LFW SS25 Highlights: Paul Costelloe, Bora Aksu, S.S. Daley and more...
London Fashion Week kicked off today with a nod to the Swinging Sixties by Irish designer Paul Costelloe and Turkish designer Bora Aksu, as well as S.S. Daley's foray into womenswear, and more.
TheIndustry.fashion show hopped to get the scoop on the latest trends and must-see collections from the first full day of LFW SS25.
Paul Costelloe channels Jackie Kennedy in Sixties-inspired London Fashion Week show
Irish fashion designer Paul Costelloe turned back time on the LFW runway with his Sixties-inspired spring/summer 2025 collection. Costelloe, 79, is known for his elegant and classic tailoring, blending traditional and contemporary design.
Costelloe’s collection debuted at the Waldorf Hilton in London. The bright white marble atrium was the perfect setting to showcase his Parisian-inspired designs. The collection was titled 'Le ciel est bleu', meaning the sky is blue in French – which Costelloe delivered in abundance. The show began with a flooding of cornflower blue – Sixties swing dresses and preppy pleated workwear drenched the runway in an ode to the ultra feminine, smart and sophisticated street style of 1960s Paris.
While blues reigned supreme, Costelloe also introduced shades of rose, mint green and buttercup yellow to represent the pastels of spring. He had fun with playful silhouettes too, featuring bubble skirts and balloon sleeves, as well as exaggerated ruffles and feminine frills. The designer also showcased tailoring through sartorial Irish linen jumpsuits, silk jacquard skirts and wool blazers reminiscent of Jackie Kennedy’s timeless First Lady wardrobe. The models even strutted the runway in beehives and rounded bouffants.
Costelloe then closed the show with his first-ever bridal collection, which featured three wedding dresses in crisp satin finishes. The classic silhouettes were adorned with looping bows and blooming roses, embodying a true romantic elegance.
Bora Aksu channels petticoats galore in collection that pays homage to his late mother
This season, Bora’s babes are back as per usual. An abundance of lace, frills, mesh, and a truck-load of petticoats graced the front row as journalists, influencers and celebrities clamoured into St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden – an eerily quiet setting in the hustle and bustle of tourist central.
The gothic architecture became a backdrop for Bora’s signature style, which saw pale pink lace juxtaposed with black mesh, captivating the duality of innocence and subversion. Sharp tailoring met soft detailing to create garments that pair metres of sheer pastel fabrics with rich floral embroidery that's reminiscent of mid-century detailing.
Last season, when we interviewed Bora Aksu backstage, he became teary-eyed when telling us about his mother’s recent passing. This season, the collection pays homage to his mother Birsen Aksu, who designed her own clothing in the 1960s after struggling to find clothes that expressed her individuality in Turkey, where she grew up. It is this pursuit of beauty, this celebration of the female spirit that carries through this collection.
"My whole identity as a designer comes via my mother. Growing up watching her elegance and style as well as her strength as an independent woman instilled in me a deep reverence for femininity and a love for the process of creation, to this day she is my greatest source of inspiration", said Bora Aksu.
S.S. Daley makes womenswear debut
Steven Stokey-Daley made his first full foray into womenswear this afternoon. The London Fashion Week collection for Stokey-Daley’s label, S.S. Daley, comes hot on the heels of the designer winning the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design.
Daley has previously made a name for himself with menswear, he often draws upon historical themes, as well as having a keen eye for tailoring and a sustainable approach to fashion. For his first full womenswear collection, he also looked to the past, taking inspiration from the British artist Gluck, who was born in 1895 and died in 1978.
According to the show notes, Gluck was "known for wearing tailored and utilitarian clothes, yet often painted lovers and friends whose style was femme". The collection very much followed in this vein.
There were moments of sharp, clean tailoring, such as a navy suit with white piping, wide-legged trousers and a voluminous white collar underneath, or the tweed two-piece with baggy shorts and a structured blazer over the top. These were balanced with softer, more romantic garments, such as semi-sheer skirts, jumpers with lace detailing and a vibrant trench coat with a floral pattern that almost looked to be hand-painted on. Cutting-edge elements included beaded skirts where floral patterns looked pixelated, deconstructed trench coats and the way the garments were made.
DI PETSA taps designer's Greek heritage and debuts first menswear collection
DI PETSA returned to London Fashion Week with an introspective collection inspired by the myth of Ariadne and Theseus, reframing the ancient tale to explore the labyrinth within the self, where desire, loss, and the search for love collide.
The catwalk opened with a new print for the brand - 'The Tan Line'. This nostalgic nod to summer's fading warmth was juxtaposed with the Greek designer's signature drapery, reimagined in flowing silks and meshes in vibrant degradé colours, "mimicking the merging of the physical and emotional bodies".
Another new introduction was the "Tama" bag, featuring hand carved metal hand sewn onto deadstock and vegan leather.
The show also marked the brand’s debut into gender fluid menswear, with DI PETSA's signature 'Wetlook' reimagined for the male form in a burst of pastel gradient hues - and transformed for the everyday into a draped white cotton wetlook hoodie and tracksuit bottom set. Natural lightweight linens were used for draped trousers and open shirt looks - left open from a cool summer breeze, continuing the theme of summer's fading warmth.
Pam Hogg declares her LFW collection to be her 'best work yet'
Entitled Of Gods And Monsters, Pam Hogg’s newest collection comprises opulent headpieces, luxurious velvets, buckled belts and animal bones.
Hogg, who is known for her political, punkish and avant-garde work, has dressed the likes of Lady Gaga, Naomi Campbell and Debbie Harry of Blondie. Launching her namesake label in 1981, her collections are flamboyant and fearless, and perhaps even more potent today as she holds a mirror up to society through her disordered and disrupted designs.
Her latest LFW collection blends coquettish opulence with raw offcuts. Ensembles featured models dripping in pearls whilst their clothes were bound together with belt buckles and fastened with safety pins. The designer wished to portray the injustices of conflict, with each model carrying a colossal headpiece, to represent both the physical and mental burden of war.
Meanwhile, the opulence juxtaposed with a luggage trunk on the model’s bag brought to surface the fact war, displacement and disruption can happen to anyone – regardless of social rank. Many ensembles were fashioned out of bulbous rubbish bag-like silhouettes, bound together with rope and discarded materials. However, the collection was still quintessentially Hogg with platform leather boots and grunge midi-skirts present.
Mark Fast blended couture craftsmanship with sportswear innovation
In East London's Bike Shed, Mark Fast debuted his Spring/Summer 2025 collection as hyper-pop tunes fused with deep base filled the room. The array of denim hotpants and knitted bodycon dresses were influenced by the designer's adoration of underground music. Fast’s designs channel the energy and rush he gets from deep bass lines.
This season’s collection featured stone-washed denim reworked with a streetwear edge from graffiti printed Tees to slashed denim jackets. In true Mark Fast fashion, neon hues and vibrant pinks and blues made their way down the runway, making up uniform fitting for London's underground clubbing scene.
A hallmark of the collection was Fast's boundary-pushing knitwear - from delicate open-knit weaves to tightly sculpted silhouettes. Each piece is meticulously crafted, blending traditional hand-knitting techniques with modern technology to create unique textures that reflect Fast's avant-garde vision. The standouts? Electric neon bandage dresses and crop tops with knitted nipples. Talk about a mix of elegance and flamboyance.
Inspired by music and driven by his love for demi-couture, Mark Fast's collection is not just about the clothes, but a lifestyle rooted in non-conformity and a heavy dose of attitude.