London Fashion Week AW26 

Karoline Vitto

The undeniable confidence and joy exuded by Karoline Vitto’s models at her AW26 show is the ultimate testament to her new collection. After a few seasons where body diversity felt like it had quietly frozen over, drowned out by the whisper that “thin is back” AW26, titled Thaw, marked a return. Not just of Vitto, but of the women her shows have always centred. Inclusivity isn't a token for Karoline, it's a pillar of the brand's foundation. 

Karoline designed the collection through the lens of her ‘girl gang’ coming out of hibernation. Silhouettes nodded to late ’90s and early ’00s shapes, low-waisted trousers, exposed midriffs, hips framed by cut-outs, but without the heroin-chic baggage. Vitto reclaims those codes, reshaping them for bodies that were excluded the first time around. The curve highlighting hardware, a signature for Vitto, was still present in this collection, however it took a back seat, overtaken by a multitude of draping techniques, masterfully used to highlight the importance of shape in the collection. Draped fabrics mimicked melting forms, clinging and pooling around the body. The fabrication was an abundance of jersey both thick and thin, with different levels of fabric opacity weaving in and out between looks. The wet hair looks with resin flowers were a beautiful reference to the ‘girl gang’ blooming out of hibernation, almost as if they were defrosting. 

The collection also featured a look from the new Karoline Vitto X Pull and Bear collaboration, worn by the collection's only male model. For this collaboration Karoline prioritized a large size range, even when collaborating this remains at the forefront of her brand's purpose. Karoline once again proves that size has never hindered design, and her ability to design for all body types is proof of the incredible designer she is. 

But beyond partnerships and silhouettes, a Vitto show remains what it has always been: a celebration. A reminder to the curve community, and the industry watching, that they are here, visible and unapologetic.

The thaw has begun.

Labrum 

Labrum’s AW26 collection, Thread of Osmosis, marked the second chapter in Foday Dumbuya’s ongoing Osmosis trilogy. Where SS26 examined sound as a cultural carrier, this season turned to textiles — not as static artefacts, but as living documents. “The collection is not nostalgic. It does not look at textile history from a distance. It operates within it.” The fabrics themselves traced global routes: bespoke developments spanning Japan, Hong Kong, India, Turkey, Portugal, Scotland, Italy, France and Sierra Leone. This was an homage to “every migrant story stitched into a hem,” grounded not in sentimentality but in movement. 

Set within the opulence of One George Street in Westminster, models walked between two traditional wooden weaving looms, craft framed as both metaphor and method. An opening monologue by Yomi Sode commanded the room, grounding the collection in poetry and purpose before the first look fully settled.

British tailoring formed the spine, used as a base for global craft. Slim, elongated jackets, tailored trousers and mandarin collars opened the show with precision. As it progressed, pattern and colour deepened the narrative, a juniper three-piece suit stood out in particular. The Adidas collaboration was embedded seamlessly, never distracting from the message, while Labrum’s signature passport print returned updated with motifs reflecting migration’s evolving story, appearing across indigo and emerald tailoring.

Accessories sharpened the storytelling. Crochet bags referenced Sierra Leonean pottery and raffia craft, while accordion-shaped headwear nodded to ceremonial finery worn at migration crossroads. Jewellery, created with Florence West, featured hand-shaped cuffs, statement earrings and oversized gold safety pins fastening looks with quiet defiance. Even beauty carried intent,  gold Labrum logos stamped on cheekbones, sculptural hair described as “silhouettes of resilience.”

Labrum shows are never just about clothes. They are about diaspora, authorship and belonging. In a climate where migration is too often politicised rather than humanised, Thread of Osmosis felt less like commentary and more like assertion.

THE VXLLEY

There is always one show during Fashion Week that quiets the room, the one that makes you lower your phone and simply watch. This season, it was THEVXLLEY. Daniel Del Valle’s debut presentation, The Narcissist, unfolded at Ladbroke Hall as something between runway, exhibition and living memoir, an immersive merge of fashion, object and performance that felt less like a show and more like stepping into someone’s inner world, someone's genuine story.

Del Valle describes THEVXLLEY as his garden, a space where ideas are grown and transformed into autobiographical vessels. That cultivation was evident in every piece. A ceramic T-shirt constructed from thousands of Victorian clay pipes found along the Thames felt archaeological yet deeply personal. A living bodice, watered daily, extended his obsession with orchids. His mother’s wedding dress re-emerged bearing intricate wax embellishments, while bread, developed in collaboration with his father, became a sculptural garment. Heritage here wasn’t referenced; it was embedded.

Raised in Pilas, a small village in Seville, Del Valle learned embroidery from his grandmother, ceramics from his mother and baking from his father. Those inherited crafts were neither nostalgic nor sentimental. Instead, they were reworked through years of experimentation, weaving, mending, refining, into pieces that felt emotional, strangely familiar and above all, exciting. The kind of debut that makes you want to tell everyone who skipped it that this was, quietly but confidently, the show of the season.

