Fashion is becoming more and more diverse, tech-led and sustainability focused.
There is of course still a long way to go and the industry is far from perfect but there is an increasing number of designers, producers, business executives and agencies such as ourselves, which are leading the way and disrupting things from the inside out.
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Verity Smiley-Jones
Things were traditionally groovy at Ahluwalia's
Continuously playing on her dual Nigerian-Indian heritage and commitment to sustainability, Priya Ahluwalia brought colour, heritage prints and her signature patchwork combinations to the runway. The designer took inspiration from her childhood playlist (think Sade, Lauryn Hill, Tupac, Prince and Luther Vandross).
Season after season, the designer elevates her collections and continues to use deadstock fabric to rework pieces and make something new from what would have been discarded in a landfill.
This season, she also made her footwear debut, having collaborated with Ugg, but with a twist. She only used sustainably sourced leathers, with all of the suppliers having undergone an audit with LWG (Leather Working Group) and being approved, with two achieving gold standard certifications.
Ahluwalia
Moncler brought us a phygital experience, but on steroids
The CEO of Moncler, Remo Ruffini conceived Moncler Genius as a hub of creativity in which a variety of exceptional designers are able to portray their creative individuality as a collective. Traditionally, the brand would use the classic Moncler down jacket as a blank canvas, to be reimagined and molded into each artist's vision, while also offering bold approaches to other items of clothing within the same collections.
From a fashion project, it has now evolved to a platform for co-creation with varied creative spheres. Displaying non conformity to the typical rules and barriers of the fashion industry, Moncler have decided to take on a new approach to brand experience.
This season, they returned to London Fashion Week with a monumental event at Kensington Olympia. The brand spent £40 million in a truly spectacular activation, which included a live performance by Alicia Keys, joined on stage by London talent Little Simz and Cleo Sol. Overall, it was a one-of-a-kind immersive experience featuring AI generated photography displays, live models wearing the collections on a wall, a boiler room DJ set, curated exhibitions with contributions from Pharrell Williams, Mercedes-Benz, FRGMT, Palm Angels, adidas Originals, Roc Nation, Rick Owens and much more.
Moncler
Sinead O’Dwyer waved the flag of inclusivity
After her London Fashion Week debut last season, Sinead O’Dwyer continued to put the rest of the fashion industry to shame. She brought out models of diverse backgrounds, genders, shapes, body types, hair textures and abilities to showcase her FW23 collection - going against the standardised perceptions of beauty in the modelling and fashion industries.
The collection was called “dúil,” directly translating to “desire,” and it explored the ideas of fondness, longing and lust. The designer’s aim is to challenge the public understanding of romance and highlight the roles that clothes play in it through an exploration of fabrics, silhouettes and form.
The key pieces included mini and maxi box-pleated skirts, halter neckties and bust-supporting corsets, merging roomy satin pyjama sets with boxy wool jackets and poplin shirts. We can’t wait to see how she continues to develop her design language and push the boundaries of normality in the industry.
Sinead O’Dwyer
Fashion Scout went global
The renowned consultancy showcased talent from their accelerator programme at London Fashion Week, with a focus on China on the runway and Africa as an exhibition in the space. The different shows, film presentations and events span across a period of 4 days, giving the opportunity for over 60 creatives to demonstrate their work and their vision for the future of fashion. The designs in the catwalk presentation were thought-provoking, the streetstyle was bright and colourful and there seemed to be a true sense of community amongst the guests which is atypical at fashion shows.
Fashion East
Written by Giovanna Vieira Co, 2023