London fashion week begins with a tribute to fashion without a genre

The London Fashion Week, Autumn/Winter 2025, begins on Thursday, February 20, with the designer Harris Reed preparing the stage with his theatrical creations of signature, marking the beginning of four days of shows in the British capital. This edition, however, will be shorter than usual, with several notable absences.

The Anglo -American designer, who also serves as artistic director of Nina Ricci, will present her homonym label in Tate Britain. The label is known for its dramatic silhouettes, often covered with large halos made from recycled tapestry paper and interior fabrics.

The 28 -year -old designer instantly for his long red hair, won worldwide attention in 2020 when he designed the crinoline skirt used by Harry Styles on the cover of Vogue. Styles made history as the first soluline cover star of US Vogue in its December 2020 edition. His work embodies “non -binary romanticism”, a style that has captivated celebrities such as Lil Nas X, Adele and Beyoncé.

For the next four days, Erdem, Simone Rocha, Richard Quinn, Roksanda and the iconic Burberry will present their autumn/winter 2025 collections, with Burberry closing the event.

He currently faces challenges, the Heritage brand is subject to speculation regarding the departure of its creative director, Daniel Lee. After joining just over two years ago, Lee has made efforts to modernize the brand, although with mixed results.

Multiple reports suggest that it could be replaced by British designer Kim Jones, who left his role in Dior Homme at the end of January after seven years.

Absent from schedule: JW Anderson

One of the most commented absences this season is JW Anderson, the Northern Ireland designer's label Jonathan Anderson. Anderson also serves as creative director at Loewe and has been mentioned as a potential candidate for Dior.

The designer of the 2024 of the British Fashion Awards was also absent from the Milan Menán Fashion Week and the Paris Fashion Week, where Loewe, as Dior, is part of the LVMH portfolio.

Sustainability to the avant -garde

For the first time, young designers selected for the Newgen program of the British Fashion Council (BFC) must meet the sustainability criteria by producing their collections.

The initiative is aligned with the ecological approach of Copenhagen Fashion Week, which introduced similar measures in 2023.

The objective is to gradually extend the sustainability requirements to all the brands shown in London.

In November, the BFC also announced the prohibition of exotic animal skins, such as crocodiles and snakes, starting with this edition of Autumn/Winter 2025. However, the movement is largely symbolic, since there are no brands in The London Fashion Week schedule that these materials currently use.

“A challenging period”

This edition of the London Fashion Week is almost one day shorter than the autumn/winter 2024 event last year, with designers such as Molly Goddard and Sinéad O'Dwyer absent from the calendar.

Others, including Dila Findikoglu and Conner IVES, have reduced their show frequency once a year, while some have returned to present intimate presentations or meetings instead of complete catwalk shows.

Caroline Rush, Executive Director of BFC, acknowledged that British brands are sailing for a particularly challenging period, affected by pandemic, Brexit and 2024 closure of Matchesfashion, the luxury electronic commerce platform.

“We are working closely with these businesses to support them during this period,” Caroline Rush told AFP, emphasizing the importance of London Fashion Week as a platform that attracts influencers, journalists and buyers around the world.

“When I started 16 years ago, the first question asked me was: 'Are the fashion weeks remain relevant?'” Rush recalled, who will renounce her role in the coming months.

“I think they are very relevant. In London, especially, we have so many small independent companies that need a platform to reach a global audience,” he added.

Rush will be happened by Laura Weir, creative director of Selfridges and former British journalist of Vogue.

According to the British Fashion Council, the United Kingdom fashion industry employ 800,000 people and contributes almost 30 billion ($ 38 billion) to the economy.

CLA-LUL-ALM / By Clara Lalanne and Lucie Lequie