London Fashion Week June 2022: A brief but significant showcase
Whilst the June edition of London Fashion Week (LFW) has traditionally been reserved for menswear, this year's edition comprises a slimmed-down schedule featuring emerging designers rather than commercially established names.
Martine Rose, Priya Ahluwalia and Robyn Lynch were among those who showcases their collections across 20 physical activations and 14 digital activations on 11-13 June. Designers including Brandon Choi, Abaga Velli, Carlota Barrera and Sans Peng impressed guests as part of their LFW debuts.
With Ravensbourne and Westminster universities also drawing a huge crowd of local and international buyers, stylists and designers, the British Fashion Council (BFC) has unsurprisingly pledged to keep the June event in the calendar.
Carlota Barrera
Carlota Barrera kicked off proceedings on Saturday, as the Spanish designer hosted her first physical LFW show under a bridge in a Notting Hill skate park. Inspired by her favourite country, Cuba, Barrera's minimalist menswear collection feature relaxed tailoring with subtle twists. Black tie tropes were inverted with fabrication, dress shirts came in slouchy linens, and deconstructed waistcoats had peaked labels, block prints and knotted tie-up backs.
Alicia Robinson/AGR
Alicia Robinson, Creative Director and Founder of knitwear brand AGR presented her Spring 2023 show at London nightclub, Fabric. Her size-inclusive knitwear collection offers a signature explosion of colour with new elements such as patchwork jackets and trousers made with recycled denim, and dresses in metallic foiling crochet.
Robyn Lynch
Dublin-born Robyn Lynch's second physical LFW show showcases a collection inspired by one Mallorca tourist tee picked up by her mother in 1983. The result was a witty take on summer holiday dressing during a show at east London’s Old Truman Brewery.
Lynch, who is part of the BFC’s Newgen funding programme said: "After working with some incredible specialty brands for several seasons, I felt like this was the right time to refocus on my own creative expression and put to use all the knowledge we accumulated over the past years – on fabrications, technology and science behind them, as well as the utilitarian aspect of fashion.
"So I wanted this season to be injected with just as much fun as it is with fine textiles and carefully-crafted silhouettes."
University of Westminster
University of Westminster presented its MA Menswear's graduate show at The Oval Space alongside the London Fashion Week calendar. This year's graduates touched on a range of social topics with their collections, such as cultural heritage, gender identity, football fandom, religion and fantasy.
Standouts included Juoyu Wang, who showed how the freedom to express is bringing today’s fashion beyond the boundaries of men and women, creating a flow that inspires, rather than binding and fettering.
Meanwhile, fellow student Alice Brightmore's collection is rooted in dark cults and subculture, as well as bringing in elements from her much loved rave scene. ‘Child of the Stone’ explores ritual dressing in Paganism, with youth being at the focus, eschewing conventional holy religiosity and instead worshipping the sacredness of the natural world and imminent environmental crisis.
The spotlight was also on for the Westminster Fashion Design BA's Class of 2022, as alumni Steven Stokey-Daley of S.S. Daley became the first winner of the 2022 edition of the LVMH Prize for Young Designers earlier this month.
Owen Edward Snaith, whose collection is based on Scottish craft and personal identity, dedicated his collection to his fisherman grandad from Dunbar, Scotland. Colour, romance and storytelling are evident in his collection, which includes nautical hand-knitted ganseys, hand-crafted wool fabrics and copper jewellery.
Edward Snaith also designed his own official tartan, which is registered on The Scottish Register of Tartans with the different coloured threads representing the LGBTQ+ community.
