Emerging designers came out on top this season

PETRA FRAGERSTROM
Eve Bailey, Fashion Editor

Petra Fagerström has just staged her first runway show, in partnership with the Embassy of Sweden, and what a debut it was. Highly anticipated following her turn as an LVMH Prize finalist, after only really a year in fully-fledged brand mode, Fagerström has already caught the attention of fashion’s big leagues, with her previous presentation styled by Harry Lambert. Despite this being Spring/Summer, it was the outerwear that really shone. A bomber jacket, fitted with what appeared to be another corseted jacket within it, was a particular standout, cleverly playing with the collection’s push and pull between conservative dress and something altogether less well behaved.

Then came Fagerström’s signature pleating. Already something of a calling card, this season she pushed the illusion further: cheetah print gradient and sliced leather added another layer of movement to garments already designed to transform depending on where you stood. A signature, yes, but thankfully not a static one.

TALIA BYRE
Eve Bailey, Fashion Editor

Talia Byre has become quite the hot ticket as seasons have gone on, with editors and glossies increasingly donning her signature stripes and cow-print bags between shows. Byre has always known her girl, but this season she seemed to know her even better. The collection felt more defined, grown-up and sure of itself.

The references were there, you could almost picture the moodboard pinned to the poly board backstage, but they never overwhelmed what was ultimately a very wearable proposition. A predominantly white palette of fluid dresses and poplin separates was broken up by wide belts wrapped almost cummerbund-style around the waist, before jolts of brilliant magenta arrived later on. Nothing felt intimidating or overly laboured. Byre has just announced a Topshop collaboration, landing on the high street this October. The timing makes sense: as I turned from one editor to the next, everyone seemed to be saying the same thing - “I want to wear that.”

JOHANNA PARV
Eve Bailey, Fashion Editor

There can be a tendency to view a presentation as the show a designer didn’t quite get to have. Johanna Parv made a rather convincing case for why, for the right designer, it can be far more interesting.
Taking over the newly renovated presentation space at 180 The Strand, Parv created TEMPO, a carefully curated exhibition centred around four creatives: Saša Štucin, Imogen Kwok, Phoebe Collings-James and Nara Lee. Working with Threads of Conversation’s Georgia Graham, intimate filmed interviews explored how movement, speed and material shape their respective practices. Guests sat, watched, talked and scribbled notes.

The clothes existed naturally within that conversation. Parv’s technical, city-ready wardrobe returned in breathable linen, water-repellent wool and lightweight layers, alongside pieces designed quite literally for life in motion. For a designer so preoccupied with moving at pace, it was rather nice to be given a reason to linger.

FRANCESCA LAKE
Caroline Issa, CEO and Fashion Director

Francesca Lake’s runway show, combined with an installation of her artistic practice, formed a new layer to her work, heavy with symbolism from Jamaica’s history and past, while converging with pieces that work well both on runway as well as in the day-to-day. Whether you read into the historical references, or just wanted to celebrate Black Excellence, Francesca’s wholly evocative world was beautifully expressed in this show and collection. Looking forward to seeing more from her.

STEVE O SMITH
Caroline Issa, CEO and Fashion Director

Designer Steve O Smith talked to a small audience of 40 editors, buyers and curators within the calm Drawing Room of the Royal Academy, itself heavy with the scent of pencil chalk and paper from its usual usage, and articulated beautifully how he makes his “Life Drawings”, dresses that spring up in 3d threads, appliqué and embroidery. It was a masterclass in 1. How to use an intimate format of an old school salon style walk-through to enthrall an audience and 2. How to instantly provide context and respect for the craft, the hands and the painstaking r&d and process that goes into each of his bespoke creations. A charming, energising presentation of beautiful pieces.

PAOLO CARZANA

Amelia McGarvey, Editorial Assistant

For S/S27, Paolo Carzana staged his show inside St Cuthbert’s Church. But rather than exposing his guests to the church’s architecture, he stationed them within a calico box he had built inside of it, completely blocking their view. The setting gestures towards, in his mind, society’s eyes-closed approach to the beauty of the world. The pieces themselves were inspired by a film scene in which Indiana Jones achieves the Holy Grail by selecting the simplest cup; the clothes follow a similar ethos without slipping into costume. Bias-cut silk, hemp jersey and bamboo satin arrive in a variety of yellows, dyed by turmeric, marigold and tannin, some left to fade in sunlight. Masked models wear sculptural headwear by Nasir Mazhar. In many cases, the looks are both sensual and unsettling. Carzana’s house emblem, the daffodil, recurs in applique.

YAKU
Amelia McGarvey, Editorial Assistant

The eight chapter of YAKU’s ongoing series, The Possible Family Reunion in RPG Space, was his most storytelling-oriented yet. Titled “You Can’t Rush Cooked Food”, the show began with the imagined family – played by a real father, son and daughter, I later discovered – sitting beside their imagined barbeque, relaying memories of their family members and past selves. As these recollections distort through YAKU’s lens, the show takes on a fantastical feel, with characters such as Glitch Man or Grandma in Grandad’s Eyes. The designs themselves feel true to YAKU’s history: colourful and conceptual, taking the language of streetwear and infusing it with something playful and unexpected, like out of a video game. That the models and actors embody these roles so well only helps. In the end, when the brand’s team walked the finale with the models, the celebration of family and community was cemented for good.