Chopova Lowena

The Chopova Lowena girl is always up to something. For Fall 2026, she’s brushing up on regency slang and heading to the golf course, pearls at her throat, argyle at her ankles, knickerbockers flowing in the wind. Titled Too Ripe and Ready by Half, the collection spliced the elegance and cheek of the early 19th century with the kitsch traditions of golf, from the putting green to the clubhouse.

This season also marked a notable shift. Known for their riotous runway shows, complete with a beautifully chaotic soundtrack and models stomping head-to-toe in full Chopova regalia, Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena opted for a presentation format. And in doing so, they gave their audience something rare: time.

Because Chopova Lowena are, above all else, obsessives for detail. Every element of a garment carries intention, embroidery layered over print, jewellery hooked onto metalwork belts, beads blooming into roses, pearls clashed playfully with tartan. Golf, naturally, ran throughout,  in elaborate golf bag jackets, in communal energy, in the sense of sport reimagined as subculture.

Up close, the craft was impossible to ignore. The presentation allowed us to lean in and truly appreciate it. Silver brooches shaped like squirrels caught the light; elsewhere, two looks channelled a cat and a dog, complete with toy companions tucked underarm, absurd, charming and entirely committed to.

There’s an unmistakable Britishness woven through it all, from Highland tartans to the chokers of London girls. Yet beneath the mischief lies something sincere: a celebration of community, of dressing up with your friends, of tea time and tee time shared.

Simone Rocha

For her autumn/winter 2026 show, Simone Rocha invited the audience to the realm of play. Prized ponies and snow queens were amongst the personages encountered in the opening scenes. Whether it be the 40s style floral dress, the pastel pyjama-style leggings, or the Rapunzel-esque hair and ruddy blush on each model’s cheek, nostalgia is imbued into each look. Paired then with more ‘serious’ wool overcoats, still a little too big, or slouchy socks stuffed into loafers, the effect is complete: you are a child playing dress up in an elder’s wardrobe. 

Perry Ogden’s Pony Kids proved a defining influence on Simone’s collection. Nodding to both her Irish upbringing and her ongoing collaborations with adidas Originals, the designer took a queue from a photo of two grim-faced boys in Dublin, wearing adidas tracksuits and oversized windbreakers atop a spotted pony. This sense of contrast – the fairytale and the grit of reality – is found everywhere: silk bombers and boilersuits and ballgowns made of rosettes. A Valentine’s palette of pink and red closes the show after a more Christmassy array of green silks and black sequins. What is more charming, and yet more grounding, than a moment of play in times like these?

Chet Lo

There was something deliciously ironic about walking into a night market inside one of the poshest hotels in London. Beneath the polished ceilings of the Mandarin Oriental, the smell of dim sum wafted through the air while editors perched on market stools. We were seated quite literally within the stalls as models, effortlessly cool, drifted past as if browsing after dusk.

For Fall/Winter 2026, Chet Lo returned to a formative memory with Night Market, drawing on the charged ecosystem of Hong Kong’s evening bazaars. But this wasn’t set dressing. It was atmosphere: sound, scent, intimacy. A space where labour and leisure blur, where strangers brush shoulders, where community forms in motion. Transplanted into Knightsbridge, the contrast only sharpened its impact.

A palette of black, crimson, charcoal and green mirrored neon cutting through night air and steam rising from food stalls. Feathered eyewear, inspired by Peking opera, framed and partially concealed the gaze,  theatrical, alluring, self-possessed. Umbrellas appeared as quiet motifs of intimacy and shelter, transforming a fleeting personal memory into a true fashion show experience.

Beyond the clothes, the market extended into real stalls spotlighting creatives from across the Asian diaspora, alongside partnerships foregrounding accessibility and safeguarding. The ethos was clear: a community only works when everyone is accounted for.

Oscar Ouyang

180 the Strand saw an influx of NEWGEN designers over the last four days, from all 140 looks of the Central Saint Martins MA show, to the eggshell runway of Pauline Dujancourt. Last but not least came Oscar Ouyang, on the final day of London fashion week the Beijing born designer transported us to the remnants of a manor house in the countryside. Gilded frames, hay bales and scattered mirrors adorned the runway, setting the scene of the manor house, the night before it is set to be sold. For this collection Oscar imagined a party for a group of boys, a final reckless night at the manor.  

The collection was a medley of wool tweed, fair isle knit and metallics. Traditional tailoring shines through allowing the collection to be encompassed by an obvious sense of quality. The collection was opened by a crop red and black military coat, and pinstripe trousers with a contrasting white ruched waistband, accented with a black and white knit scarf and a playful gold rosette broach. Oscar created a collection where the clothes don’t wear the man but the man wears the clothes however they see fit.. Childhood playfulness bubbled to the surface of the collection through multiple pyjama style sets made from a print featuring antique metal toys scattered across the fabric.

As the collection comes to a close, low sung metallic kilts, embellished waistcoats and leather buckles lift the tempo of Oscar’s reckless manor night. All of the looks are styled for the perfect night of mystery with metallic crochet masks, made and in collaboration with Noah Stewart, allowing for a night of alluring anonymity and mischief. The collection paints a vivid picture of a whirlwind night at Oscar’s manor, and I for one am pining for an invite.