Takeaways From the Opening Of London Fashion Week 2021

With the pandemic reshaping the normal, the London Fashion Week still goes strong with its ability to bring a grand experience for the fashion mavens. The London Fashion Week takes the cake every year with a fresh lineup of up-and-coming designers who challenge the status quo with innovative design trends. This year too, the LFW was a carnival of luxury and exuberance.

The grand event was a strong nod to sustainable fashion and gender inclusivity. The chief executive of the British Fashion Council called for stepping out of the mold and de-gendering the fashion experience. This year the theme that ran along the showcase was a subversion of expectations around fashion’s gendered identity. The opening of the fashion show focused heavily on street fashion that took center stage with whimsical but bold collections. Unique and memorable, the collections remained throughout the week left us all spellbound. Let’s dive into the fashion extravaganza that the LFW 2021 was.

London Fashion Week 2021 opened with fashion lovers drawing in the opulence of the grand event. Every time the event rolls in, the fans of fashion work themselves into an ever-growing tizzy around the event. The designers put up their best work and pushed the envelope on uniqueness with a fantastic lineup for the show. The event each year is jam-packed with an audience enamored by the trendy looks, and this year was no different. The street style was beautiful and runway-worthy, with a carefree edge and casual glam to the outfits. Because the past two LFWs saw a shift to the digital platform due to the pandemic-stricken London closing itself away from any major events, this year, the London Fashion Week September 2021 hosted the events both physically and with the help of digital presentations. Some 130 designers showcased their collection for Spring/Summer 2022.

The event was an exciting blend of in-person shows and digitally mounted presentations that took place starting from 17th September. This new hybrid form had showcases by some big names like Erdem, Emilia Wickstead, and Vivienne Westwood. An exclusive platform was provided for the new budding talent through LFW’s Newgen space dedicated to emerging designers. Nensi Dojaka was the new designer on the block who quickly gained interest with her notable appearances prior to her runway debut on the London Fashion Week, September 2021. She held sway over everyone with her spaghetti-strapped dresses, tailored suits, and ribbed knits ruling the runway. The designer stirred the 90’s nostalgia of the supermodel era.

The pandemic may have pushed for a re-evaluation by means of showcasing fashion, but it sure did a whole world of good to make the experience widely accessible by many. The hybrid approach of the London Fashion Week 2021 saw a rise in a new shopping experience and unique designer-led content. The point in case is Charlotte Knowles, a South London-based designer, offering a virtual front-row pass to her showcase with an instant ‘see now, shop now’ feature. Another example is the brand Halpern helming a series of  BTS films of the brand’s designer working through his process of creating his collection. This new approach has democratized the entire process, with a bigger audience now able to access an event formerly made available to only the insiders or the elite. Of the list of brands open to the public, luxury labels like Vivienne Westwood, Simone Rocha, Tokyo-based label TOGA, Preen by Thornton Bregaazi are fronting the event. While some brands still follow the physical, invitees-only approach, a lot of other brands are warming up to the idea of opening the doors of luxe fashion to the general public.

What’s interesting to note, and also a great takeaway from the experience is the City-Wide Celebration programme helmed by the BFC in a bid to draw in a bigger number of visitors to Central London. The programme hosts many events open to the public throughout the London Fashion Week. The schedule works in a collaborative effort with the ‘Let’s Do London’ campaign and has over 100 brands joining hands for the purpose of driving the country’s economic and social recovery and reinstating its name as the world’s leading fashion capital.

Conclusion

The biggest fashion event has everyone reeling from the after-effects. We are still not over the grand opulence of the fashion week, and it is almost impossible to capture everything that the London Fashion Week enshrines. This fall, however, there was a lot of up-and-coming talent that stood out alongside the city-wide events that fell in line with the real glory of LFW.

Click here to check on London Fashion Week 2023