Inside London Fashion Week: A front-row preview

0:06London Fashion Week starts today. Cue eclectic street style, aggressive coffee orders and absolute mayhem. So which designers should we be looking out for? Hi and welcome back to the Standard Podcast. I'm Tamara Kormornyk. For all the latest news, head to standard.co.uk. Coming up, Inside London Fashion Week, a Front Row Preview.

0:38the excitement is palpable ahead of london's biggest fashion event of the year so far julian mcdonald is back joseph are debuting a new runway collection for the first time in eight years and everyone is holding their breath for the burberry finale for today's episode i sat down with the standards fashion editor joe bromley and lifestyle editor Jessica Borrell to chat about their expectations for the week. Expect some trend predictions, a lot of love for London's designers, as well as recommendations for ways to enjoy fashion week, even if you aren't sitting on the front row.

1:17Well hi Jess, hi Joke, delighted to have you both here. Thank you very much, happy to be here. Thanks for having us. So you both are the fashion experts here, what is the overall mood heading into London Fashion Week which three words would you use to describe the events that are about to unfold there's a great deal of excitement that will be one creativity I think that that's what we're best known for we have the platform for the upcoming brands but also our longest standing designers creativity is definitely at the forefront and then my final word. I'm going to pass to Jess. What's another word?

1:59I think I'm feeling hopeful. What do you think? Fantastic. That's a good one. Yeah. I mean, I feel like it's the second London Fashion Week we're going to have, you know, after Laura Weir's appointment as CEO of the BFC. And I don't know what you think, Joe, but I feel like last season felt really energised, I guess. That's kind of how I felt. Not after it, but during. No, definitely. Laura coming in definitely has given it that kind of shot of adrenaline that it definitely needed and has really offered a path for everybody to get behind. So it definitely does feel like it's in a hopeful transitional phase.

2:36Exactly. Yeah. And I guess another one, it's kind of sounds like some ironic, but I guess it also feels a little bit nostalgic because we've got a couple of comeback shows going on. So we've got like Julian McDonald coming back. We've got Joseph showing for the first time in like nine years or something. So it's both fresh, but also aware of its legacy. 100%. And so you mentioned Laura Weir coming in. Do you think you'll see the fruits of the extra funding and the spotlight that she's trying to put on the fashion industry as a really important sector for the country? I guess she's doing, yes. She's doing a couple of exciting things.

3:15I think one of the main things was just re-energising everybody, getting everybody back into a room. The other exciting thing they're doing is bringing in more international press, whereas everybody goes out to Milan and Paris and London was one of those important capitals on the map. That fell away a bit as we lost some of our bigger brands that were showing. They have a scheme now to get those important editors across from New York, from across Europe. And that in terms of amplifying London Fashion Week, I think is a really important thing. I so agree. Yeah, that's such a good point. I feel like last season it was interesting to hear that they were from Milan, they were from New York.

3:55So I guess it would be good to see if that's carried on. At the same time, I guess we also can't forget that it's London Fashion Week first and foremost. So, you know, we can't overlook the importance of our own homegrown sort of talent and people attending. Maybe also just because it's so packed out, the schedule, you know, like there's so much going on. feels quite busy and buzzy. And I think there was a point where it definitely didn't really feel like that to me. So it's nice to have that back. It's definitely on a climb up. And also Fashion Week is in September and February. Sometimes the February one can feel a little bit damper, maybe only because of the weather.

4:34But it definitely feels like it has that energy this year. It's also running at the same time as the BAFTAs this year. So I do feel like London is going to be happening this weekend. And we're going to have Jacob Elordi about, plus Kate Morse. I mean, that's a combination. I didn't even think of that. When is the fact? Sunday night. Oh, my God. Imagine if you were going to all of London Fashion Week and then that, and then you have more on Monday. It would be a big weekend. So let's talk about expectations for this London Fashion Week. In terms of trends, what silhouettes or fabrics or colours are you expecting to see?

