London Fashion Week
Models walk the runway at the Nensi Dojaka FW22 Show.

At London Fashion Week, things started to feel like the old, pre-COVID times again. The UK government has ended face mask rules and COVID-19 vaccination passes, and more designers than ever are once again hosting in-person shows. On the runway, exquisite designs seem to celebrate the country’s progress with the pandemic. Sheer sequins from Nensi Dojaka, exaggerated silhouettes from Harris Reed, and wearable art from Richard Quinn all prevail in the UK capital city.

As the shows wrap in London and prepare to head to Milan, GRAZIA looks back at some of the best looks from the Fall-Winter 2022 season, from Simone Rocha’s dark romanticism inspired by an old fable to Lila Grace Moss following in her supermodel moms’ footsteps closing the Richard Quinn show as a modern-day bride.

Ozwald Boateng

London Fashion Week

Ozwald Boateng returns to London Fashion Week after a 12-year hiatus. The Black British designer staged his homecoming with 100 Black creatives across fashion, art, music, and film. The former Givenchy designer infused his Ghanian roots into the collection filled with bold colors, graphic prints, and structural silhouettes.

ROKSANDA

London Fashion Week

 ROKSANDA partnered with luxury footwear brand Dear Frances as part of the namesake label’s Fall-Winter 2022 collection. The collaboration comprises four boot styles — one over-the-knee, one knee-high, and two ankle boot styles in various colorways. ROKSANDA also collaborated with artist Eva Rothschild to create a collection filled with stunning gowns in the label’s iconic color blocking technique and creative approach to patchwork.

16 Arlington

London Fashion Week

The label’s Fall-Winter 2022collection is one of the last worked on by the late Federica “Kikka” Cavenati, the co-founder of the London label. Following her untimely passing late last year, Cavenati and her partner Marco Capaldo worked on this collection, now titled “Tears,” as an emotional tribute. 

Ahluwalia

London Fashion Week

Bollywood glamour meets Nollywood chic in designer Priya Ahluwalia’s latest collection. Continuing to incorporate her mixed Indian and Nigerian heritage into her designs, Ahluwalia presents an exquisite collection filled with graphic patterns and colors. “Bollywood to Nollywood, then, is Ahluwalia’s love letter to the films that informed her youth, placing them on a shiny pedestal for all to enjoy.”

Nensi Dojaka

London Fashion Week

The LVMH Prize and the BFC Foundation Award 2021 winner, Nensi Dojaka, has become one of London fashion’s hottest names. Her sultry designs with an artistic element are now the core DNA of the brand. The show’s highlight was when model Maggie Maurer debuted her baby bump on the runway wearing one of the label’s cult following lingerie dresses.

Halpern

London Fashion Week

London simply couldn’t enter into a post-coronavirus restriction-less world without Halpern. Designer Michael Halpern’s stunning designs are made with one thing in mind — partying. 

Erdem

London Fashion Week

The collection explores this mood of high jinks on the brink of change. Daywear and eveningwear, womenswear and menswear, formal and casual clothing are juxtaposed and interwoven. “This is a tense moment that will become a fulcrum point in history. Underground and behind closed doors, the heady spirit of freedom feels giddy, but the frivolity has a bittersweet edge to it; the world beyond the club is not such a safe space. Whispers of war are looming once again, but we don’t talk about that down here. For now, let the music play.”

Richard Quinn

London Fashion Week
Lila Moss walks the runway at the Richard Quinn show during London Fashion Week.

“A love letter to silhouette and craft,” explained Richard Quinn’s show notes. From florals to color blocking, the designer’s quintessential design elements came together on regal and oh-so-chic silhouettes. Lila Grace Moss, daughter of supermodel Kate Moss, closed the show in a white satin minidress embezzled with tiny rhinestone flowers all over and a dazzling floral crown.

Molly Goddard

London Fashion Week

“The collection is based on Portobello and Camden market in the late ’80s and ’90s,” explains Molly Goddard in the show notes. “Our mum’s best friend when we were younger was very central to the Portobello social scene then, and the collection is somewhat based around her. I would describe her from what I can remember as a cross between Marilyn Monroe and Mick Jones — big bleached blonde hair with a flower in it, red lipstick, a ’50s dress with an army jacket and trainers.”

Simone Rocha

London Fashion Week

Simone Rocha explores dark romanticism for its Fall-Winter 2022 collection. Inspired by the Irish fable “The Children of Lir,” children are turned into swans for 900 years and then pass away suddenly once they’re turned back into humans. “Two sons and two daughters. A dark lament. Crushed taffeta wings and exploration of outerwear and what lies beneath. Bloodline and quilted blankets. Bitter sequins, blue velvet,” the show notes explain. 

Harris Reed

London Fashion Week

Kicking off London Fashion Week, Harris Reed’s Fall-Winter 2022 collection titled “60 Years a Queen” has been in the making for several years. Harris Reed first stumbled upon the 1897 book, titled the same name written by Sir Herbert Maxwell on the reign of Queen Victoria, during his first year at Central Saint Martins. It happened to have landed on low-fi photocopies of Mick Jagger, captured in the mid-’70s. This juxtaposition of material, era, and aesthetic, it turns out, was a perfect happenstance that would go on to shape the spectrum of inspirations informing the fluidity of the Harris Reed vision.