The cultural richness brought by migration around the world, family nostalgia and the hectic pace of life in London marked the second day of Fashion Week in the British capital, and promising designers showed their styles for the upcoming season.
Around 60 designers, from emerging talents to established brands such as Burberry, showcase their new designs over five days in the hope of attracting the interest of buyers and fashion influencers.
The 40th anniversary edition of the event also introduces greater diversity and inclusion in terms of body shapes, ages and skin tones of the models, as well as in the designers' collections, AFP reported.
Multiculturalism in the spotlight
Sierra Leonean-born designer Foday Dumbuya's Labrum London label closed the day with his "Journey Through Colors" collection, which celebrates the diversity of cultures brought by immigrants.
The winner of the 2023 Elizabeth II British Design Award focuses on playing with textures, newspaper patterns or monogram motifs on more classic cuts.
The color tones were as numerous - from royal blue to black, orange, brown, yellow and green - as were the "inspiring stories" of the immigrants.
Some of the models wore suitcases as headgear, a reference to people fleeing conflict and taking their belongings with them.
"People move for different reasons and when they move, they bring their culture with them. And we wanted to celebrate that tonight," Dumbuya told AFP.
One of the models carried on her back a large frame with dozens of flags of "countries that have been involved in key migrations in history," including the Palestinian flag.
It was a political message and a call for tolerance, the creator claimed.
"We have shown that we have to support each other. People's lives matter. Wherever you are ... Palestinian, Jewish, whoever you are, this world belongs to us. I just want to say that you should not just demonize these people," said Dumbuya.
Old pictures
Dublin-born menswear designer Robin Lynch was inspired by her sister's Irish dancing career. She uses old photos of high kicks, sparkly costumes and passionate onlookers for inspiration.
"I remember very well spending all those weekends in the gyms during competitions, seeing all the glamor and drama that was happening on and off the stage," says the designer, who uses Celtic knots and monograms in her designs.
Lynch's designs included diamond-encrusted shorts (jeans), a long line of hoodies with elasticated belts, and laser-etched jeans in a color palette of hickory brown, screen blue, matte black, and oat milk white.
Life in the metropolis
Earlier, the models paraded on London's famous red double-decker buses in costumes inspired by traditional dances.
British designer Ricky Wesley Harriott kicked off the show for his SRVC label with a collection called 'HR', inspired by contemporary 'professional womenswear'.
The designer had his models, all in high heels, parade in London's iconic red double-decker buses to "celebrate life in the metropolis".
The show featured stiff and structured jackets with accentuated shoulders, in dark colors with bright accessories - from XXL silver hoop earrings to rings on each finger.
Tales
Designer Priya Ahluwalia, who draws inspiration from her Indian-Nigerian heritage, was applauded after her show, which featured male and female models in earthy reds, oranges and blues parading to house music.
The designer uses the Indian and West African fairy tales she grew up with - such as "The Prince Who Wanted for the Moon", "The Magic Violin" and "How the Leopard Got Spots" - in her designs for the season, she told the British edition of Vogue magazine.
"I was thinking about how fairy tales have affected my life — why we like these particular fairy tales and how they are passed down," she said.
Ahluwalia noted that the corset details in the knits of her designs were inspired by the Netflix movie Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, which she watched while researching options for her collection.
The designer, who launched her label Ahluwalia in 2018, works with limited quantities of fabric, often recycling and using modern techniques to limit waste.
London Fashion Week comes at a tumultuous time for the British fashion industry, amid post-Brexit trade barriers and the country's cost of living crisis.
The difficult economic situation has even led some budding designers to question the viability of investing in British fashion events.
Rising star Dilara Findikoglu hit the headlines last September after canceling her show days before the event due to financial reasons.
The industry, which employs nearly 900,000 people in the UK and contributes 21 billion pounds ($26 billion) to the British economy, is facing "incredibly difficult times", event director Carolyn Rush told AFP. /BGNES