5:15I'm thinking we're going to see a lot of like fringe feathers and just like movement maybe a bit of shine we saw a lot of that in New York Fashion Week which is maybe unexpected you're looking a bit surprised no like I I love that kind of stuff maybe not fringe I don't know but I think so is fashion having a mad moment well I am I don't know if it's having a mad moment but I think it's having a it's remembering that it can have fun I know that's something you know That's a piece we worked on recently about everyone falling back in love with kind of zany fashion and things are a bit more experimental.

5:50And if we look at, I don't know, last year, obviously, there was a big old shake up with all the creative directors moving around. And it just felt like a bit of a reset. And it felt like a moment that designers could start kind of taking some risks again and having a bit more fun. We look at like Machu Blasier, Chanel, like I think he is forging that path. I think, as Joe was kind of saying earlier, London's always been more creative and experimental. So it will be interesting to see this London Fashion Week in the midst of all that joy and fun. And Joe, will you be wearing fringe on Monday? I don't mind a bit of fringe, you know.

6:25I was going to say that the other thing to keep in mind with the London shows is that we do have this kind of core team of great businesses, whether that's Erdem celebrating his 20 years, Emilia Wickstead, Simone Rocha, Richard Quinn, these are guys that have been in the game for a long time. And although there will be nods to trends, you can kind of expect to see just the furthering on of their own aesthetic and their own design codes. It's not so much that everyone at Erdem this season is all going to be in X, you know. It's always going to fall within that design language. totally and I guess it's maybe like more of a subconscious thing it's just like what we spot and it kind of crystallizes a trend so are we going to be seeing a lot of like Wuthering Heights soft goth Margot Robbie vibes probably I don't know if that was intentional but it presents back to us what we're looking out for like in the wider culture I think trend wise I will say from New York and we'll see if it continues is kind of MAGA style is it just going to be more glitzy ball gowns it's a kind of uncomfortable one but keep an eye on that yeah MAGA chic or MAGA unshick oh my god no like we right when we saw loads of MAGA beauty last year with like big hair and loads of makeup and stuff we'll take a quick break coming up Jess and Jo talk about the runway shows they're most excited for and we have a chat about whether quiet luxury has had its day

8:07welcome back let's get back to my chat with jess and joe speaking of inspiration which emerging designers are you excited to see top ones i would say everyone should note down and remember is tolly cocker who's showing on thursday she kind of opens up the the schedule and has yeah kind of a lot of excitement behind her um and then the heart of creativity he says slightly biased because i did go there but centralst martin's have their ma fashion graduate show on thursday night as well um and that is always the kind of yeah pinnacle mecca call it what you like of new ideas and unlike some of the other young designers that have had to commercialize their vision a lot more to show on schedule and sell to buyers it's that ma show that you can really see kind of unbounded fun or experimentation i don't think patrick mcdowell is necessarily emerging i feel like they've emerged but that's someone i've always got my eye on just because of the that amazing like high level of craftsmanship which I think still has such a great place on the schedule and like for me if I met someone who didn't get fashion or didn't care about fashion shows or whatever I'd take them to a Patrick Modale show and I think that would it would click for them it clicked for me watching it last season so yeah can't wait for their new collection.

9:38And so Jess before we started rolling you told me that you're seeing about five shows a day which of these shows are you most excited about yeah well joe and i was saying you've got to get your five a day in um doctor's orders exactly i would be most excited for simone i think simone russia that would be like a big highlight for me and um i also always love completed works personally um just because they do like a great kind of presentation it's usually like a bit mad to be honest and they'll usually have like a a big name in like last season it was jerry hall you know doing a weird like psychic reading that's something fun i always look forward to which is a bit different just from a usual kind of catwalk show and joe i am excited for burberry which will finish the week on monday that is always the biggest spectacle and the fanfare is insane there's always like hundreds of people screaming as you're going in.

