise in out-there creativity, and an opportunity for emerging designers and storied fashion houses alike to reveal their deepest fantasies. As we’ve described it in the past, “There’s no better place on Earth than London Fashion Week for designers looking to let their freak flags fly.” This year was no different—at least, when it came to the clothing. Molly Goddard, Riccardo Tisci at Burberry, Simone Rocha, and more revealed their idiosyncratic wares for fall 2021 digitally, beginning on February 19. Although the platform was different against the backdrop of the pandemic, the message was the same: these were some killer clothes. See our favorites, below.
THE LOOK: Glittering armor, faux pelt jackets, royal court flag motifs, and trompe l’oeil prints.
THE INSPIRATION: Women warriors, specifically Chief Creative Officer Riccardo Tisci’s own mother. “As a single parent, she raised me and my eight sisters with unfaltering purpose and pride,” he stated in the show notes. “So, naturally, I have always been drawn to strong women and, in turn, they have also given me the confidence to express my own femininity.”
THE LOOK: Rugged refinement.
THE INSPIRATION: Trans rights, equality, and diversity.
THE LOOK: Eveningwear with a tailoring twist.
THE INSPIRATION: “How women dress at home and what they’re doing,” according to designer Wickstead. “This collection is about a woman’s life, with the audience looking into her world.”
THE LOOK: Fanciful looks rooted in the imaginative, whimsical house codes—proudly made in the UK.
THE INSPIRATION: Taking chances, even during a pandemic.
THE LOOK: Captivating, twee floral prints with lace and feather accents.
THE INSPIRATION: Wang, who studied art in China, noted that most of the landscape paintings from the Tang Dynasty were made by men. She reimagined them for women.
THE LOOK: Shapely leather pieces and flouncy, taffeta dresses and skirts.
THE INSPIRATION: “Fragile rebels,” the designer Rocha said.
THE LOOK: Gender-fluid takes on menswear: skirts worn over pants, stylized letterman jackets, and biker shorts with cutouts.
THE INSPIRATION: “The freedom of expression,” according to Burberry creative director Riccardo Tisci, who dreamt of the outdoors and making connections with other humans while stuck inside (relatable).
THE LOOK: Retrofuturistic Mod looks, and one truly show stopping feathered headdress.
THE INSPIRATION: Black excellence, especially during the Space Age era of the 1960s and 1970s, fused with couture from that same era.
THE LOOK: Drama, even in everyday looks. Shin-length skirts with plumes of feathers paired with white button-downs studded by crystals; tea dresses worn with opera gloves; textured skirt suits.
THE INSPIRATION: Ballerinas, from designer Erdem Moralioglu’s days working at the Royal Opera House.
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