10:41Their front rows are unparalleled in London, I think would be fair to say. And yeah, it's always like a kind of glossy Devil Wears Prada style fandango. Yeah, so true. I feel like if you're going to look for, if you want to do some like celeb spotting, I would definitely watch out for the Burberry show. As well as, of course, the grey clothes.

11:09so quiet luxury has been a thing for a while um how do we feel about quiet luxury and do you think brands are going to start moving away from it and maybe you know be a bit more kind of recognizable and just be proud of being instantly recognizable in the way that um you know a lot of high-end fashion used to be i think absolutely we're moving away from it and london is a place where there's always been much more scope for creativity and experimentalism than anything more muted so it'll be really interesting to see if that shows up in a bigger way this time around I think we've definitely seen a swing away from quiet luxury in the industry at large to be honest with designers like you say yeah embracing their own kind of distinctive character a bit more and you know embracing different textures and things that are a bit more fun or colors or whatever on the catwalk so yeah I think that will definitely be evident and it's it's kind of each to their own I don't think quite luxury gets such a bad rap doesn't it because it's like a bit of a cliche now but I mean there's still space for those neutral tones and dressing in a kind of classic Carolyn Bissett Kennedy kind of way but still like having a bit more fun with it maybe adding a fun accessory or like personality sock or something like that which brands or designers do you think there's been the most hype for so we've got julian mcdonald coming back and i feel like last time his show at london fashion it was quite interesting i'm pretty sure like jemma collins was there i don't know whether i've really crossed wires there but i think that was the case and it was just like quite fun and hilarious so that will be fun then on the kind of opposite end of the creative spectrum we've got joseph coming back which is obviously a very different kind of brand um and a bit more uh serious kind of editor fashion editory brand to me all the kind of london fashion week big names are always the most hyped so like erdem burberry simone all that kind of thing they've sustained hype which is really nice because sometimes you know when something's too hyped it just passes and it's it's not as a like a lasting thing so say you're not invited to any of these fashion week shows how can you soak up London fashion week there's still so much to be gained from London fashion week even if you're not attending a single show like you can just go and soak up the atmosphere around town do you know what I mean like you don't need to be getting in there to experience it like go for a drink at a bar near a show you know like google the schedule it's really easy to find online on the bfc website everything that's going on and you know if you're interested of course some people would find this a ridiculous idea but like if you're into it go and see the people going to it like i i get so much out of looking at all the people outside a show as well as inside it you know london fashion week street style is such a huge thing and the way people are styling their clothes I think is often so much more wearable and relevant for us now rather than looking ahead at the collections which are to come which is obviously fantastic you know that has a massive value in a different way get involved.

14:37Do you have a sneak peek of any bars or restaurants Jo if you have any thoughts on this as well? There are a couple of good things that are open to the public you can actually get the London Fashion Week schedule and it has all of the shows on but it also has the events that are open to the public so I see here that there is a BFC jewellery showcase at Dover Street Market that's definitely worth checking out there's an exhibition called A Letter which is open to the public which are these two graduates from CSM and that would be really good to see I think Vogue is doing a Vogue cafe near 180 The Strand and that's a good place to look out for people during the week as well if you can get in there if you can get in is it as in no as in because it gets so busy doesn't it it's called the corner shop isn't it you're absolutely right it's near 180 strand and it is like during the week honestly worth checking out because it's so hectic and incredibly priced but anyway I agree it's fun to go there and again if you want to get involved why not so I guess if you're looking for any recommendations of things to do or ways to keep up the coverage is all on the standard site Jess Jo thanks so much for joining me for this look ahead episode for London Fashion Week thank you for having us thank you very much and that's the standard for all the latest news head to standard.co.uk if you're new here hit follow and give us a rating.

16:11If you'd like to get in touch, email us at podcasts at standard.co.uk. We'll be back here tomorrow morning. See you then.